I always click "send me email follow-ups" but I never get any. :-/) Then they are being re-routed to your junk email box by your server unless you have GW set up in your email as an acceptable contact. Yes that plan comes up to view easily. Just a couple of suggestions to consider: 1) can the beds be coked a bit to run on a more E_W orientation? 2) are you interested at all in saving seeds? If so you wouldn't be able to do that with this set-up as you will get too much crossed pollination. 3) you might want to flip the cukes and the summer squash bed so the trellis in the cukes bed don't shade the other beds. 4) nothing says you can't mix-plant the beds. In other words separate the tomatoes - 2 to each bed - to improve air circulation and reduce disease, separate the summer squash to reduce cross-pollinating and pest problems, etc. Planted all together like that one could squash bug or SVB attack could easily wipe out the whole bed all at one time. 5) re-think the white wall "benefits" you think it has. While the light it reflects may be a little beneficial the heat it generates is detrimental to most everything, including peppers, as it raises soil temps substantially and also increases watering demands. It may allow you to plant a little earlier but with raised beds that is easy to accomplish. But later in the season it quickly becomes an over-heating issue, especially in the warmer zones like yours and mine. Zone 4 gardeners can benefit from it. We generally don't. Hope this helps. Dave

Hi Yardvaark! The closest thing I have to a plan is our survey - used to be an above ground pool where we put the patio in the yard. The patio attached to the back of the house with the porch is 10 x 40. The patio in the yard is about 33ft long . Probably not super helpful for you :). And you are right, I don't want to be walled in, privacy isn't an issue for us anyway. We are planning on putting a stone fire pit on the far end of the patio as well, it's about 4' x 4'. Thank you!

There is a very general landscaping rule of thumb that dictates that an entry garden or the plantings directly surrounding the main entry to the house be more evergreen than not, so that the entry displays a more or less uniform appearance year round. Part of the problem with the existing plant selection is that they are too small, too new or too non-evergreen, so that the planting area shows as mostly bare dirt. This is not a welcoming or softening look. Unfortunately, the first photo above (summer front porch makeover) is going to offer the same bare appearance for at least 6 months out of the year as well. And is a major maintenance situation - doesn't take much for a densely planted perennial garden like that to look messy and overgrown!! The second photo is a much better illustration of how this should be handled - a limited and well-thought out assortment of smaller evergreen shrubs and other evergreen plants. Many of these will bloom as well, so one is not necessarily lacking for color (or they come with colored foliage), or you can always add a few flowering bulbs or some seasonal color spot containers like in the last photo, if you want a bit more of a punch.

ILoveRed - I love that vestibule idea! I'll ask the architect about something like that. mrspete - I think I agree. I do like the front elevation overall, but losing that garage gable might be a lot better. And cheaper too. I'll have to see how the 2nd floor goes, as we might need that area above the garage for a bedroom, so a gable might be necessary. My husband didn't like that indentation between the house and garage (in front of the breezeway) in my sketch either. Rather than add square footage to the house that we really don't need, he suggested making that a storage room accessible from the garage to store bicycles and other misc sporting equipment. I think I like that idea and that would free up the back storage area of the garage for the lawn equipment and tools. Again, would need to see how that works with a nice looking front elevation though. I was playing around again with how the rooms could be placed, specifically what it would look like if I flip flopped the pantry and laundry room. What I think are pros of this idea: - Mudroom and laundry room are combined. One area to drop the dirty stuff as you enter from the garage. - Eliminates corner door in kitchen that breaks up my L shaped counter space....my primary work zone. - Laundry is now right off the kitchen, where I could change out loads of laundry easily with just a few steps. - Carved out 2 extra storage closets. One off the foyer, so could be a large coat closet and/or vacuum cleaner storage. Second one accessible from the Study and would be my Xmas decorations, suitcases, sleeping bags, wrapping paper/gift bags, large extra blankets/pillows, etc type storage. I have a closet like that in my house now and I love it. - With that extra foyer closet, I could recess a regular refrigerator into that space to appear like a counter depth fridge. What I think are the cons of this idea: - Now I have to walk through my kitchen/dining area to get to my laundry room. Basically the furthest point from all bedrooms. - Not sure I love the layout of the pantry. Seems like an excessively large one, but I only have a reach in pantry now, so maybe I just can't fathom needing that much space. I do like that I have room for a hutch/butler's pantry type area in there. What do you all think of this idea? Does it flow? I didn't bother drawing the master bathroom and WIC details. I think I have few options for that space, but I'm liking the size and placement so not too worried about those details at this point. Also, as mentioned above, we could also add a garage storage area in the little indent between the garage and house. Thanks for any feedback!