Spring planting here I come!

I am so excited to be planting a garden this spring. Charles and I are going to be building 2-3 raised planting beds and filling them with all kinds of heirloom veggies and herbs. I got my D. Landreth Seed catalog months ago and I've been pouring over it's quickly dog-eared pages trying to decide between all the different varieties of veggies they offer. I love this company. It is THE oldest seed house in America, it is the fifth oldest corporation still running in America and has sold seeds to every US President from George Washington to FDR. It just makes me happy buying from such a great company and since I asked for a gift certificate to DL for Valentine's Day this year, you know I placed my order right away! So, my blog pages will be filled with my new adventures in gardening and I thought I'd start y'all right along with me and share my order with you! Oh, boy! I am so excited...spring cannot get here fast enough!

Lettuce:
-Tennis Ball (for a container)
-Parris White Cos

Cauliflower:
-Violeta Italia

Parsnips:
-Sugar Hollow Crown

Carrots:
-Tonda Di Parigi (for a container)
-Belgian White
-Demi-Longue de Chantenay

Melons:
-Noir De Carmes

Watermelon:
-Golden Midget

Onions:
-Purple Bunching
-Texas Early Grano

Garlic & Shallots

Tomatoes:
-German Red Strawberry
-San Marzano
-The Mortgage Lifter
-Black Cherry

Cucumber:
-Parisian Pickling, pickling
-Lemon, pickling & slicing
-Straight Eight, slicing

Eggplant:
-Fairytale (for a container)
-Rosa Bianca

Corn:
-Golden Bantam

Peas:
-Sugar Snap Pole

Peppers:
-Sweet Chocolate Bell
-Red Hot Cherry

Squash:
-Lemon, summer (for a container)
-Ponca Butternut, winter (for a container)
-Pink Banana, winter

Beets:
-Detroit Dark Red

Broccoli:
-Calabrese

Brussel Sprouts:
-Catskill

Beans:
-Montpelier, bush

Pumpkin:
-Small Sugar

Potatoes:
-German Butterball
-Rose Finn Apple Fingerling

Herbs:
-Basil, Lemon
-Sage
-Thyme
-Oregano, Italian
-Parsley, Moss Curled
-Dill, Dukat

Now all that I need help with is deciding on exactly where to put the planting beds...

Close to the house VS away from the house?
-Will the "house noise" deter the wildlife from coming to the garden or will they come anyway and I'll just be inviting them in closer?
-Do I want it close to the house so I can make a mad dash for safety if a bear comes visiting while I'm out tending the garden?

Behind the house VS in front of the house?
-I know that I have to put up a temporary fence to deter deer, so do I want that visible from the road or hidden behind the house?
-Do I want to be able to look out my windows and SEE the garden getting eaten by wildlife?

Close to the house/water supply VS away from the house/water supply?
-If it is hot and dry like last summer, I'll need to water my garden for a few weeks. Do I want to rely on a handy hose that is attached to the house or tote water to the garden? Or hook up a series of hoses?

Up high VS down low?
-We have a real slope on one side of the house, so I don't think that I want the garden in the "run-off" area because this will be too wet. But would that matter to a raised planting bed?

Near the new fruit trees VS away from them?
-We planted two fruit trees last fall, so do I want to keep all the growing stuff together? Does it really matter?

Oh how I wish I could just call up my dad with all of these questions. Does anyone out there know or can help on any of these? I am about to go knock on my neighbor's door (the one that I drool over his/her garden) and ask them to come over and give me advice.

Wish me and my brown thumb luck!!