"Michelle" wrote in message
...
when I bought my new house I drew a map of my yard just a basic out
line of the house and the existing garden beds just a simple sketch
then I drew in garden beds and things I wanted in my yard. it helps
to visualize. then take your wife to the garden center and look at
things she finds attractive.

I don't think it the new garden will be successful (if success = wife stops
whining) unless the wife willingly gets involved. Unless the OP can lay out
some serious cash, the task is likely to evolve over years and involve a lot
of trial and error. Things sometime look worse before they look better.
What looks good to you may look bad to the wife. You may want a prairie and
she may want Sissinghurst. This sound similar to people who want to have a
child to improve their marriage.