First, you need to clear the grass along the fence. If you want to plant shrubs and flowers, create a bed. Curved beds look best. I would go out 10-12 feet. Add lots of wood chips until you decide what to plant.

What exposure does this area have, full south sun or morning sun?

It’s full sun until about 4pm

The shallowest bed I'd recommend is 6' depth from the fence outward. You could go deeper if if suits your project. A 30' length of bed is not all that large. Muhly is most impressive when massed and, of course, it doesn't want any shade. Above all else, I would avoid creating longitudinal stripe plant arrangements within the bed (which seems to be the most common thing to do!)

You could probably get better advice if you sketch out a simple schematic (the basic facts and nothing extra) of either a plan view (looking down on) or elevation (looking face on) of your ideas ... so that there is a way to understand what you are trying to accomplish.

Figure out if you want a formal or informal look, and yes, what kinds of plants--edibles, flowers, scent, evergreens, easy care, needs pruning or not, trees, perennials. You can do a mixed border or a very simple pattern with repetition. If it were me, I'd just do a small section in the middle and see how it goes and what I like, and then expand out from there. Unless I had a lot of dosh and if I did I'd plan out a whole mixed border and hire a landscaper attached to a good nursery to design and install it. Or I'd find a picture/plan similar to what I wanted online or in a book and copy it.

If I had that much space, I'd do a true cottage garden. Anchor it with a few small fruit trees, add herbs in all shapes and sizes, and some annuals & perennials for color and to attract pollinators. Oregano and creeping thyme make great ground covers. I'd make the bed semi-circular, and maybe add a birdbath in the middle as well. Don't try to make everything uniform, just plant it like it just sprung up there straight from nature.

A few edible ornamentals you could try are purslane, cranberry hibiscus, chaya (bees & butterflies love it!), chives, red-leaf lettuce, ornamental kale, nasturtium, viola, chamomile, small hot peppers, daylilies (all parts are edible) and society garlic. Just be sure to use organic fertilizers and pesticides if needed, and you can get food and flowers.

I think you might also consider how far you want to reach when tending the bed. Do you want to step into it to reach the stuff closest to the fence or not?

Carol, good point, but small pathways could solve that problem. I have a large bed where I left pathways so I can get in and work with the plants. If it's laid out right, it can be very pretty and well-mannered.

Love me some pink muhly grass and red fountain grass! Not sure if they grow in your zone though. Anyway, for some gorgeous ideas on using grasses and natives, and definitely "out of the box" Google my favorite landscape designer Piet Oudolf and "border plantings." His style is not easy, and not sure how it would translate to FLA, but certainly some aspects of it could be copied if you like it.

I pinkmountain - pink muhly grass is native to Florida and grows wild everywhere there is undeveloped land. You don't have to buy it, just to dig some up or get some seeds and scatter them. it's so gorgeous in the fall.

I also recommend lemon grass, which is pretty and edible.

I love your idea to mix up the plantings rather than plant one type of plant in a line along the fence! I always recommend native plants, so you'll have birds and butterflies to add interest. When tended, many natives rival the beauty of exotcs.

Here's what we did with our fence. Along with the three palms we mixed some traveler palms and a single white bird of paradise to anchor the back. Then we did climbing vines (bleeding heart and sky vine) for the fence. In front we used a variety of plantings both annuals and perennials and low growing bushes. This garden was put in, in December and is now exploding with color and coverage.

Along the back fence is my "food" garden with oregano, chives, two cherry trees and a passion fruit vine. Around the trees I think the bed comes out about 6' and it's about 4' from the fence in the other areas. (We have a very small backyard.)

@michael marcano ... it's time to jump in and respond to comments, giving the thread direction so it can make progress.

CP artist, that's gorgeous! Unfortunately, it seems the OP has abandoned this thread, but at least we reading it can get some info.

cpartist your yard is pretty. I have travels palms and I don't really care for them... however, I am on the wide part of the Intercoastal and the WIND tears them up... yours look nice, but if Michael wants to put them in he can have mind... come and dig.... I cut them down and they come right back...

A lot of people only peruse forums once or twice a month. They are busy IMPLEMENTING their ideas. LOVE your photos CPA! Also that kind of planting can be implemented one curve at a time as money and time and resources allow. It's a good example of a long term, flexible plan. The aesthetic is to have something tying it together, in your case the arrangement of the plants, and the edging.

Thank you all. I can't take most of the credit as I have the most amazing horticulturist working with me. I'm originally a northern girl. Know my northern plants (and miss some like my bulbs and my peonies). She's born and bred here and she's young and enthusiastic and believes in no pesticides.

It took me almost a year to find her and we meshed immediately. I refuse to use any poisons on the yard (which is why in the back we went with fake grass) and I told her I wanted vines that would cover the fence and give me blooms as often as possible as well as lots of flowers. I also said it needs to attract lots of birds and butterflies (and bees!)

On the side and the front of the house we are using NO GRASS at all. We've already planted perennial peanut and dwarf mondo grass instead of grass.

I have travels palms and I don't really care for them... however, I am on the wide part of the Intercoastal and the WIND tears them up...

I'm on a narrow (9100 square feet) lot and we only have 5' setbacks so I wanted plants that would help hide the neighbors behind me (much as I do like them!). Our original landscaper planted the foxtail palms but when I started to talk to him about the rest, his ideas were to put it mildly a bore. Areca palms, podacarpus, etc. What i call the usual.

Later I'll start a thread showing my side yard because what she did there is just spectacular.

Also that kind of planting can be implemented one curve at a time as money and time and resources allow. It's a good example of a long term, flexible plan. The aesthetic is to have something tying it together, in your case the arrangement of the plants, and the edging.

Exactly. And we can add and subtract as needed. We had a few things that didn't like where they were. We moved them to happier places on the property.

Wow , overwhel by the response. Will take time tomorrow to read through the comments and take your advice. Thank you all so much! Once I decide on a plan, if anyone wants to come help plant, let me know!! :)