Throwing out request for design resource suggestions

I'm pretty good at helping other people, but am really struggling with trying to design my own yard. I have some pretty firm ideas of what I want, but then I start to dither, and just don't make any progress. I also do fairly well at designing container plant combos, but when it comes to putting stuff in the ground it somehow becomes "art"----I know what I like, but I can't create it!

I recently took the plunge and e-mailed a local designer whose work I saw in a mag and really admired---it was definitely MY style. She was kind enough to e-mail me back, and said she charges $350/hour for the first 5 hours, and then less for additional hours if she does the project. There's NO WAY I can afford that, so I'm back to ripping out mag pictures and going thru books for ideas and "looks" that I like. I've looked at some software programs, and haven't found anything that I really thought would work for me, either. Every year I go on garden tours and get great ideas, but the professionals who design gardens on these tours are a) too far away and b) probably going to be as expensive as the person I already asked.

I'd love to just have a designer help me with a basic layout/drawing. Then maybe I could go from there with plant selection, and pay for additional "as-needed" advice while I did the work. But not at $350 an hour.....

Can any of you designers out there tell me whether an arrangement like that is even a possiblity? Maybe I just picked a designer who's completely out of my financial league? I've seen such FANTASTIC stuff here since I joined DG a couple of months ago that my mind is just full of new ideas, but part of what I need to do is clean up my previous mistakes, and not make a lot more!!! Any suggestions would be appreciated!!