If I understand your background, you have 5 years of retail nursery experience, have gone to college and have a degree, but didn't specialize/get a degree in horticulture or landscape architecture? If so, and from what you've indicated as your horticultural/landscape design interests, it sounds like you are somewhat limited in skill set to planting designs for existing garden beds rather than knowledgable about all aspects of garden design, including non-planting hardscape issues. Nothing wrong with that, but it tends to limit the scale of projects you can realistically take on, and what your perceived worth is in the market. Right out of school, I'd also suggest there is real value to be had from getting experience working for an existing more experienced firm, and absorbing the lessons to be learned about pricing services and materials, running a business, etc, rather than immediately doing it all on your own. You could always continue to do the self employed thing as a weekend job while gaining experience with a firm. I certainly agree with you that there are a lot of landscape installers, (I hesitate to even call some landscape designers or contractors), that don't raise the caliber of the profession. I don't much like Leyland Cypress for general landscaping myself, but find that fast growing and inexpensive plants may also have a suitable place in some situations. As far as positioning what you do as fine art, you may really have an eye for planting composition, but it is also about experience gained over time about how your designs hold up, and maintaining them to remain looking good as they grow. I would have to add that it is almost impossible to have that degree of experience and a maintenance perspective in just 5 short years. I'd suggest taking lots of pictures, returning at different seasons and following years to track progressions, and build up your knowledge set with more experience of how your designs mature/hold up. If your portfolio supports your opinion that you are an artist at what you do, and your client satisfaction supports you with recommendations and referrals, you may be on your way. It might be worth your while to do a display garden in a local garden show venue, or have your garden designs featured on a garden tour to get more exposure. I admire your enthusiasm and energy, but would also advise you to pay a bit more attention to reviewing what you write/blog for spelling/grammar/syntax, etc. before you push the send button; because your writing is also part of how you'll be perceived professionally. If it seems rushed and full of errors, some might judge your design work as rushed. Good luck with your career, and the shopping carts full of nursery plants is an interesting point of departure on your blog. It would be more interesting to have included progress installation photos and initial/ 6 month follow up shots of those plants in one of your designs. I hope you continue to find your own voice, and absolutely nothing wrong about being opinionated and passionate about what you do. Just be able to back it up, and document/follow up on your own work so that you'll have more experience. As an example of a really opinionated blogger writing about garden design and faux pas, check out Billy Goodnick on the web, he's got his own blog and has also written garden columns over many years in Santa Barbara, California. You might find him entertaining as an example of a similar passionate voice.

We have a house in the family we are considering that has the same weird front door on the side arrangement and garage door in front (city lot, no other place for a garage) and our plan if we redo the house is a garage door that blends with the house and then spruce up the front and the walkway to the front as much as possible. (We are wondering even about putting some kind of porch over the front door so that there is some front-facing structure that can say ‘hello, front door here!’ but we haven’t quite decided what form that would take yet.) Otherwise people see the garage door and get confused about a lack of front door.

Very much like the medium blue and the darker blue and the dark reddish brown and either of the last two suggestion of cawaps as long as any of them have the matching wood for the door and garage doors. IF, however, you paint the garage doors, then paint the garage doors the same color as the house exterior walls. The darker colors look better. What is your favorite color? Take a look in your closets. What colors do y'all buy most often for your clothes?

What does the rest of your bathroom look like? I’d do some nice wallpaper, and the rest just like you said. I’m no designer though. Depending on how far down the renovation road you want to go, perhaps consider replacing the floor tile to something more era appropriate? I think alot of bathrooms from this era had chrome (or something like it) hardware...but if you have original hardware that is brass, continue with that. I would think that the latches on the top cupboards will be an indication once you’ve got the paint off, whether the knobs etc should be brass or chrome(?) I’m not even sure whether you have to put the baking soda in...I’ve done it with and without and it’s worked both ways.