Here are a couple more photos

Help me!

Have you considered designing your courtyard to really enhance the Japanese feel, with a water feature which will,look great year round? Here are some inspiration pictures.

I have a summer home in Long Beach, WA so the climate should be fairly similar. People always think of this area as having so much rain, but in the summer when it is hot and sunny things can get dried out in a hurry. When plants are young they don't tolerate being dry for long. Especially watch that small bed under the bay window. The heat absorbed by the pavers and reflected off the house make that a hot, dry bed. I think a few big pots looks way better than a lot of little ones. Yes, they are expensive and a pain to move. But if you want to make a statement, you need a few big things. I like the suggestion to put the tree in the ground (but don't forget it will grow and don't plant it so close to the fence. Give it lots of room. I would not put a row of smaller planters by the chimney. Actually you might try inverting one and placing the other on top of it to add some height. Pull things out from the edge just like you would if you were decorating a room in your house. I like what you were doing with the gravel along the fence, but add some more gravel to make it denser and punch up the look.

Hotzim I agree with you about the planting being to close to the fence. I did originally have huge pots but it. Looked like I was packing to move. As I mentioned in my first comment the soil is very root bound from the gigantic popular trees next door. It is totally dry in the warmer months as they soak up all the water.
I am not looking for an oriental look but rather more Mediterranean. And something that looks as good in the colder months as the warmer months. I don't mind spending some money, but it needs to be easy up keep. As I live alone and have some health issues.

Cute dog!!

I think your garden is off to a good start.

I think that you should remove all of the white rocks, they are messy looking because they look like an afterthought... Or like you ran out of rock.

I also don't think it is working as mulch and holding in moisture, so another reason to remove them.

I am wondering if some sort of edging that will allow you to add more soil to your beds would be helpful, and then, a good layer of wood mulch.

If you are going to use pots, go big, and have them all the same. 3 large ones look nicer than a bunch of little ones.

By the fireplace, all those pots aren't working. It looks like a flower pot store. Maybe just a square table with two chairs up against it would look better. Somewhere to sit with a drink.

Handyman .....funny I have had a few friends say the same about the rocks. I did do the mulch thing, but with the tons of leaves, they just got lost and it became an issue for cleanup, 5 - 40 ft. Popular tree 1 - 20 ft maple and 1 - 30 ft birch next to me plus a pine and cedar.

Agree about the pots, what about having soil brought in and planting some bushes? With a ground cover? I don't know but maybe

You could bring in some soil, some peat and lime, compost...and I don't think you would be totally wrong to hire someone to hack a path through some of those tree roots so that YOU can use YOUR garden.

Well, that is always the problem with leaves, but I can't imagine taking up with rocks is any better, lol! And unfortunately, mulch is not something you just do once and are done with it. It needs to be "refreshed" a bit each year.

All those trees are yours? If so, you may want to consider removing a couple. A tree arborist would be able to make suggestions about li bing up, or which ones would be better to remove. They would be able to answer whether you can "hack" any of the roots out without killing the neighbors trees.

Yes, you could plant more bushes, but that means more upkeep. A groundcover like pachysandra can fill in areas, it stays low, and no need to mulch once it is in solid. You can still have the large pots as well.

Remove all of your garden doodads and replan and redesign the beds. Top pic has too many things, trying to fill up space: metal thing, stepping stone(?) pedestal to a bird bath(?) round thing, owl.. Too much stuff.

It may also be a good time to talk to your neighbor about how unfortunately the trees have become a nuisance impeding enjoyment of your property, and how can the two of you remedy that?
Some reading...
http://www.ci.oakdale.mn.us/vertical/sites/{9D2ABE6F-4847-480E-9780-B9885C59543F}/uploads/{8B498B46-E77B-4601-A413-09A6ED47341B}.PDF

Hi there, fellow PNW gardener. I, too have a difficult spot of dry shade under a mature maple tree with massive roots. I tried and failed to grow many things but then discovered epimedium. It's lovely and hardy and mostly evergreen. Bishop's weed also does well. It can be invasive in better growing conditions but should be easy to contain in your circumstances. Plus, to my eye, it's good-looking.

My advice is to remove the white rocks. If you want rocks consider a couple of large boulders, or some more attractive rock (river rock?). Plant a couple of large pots with dwarf conifers that will look good all year. The smaller pots can be used for seasonal color. It's going to be great. Keep going.

Wander around your neighborhood and note (or better yet, take pictures of) the most common and healthiest garden plants in the area. Then either look them up online or take your list/pictures to a local nursery to find what are probably bomb-proof plants for your locale. Being super practical about what you plant will go a long way towards success!

If the soil is very poor, or those roots are really stopping your own plants from growing, you could have low retaining walls built to create raised beds in all your planting spots.

You have lots of walls around, so don't forget to make use of then for vines etc. With climbing plants and containers and a small fountain you could have a lovely Mediterranean courtyard feel...just remember to get the look from clever design rather than plants that won't thrive in your garden.

Maybe you could mount a wall fountain so Winston can't reach it? That would give a Mediterranean feel. Also round rocks that are larger would replace the white gravel nicely. Could you do an olive tree in a large pot? Consider your colors of pots and cushions for a Mediterranean feel as well.

This is odd, when I commented there was already an earlier comment about the Japanese feel of the space. The person made lots and lots of suggestions, and I was going off those with mine. Now they are gone. Odd.

So, a Med feel. I still think a water feature is a good way to go, especially if you can keep it up out of Winston's reach. You should be able to use it year round in your area. I have a fountain here, and it gets very cold during the winters. The leaves from the neighbors' trees may be a problem, but they will be a problem no matter what you do.

I also agree that you want to remove all the small objects in the garden, then use a few large pots and a simple mulch that will look good year round (with refreshing/adding when your gardener comes).

Hi carol you are right about the the leaves, it has been an on going issue for the whole street! I did have a fountain but should try one that is out of his reach. And doesn't fill up with leaves

Listen to the handyman.

Based on your intitial statement: "there is nothing to attract your intention" - There is too much to attract your attention in the initial photos, one of this, one of that is unsettling, I agree, even though they are your treasures. Add lots of one thing, (like the large rug in your home), whether it is gravel or ground cover, and then select the appropriate accent for that area.

Regarding the dry soil and the tree roots, on your gardener's semiannual visit, have him cut all of the tree roots and remove them, and rototil or spade in humus or more fibrous soil into the existing bed areas and plant some excitement of taller shrubs with flowers and fragrance and foliage and birds and butterflies, - and guests and neighbors and children, and dogs and cats too.

Spice up your garden, spice up your life.