Honestly, plumorchard this is such a vague question. "You go down the road a bit and turn towards the church, on the left I think it is, after about a mile or three there is a tree where you keep straight on" kind of road map. If you know the destination get on the bus with that name on top. The cost of a bus ticket? I dunno.
What do you want to do here?

If I understand your question, plumorchard, I think your best bet is for you to call local landscapers and ask them about their design services.

A number of companies in my area will do an on-site visit, take photos, and draft a design, and then let you walk with it to complete it on your own. But prices here probably aren't comparable to prices in your part of the country.

If you had more specifics about what you want to do, perhaps people here could give you advice or steer you to online resources. But if you don't know where to start, an in-person consultation with a landscape designer is best.

deeje - that is exactly what I was looking for- thanks! A starting point to get a plan and then we would know where we needed to go first. I'll check around with some local companies and see if I can get a better feel for what we need.

Good luck; I hope you find some good people to work with!

Plumorchard -- I don't know if you want landscaping with hardscape, or if you want gardens and borders. The scope of your project will send you in different directions, depending upon what you're visualizing.

If you want gardens and if you have a subscription to BHG, they have a little library of different (free) garden plans that you can download in PDF format.

If you want to do hardscape yourself, there are some very good books on working with stone at the bookstore (or home centers) that take you through step-by-step.

At any rate, go look through the Fine Gardening and other magazines for "inspiration" photos just like you would for home decorating or kitchen designs. Try to develop a good idea about how you want to use your space and what feeling you want in your outdoor rooms.

Since you are in Georgia, check to see if there is a university close by that has a landscape design school. If you're willing to be a student's project, it is the right time of year to contact the school to volunteer to let some college kids loose on your project! You won't pay for labor and design, just the materials.

Here are some tips from North Carolina State University for residential landscaping.

Here is a link that might be useful: landscape tips

wonbyherwits - Thanks so much! Great info and I will read up tonight!