Thanks for reporting back. It is always interesting to see what people do after asking for help. I am glad that the finished product did not end up at all like your original (very unrealistic) mockup. I suspect that the pictures were not taken during your garden's peak season. I am sure that it will look much nicer when it is full of plants and after some of your ornamental plants have a few seasons of maturity.

As far as aesthetics go...what ideas do you have to make this area "pretty"? Here are a few of my thoughts....

The fence/wall is a bit plain, so anything to dress it up a little would help. The raised beds might look a bit better with some trim along the top. I am thinking of something like the "Top Rail Kit" as described at this site:
http://www.urbangardencenter.com/products/raisedbeds/raisedbeds/index.html

I would focus on the bed with the rocks and the barrel planters. Right now it looks a bit jumbled and the rocks looks like they were just plopped down. This seems like an opportunity to create a planting with a lot of "wow" so that it serves as a focal point for somebody approaching your house.

- Brent

Thanks, Brent...I always thought it was polite to post updates but, I wasn't sure if anyone was interested.

To address some of your comments (thanks, btw):

You are right about the pictures...they were taken Saturday (definitely not peak season). Actually, everything had been planted in Sept, so it was doing pretty good given the short amount of time. :)

As for aesthetics, I hope to "cover" the raised beds with perennials (smallish) and I hope my lavendar and rosemary fill in a bit. I do like the top rail. In front of the wall, we'll be doing grapes, so they'll be real pretty in the spring/summer and rather woody in the winter. :)

As for the area with rocks/barrels...hahaha, those rocks *were* just plopped down! You know how heavy they are?? haha My brother brought them up for my Christmas present. :) Any idea on how to make them look natural and not "plopped"? :) That is also the area that has these weedy looking, tall yellow flowers that the finches love. There is also a pond(behind the barrels)that isn't visible in the pics for our area frogs. So, I was hoping for the whimsical, natural type area.

This picture shows the yellow flowers I am talking about (you can ignore my kiddos in their Halloween costumes! I am at work and only had access to this photo)...
{{gwi:7990}}

LOL Your son went as a plague?! One year, when my youngest was recovering from Chicken Pox, she went as a contagious disease. (by that time she wasn't, but the spots really stood out)

I agree with Brent, putting a flat board along the top of the raised beds would give them a nice finished look. And think of how easy they'll be to take care of if you can just sit on the edge while you're weeding. Once your plantings mature, I think it's going to look wonderfully welcoming, (a garden in the desert!) but then, I'm the kind of person who'd be walking along nibbling my way to the front door. At any rate, if you didn't last year, you must plant at least one cherry tomato, or even better, one round red and one yellow pear. Perfect snack food for small children.

Oh, those yellow flowers are a tough little wildflower called Coreopsis, AKA Tickseed. You're right, birds do love them. If you'd like more, just pull the plant up when they go to seed and shake them over the new spot.

Yeah, my son loves frogs so, it seemed to be fitting to cover him in frogs. :) I didn't think anyone would get it, so I made the sign for clarity.

Anyhow, my flowers are kind of a love-hate relationship. I got the seeds from my grandma (she has since passed) and btwn rememberance of my grandma and lovin' the finches, I can't get rid of the plant. Besides, I tried and I *really* can't get rid of them. lol The plant is now on both sides of the walkway, so we'll see what happens. :)

As for tomatoes...I usually have too many...at least 4 kinds because I can never pick just one. I *love* cherry tomatoes and my dh likes the pear ones. Can you believe my kids don't like tomatoes?? I have no idea where that one came from. My ds will eat everything...fish eggs, sushi, avocado, spinach, chard, etc...but won't eat tomatoes. Strange child.

I'll show my hubby the posts and the 2 votes for the top rail. :)

I rather appreciate posts like this - thanks for providing the updates! I think they provide a much needed dose of reality that illustrates how needs/wants and budget factor heavily into the final garden design.

A couple of thoughts: I realize the garden is very newly planted and needs some time to mature before providing a true picture, however I'd encourage you to research under the term "potager" for some additional input that may help. Potagers are very functional kitchen or edible gardens that have been expanded to include some purely ornamental plants to extend the interest. They often include structures (similar to your vine teepee) to provide some height and verticality as well as interest or whimsy and you might want to include one that would support a flowering vine. You are off to a good start with this, but I think it could be expanded to become a real feature and less of a more practical/functional approach.

As for the barrel/rock area, I might approach that differently. I'd consider removing the barrels in favor of a planting that is a bit more of a traditional entry planting (the coreopsis can easily be moved out into the raised bed area). I might mound the area with additional soil if space provides without infringing on the pond. The rocks will look a bit more natural if you consider a bit better placement and imbed them into a low mound - generally it is recommended that 1/3 to 1/2 of the rock/boulder be below ground level for a natural look. Add something with a bit more height as a focal point - a dwarf conifer, an attractive evergreen shrub or even a small Japanese maple (great accent to any water feature) and appropriate underplantings. Personally, I'd focus on things that tended to be evergreen for this area, just so the area looked lush and green year round.

And finally, I'd add more color to the bed on the outside of the wall - what about some roses? In your area, hebes, gardenias or other smaller flowering shrubs would work well also.

If you can add a bit more year round presence and wait for the plants to fill in and mature, I think you will have a very attractive and highly functional front garden. It's not everyone's idea of what an entry garden should be but there's no reason why it cannot be be practical and pretty and fit your budget and your requirements.

I agree with Pam. It is always a delight to see how these amorphous projects that we banter about with words finally come to fruition. In the real world that most of us live in, our homes may never become a horticultural dreamworks. However, they can certainly serve to enhance the quality of life.

Gardens are often a reflection of the gardener. They often also lend a glimpse of life stages. Obviously, children are (and should be) central at this stage of your life.

Practicality is one of the noble traits of motherhood. However, I wish to reinforce the notion that gardens can (and I believe for the most part, should) be practical and pretty. Particularly in new gardens, I make use of leaf lettuces, which come in a wide range of textures and colors. They blast out of the ground and start adding needed splashes of color the moment they break ground. They fill in and look great while other plants are gaining maturity. Their use in salads and garnishes (as well as gifts to friends and neighbors) satisfies your need to be practical while providing almost instant color and pizzazz to your garden entry. A couple of bucks worth of seeds (that your kids can plant) is a very practical investment.

IronBelly