I would start with some practical questions, which can be useful with the short-term plans, and can help you set the 'bones' for your longer-term plans. And can help you keep things simple. Might help with the 'stuck' thing. Where on that porch do you want shade, either from shrubs/small trees or trellises with climbers? Sun in the morning and shade in the evening? And do you want a blocking of vision from the road to feel that the porch is more private? Or would you rather have that view more open? Which way does the prevailing wind come from? Depending on where you are, you may want to leave that breeze corridor open, or you may want some buffering. If I had that porch, I would want to just plain live on it [jealous grins]. But is there another area to the back or side of the house where you might want other outdoor-living spaces.... Barbecue/picnic areas, play areas, a patio, whatever? Or is that front porch likely to be the focus of your outdoor-time? Once you've thought about all this stuff, you will have an idea about where to place some of the 'bones'. Shrubs, small trees, trellises, any walls, fences, whatever. Then, *around* those bones, you can keep developing plans for later, and can plant the things you want. And there is no reason that you can't just pick a garden spot or three for some of the sun plants you want to try, preferably in close view from your chair on the porch. But you can keep the plants, and the labor and maintenance, very small. Forget worrying about foundation plantings around the house. Concentrate on the areas that will affect your enjoyment of the property in the way *you* want to enjoy it. [What do *you* want to see when you walk out on the porch with coffee in the morning?] And with the setting of your house in its landscape, you would do better with more irregular planting areas where they work well and for you, rather than nice, neat standard all-around-the-house-suburban foundation beds. Plant where and what you want, and you can add more irregular space to the bed, and more plants, later. Use a weed-whacker along the rest of the foundation....

Yes, that what made it confusing. The thatch depth from my test holes did not seem bad at all, the surprising thing was that the root structure of the lawn was only around .5" - 1.5" deep. The rest is our wonderful Illinois clay.

Vicki.. are you staying in the area or moving somewhere that gets rain? I did similar things when I sold my house. Even after the people signed the contract I was out there mulching and pulling weeds. It's about 6pm. I guess mothernature read this post. She hasn't teased me today. She didn't give me any rain but she didn't tease me. Pam3... LOL that was funny about the mailbox. Buford... That's a ways from here I think. I'm not really sure. I felt a couple of drops yesterday but no rain. I just watched as the drops evaporated on the deck before the next one was felt. That made it especially painful when nothing happened after that. bumblebeez... I have tried that and still nada. foxesearth... If it were to pour right now, I believe a good amount of rain will get into the soil. I have been keeping it moist as best I can so the water seeps in and doesn't run off. What you use is a very good strategy though. Well it's about that time... Time to go water.

As LL did, I'd keep the sink and DW on the top wall (does the window overlook the garage?), with the fridge between the DW and kitchen table area. Can you move the DR door down? That might leave enough space for the cooktop and ovens on the short wall. Then if you can move the bathroom door down, and cut the corner on a diagonal, you could still have a more open kitchen: You would also keep most of the traffic out of the work area. ETA, if you also move the PR as you suggested, you can have a wider work aisle: