I think adding a few Italian Cypress trees would look great for this space. They grow tall, but are very compact and vertical. They are evergreen and low maintenance as well.

It looks like you are in a tropical setting with the existing plants pictured on your posting. Don't fret. The brick wall is an asset. I agree that doubling the height of the stone planter might be beneficial. I do not know what you mean by Lilly Pillies but if Laurel grows in your region it would make an attractive evergreen hedge and then you can layer other plantings in front of it. If you are in a more arid climate then I think the Italian cypress would look great. If tropical then consider a non invasive bamboo. You could also stain the wood fence above the brick wall a dark black/green semi transparent stain.

I think adding a paver row and unifying that step material and helping the level behind it stay lower than the retaining sit wall will make the garden look larger.

The brick wall is actually pretty, it is the wood above and the concrete retaining edge. that makes it look jumbled. First, get some stain that will take the wood into a compatible red-brown to just stop the big jump the eye makes from wall to fence above. They should sell concrete stain that you can wash over the concrete retaining structure to take it away from the eye too. That is going to help a lot - this is a neat space!

What would you think about hanging some wire cables in big x patterns across this (hanging from stainless steel eyebolts epoxied into the brick), and then the growies won't ruin the brick wall and you will get the high end look of shaped greenery against the brick wall. Home Depot sells all the stuff for this so you cna DIY Since the middle section is nearly square, start with one big x there and you should be able to get three large x's across the wall. The cable will look interesting even before things grow up on it.

If you just took down a fig, this is not the time to tell you about columnar fig - one of the best shaped trees that screen and can be sheared really flat. Cypress seems like a different architectural style than palms - if you are in palm tree friendly zone, then you have many fast growing choices - consult your nurseryman and tell him you want to espalier what you grow. Honeysuckle is one of the best evergreen choices for many zones that I can think of that will just keep vining and always looks good and green (doesn't get too woody and need to be cut back). The very minimal flowers are white and a bit of yellow so will look great next to brick -

one more note - though I'm not a big fan of triangle palm, since you left it and took out the fig, I may be speaking out of turn - something architectural and branching like sycamore with nice bark - gets really tall and is deciduous so you only get the shade when you need it and it is pretty when you don't would be a better choice in my view.

Can't see your house, style, anything more about you to style the garden, but I'd take out the white rock underlayment in the back bed or layer in compost / dirt / a gold decomposed granite right over it for a more natural looking bed.

Oops! There are two simultaneous threads on this dilemma - I posted on the other.

Lonine - thanks but I am not sure that this tree would suit our sandstone style cottage house. But certainly a beautiful tree to think about.
Tres - we live in sydney Australia. Love your idea about staining. I accidentally did two posts and other kind and helpful houzzers have noted that the wall is an asset. I had not thought of that.
Libradesigneye - thank you as we'll for your very thoughtful reply. I actually think I live the idea. I need to digest it to understand it right because I am still a novice here at this. Do you have any images that may help?

Great ideas...I immediately saw a trained climber plant...create a wire matrix on brick, plant a fast growing climber, keep trimmed flat to the wall.

What about planting a row of bamboo along the length of the wall? It needs a very shallow bed. Grows straight up and grows VERY quickly. You should have the wall covered in no time. the front of the bed is still yours to play with, adding depth. The bamboo wall creates a 'green screen' as such. Good luck!

The one thing you have not said and no one has asked is what zone do you live in? Your planting zone makes a big difference in the types of plants that are available to you.

Don't paint it...it might peel and you will regret it...I think it adds character to your yard..not ugly at all. You could attach trestles and grow climbing roses...it will not take over all the space you just gained.

look at japanese maples if they do well where you are. nice shapes, not dense so you can still see the wall behind. there are lots of varieties to pick from. you have a great backdrop so i would enhance that will a nicely shaped small tree like the jap maple. then you could do the whole hosta, ferns, shade loving perennials thing and add a few dwarf grasses like dwarf fountain, karley rose grass and such. that is what the bed conjures up for me. and take out the white rock and use real hardwood double ground shredded mulch. i would not plant anything like ground cover because sooner or later it will be overgrowing the wall, above and below. you need nice compact plants that stay that way. small space, keep it tidy. some of what you have there already may work. good luck.

You can get laser cut screens in metal,wood or other materials that look quiet attractive. Examples but should be available in the states to. http://www.lasercutscreens.com.au/Gallery/files/page5-1003-full.html

grow 2 kiwi fruits against it, they have beautiful leaves and will cover it pretty quick but are easy to train.

I know there's lots to read.... but in 60 second Photoshop - Paint the brick wall dark, paint the upper fence colour a warmer, lighter colour if you want to drag the eye upward to maximise heignt. Put in a paver colour stone wall, lay new grass, high pressure wash the bricks. Plant pencil pines and plants of a reasonable height in front..varying.. not uniform. What, I don't know - not a gardener :) My instant thoughts..

No no no to bamboo. It is invasive and rapidly will be out of control. Yes, the brick wall is definitely an asset. If you paint, paint white, a distressed effect rather than solid. Japanese maples, one red and one green, would be nice. Hostas and ferns always a good combination given appropriate shade. Wire framing and climbing plants of your choice also very nice. An espalier tree (see European classic photo) also brilliant. Many great ideas here. Go with your gut.

A lot of good ideas here but a real inexpensive quick growing hedge plant is the California privet. Then you can do plantings in front of the nice green background

Beware of privet unless it's native, and careful in any case. Any foreign privet will be invasive. The root system is especially insidious, and the visible growth takes considerable and careful maintenance to control.

I like the idea of Grey rendering and iron wall art amongst the" Grass Tree plant". It is found in Australian rain forests and flourishes in the desert also, They come in different heights and I can see them against this structure. They can add a three dimensional effect to a two dimensional landscape and are low low maintenance. Google Grass Tree Images to see their effect... I can see this here, with iron wall art between the plants. Hope this helps.

I was not thinking about trellises and vines but will give it some thought. The other ideas about laser it screens and painting is interesting. I am from sydney Australia so thanks Anthony for that screen website.
Thanks kitchens by rose but given i just removed a fig tree with invasive roots I may stick to something native (thanks bottle washer for your advice).
Julie - your idea was lovely but I don't think we can paint it as the brick wall on the left of the photo is part of a massive block of units that extends beyond our property. See photo.
I am certainly now thinking outside the hedge idea now. Thanks houzzers. Please keep them coming.

We have a sandstone cottage

Ni9es - great food for thought. It may suit our sandstone cottage with our plants at present. Does it grow quickly? Ar the roots shallow?

Thanks Brenda for the photos!

Here are some metallic artistic screens that can be vertical or horizontal in combination with an arbor that could define a sitting area with plantings while still having room for the basketball court.
http://www.parasoleil.com/

I like the brick wall and would not paint it. Clean up the landscaping and I agree with your paver. Make the wall higher How about a fountain surrounded by plants.

Thanks Scott design. Are screens expensive?

The Grass Tree plant has a long deep root, it does not grow outwards - great for narrow planting spaces. They are slow growing, however given you have a larger wall to the left of your picture here, I would go for a taller plant to start off with (possibly costly) but you can get these on eBay also. They are lovely - unique and not very common, once they are in, leave them to flourish, maintenance and mess free... I hope this helps...

Get rid of the garden and put in a patio with a waterfall from the brick

I live in the Blue Mountains NSW Australia we have a very simular brick wall we have grown palms and tree ferns with bromeliads and cicadas under them then mulched I only have to water in summer once every 7 to 10 days with a soaker hose that I attached to the wall so it sprays over them as if its raining

A Decked or paved area would be great if you're not keen on a garden - maybe large pots. You could build a deck wall, maybe half way and paint the top of the brick wall, place decking diagonally would be different visually.

Please do not paint your brick,it's lovely . Think about adding some sort of water feature.....

Looks like we wont paint the wall. And we will fix that fence and the concrete with staining perhaps. Thanks everyone for that direction. I am liking the idea of a centrepiece or something like that with plants around it or the espalier idea. Would this best suit a sandstone look?

@daniellenew In answer to your question re cost of metal cutwork screens...They are available in
1. recycled raw copper, aluminum, steel and wood
2. different thicknesses
3. different panel sizes
4. different powder coatings...colors and patinas
5. custom patterns
A standard size 4'x8' panel with a stock pattern starts around $600 each when purchasing three or more plus crating and shipping from Colorado, USA. If you are working with a GC or landscape architect or garden center, they can order the panels for you. www.parasoleil.com

This is the finished product. In the end we did not paint the wall as most of you had advised. We have doubled the height of the sandstone wall, added a sandstone bench seating area and new grass. The garden has a back row of white gingers, the trees are tuckaroos, then rd Christmas plants in front and then the lyrics, bromeliads and clyvias. The tuckaroos will eventually be a semi formal hedge detracting your eye from the wall. Also we painted that fence above as you had suggested. Thanks everyone for your advice. You were all inspirational for it.

This wall should be taken advantage of to grow some nice (flowering) trailing plants. If you have plenty of sunshine, these plants grow without any care at all. Taken from my own humble garden. LIke I said, these should do the trick if you are in a place where there is plenty of sunshine. Please remember to water them once in a while and of course prune them when they start putting out shoots this way that way. That will encourage more flowering.

I love the color you chose for the fence. Would you happen to know what it is called? I'm thinking I want to paint my eye sore neighbors fence that!

It's monument colour. As for trailing plants - thanks. Food for thought

Thanks for sharing your progress - think the charcoal tone for the fence is great. As your things grow in you are going to have a terrific space.

I would steer clear of cyprus. The birds don't like them and there are much better native options such as grevillea or bottle brush which will add constant colour and attract birds bringing more life to your back yard.

The plants need to be replace with bigger ones there is plant called creepy fig that grows on walls. Takes over and covers the whole wall. Making other planter bigger is a good idea.

Talking of attracting birds, some pictures from a friend's garden in Sydney. One fellow is settled on a grevillea. Anything edible naturally attracts birds but it's best to put what is good for birds or else due to lack of vitamins they fall ill unknown to us.. . You need a bird bath too

Garden ideas and garden art
Bamboo is pleasing and restful to the eye. Also bamboo shoots are edible. Not for birds. For humans!

Some climbing hydrangea on a trellis might look nice but it will need to be watered a lot hence the word hydra = water

Looks like hydrangeas will grow for you Aussies they'd look like this

In my opinion, I would cover the whole wall with a wood fence, kind of like the old one up there. Another suggestion could be planting more plants, but big ones. Keep us post!

The finished project looks great! One suggestion though is to have a professional mason look at the wall. Note the darker bricks in the retaining wall portion than in the adjacent building. This appears to look like excessive moisture trapped behind the brick plane. Long term some of the bricks could spall. The brick should be properly flashed and weeped to allow the moisture to escape. A mason seeing it in person would be able to confirm what is going on. Glad you didn't paint it - as most people would had used latex that would really seal the moisture in! Staining is the better approach. In the US Nawkaw and ProSoCo are two companies well known for brick staining.