area behind the retaininh wall. help!

Don't choose bonsai if you want no maintenance. They need lots of attention. An her garden might work nicely in a raised bed if the area is in full sun. Which direction does it face?

herb not her.

were facing west. raised beds could be good. ideas on specific beds and plants? I've gotta emphasize our lack of green fingers and need for low maintenance. thanks!

Usually, with an herb garden, one picks the herbs one likes to eat and then allows them the allotted space the plant requires. Tall plants in back, short plants in front. There's not much designing to it. You can probably fit 10 or 15 different herbs, depending on what you want to grow, in the raised bed.

cilantro, rosemary, thyme, mint, maybe basil. any advice on how to setup the beds? will these grow thru the winter? can I buy beds & seeds online? recommendations?

thx. I know nothing about this. Mint grows like wildwire?

yes

lemongrass is a hardy option

What you have there is a raised bed. There's no need to buy another one. You'd be wasting your money and it would look silly plonked on top of what is already a fine bed with a well built retaining wall.

Regarding the herbs - you need to list what you want to grow and then research each one Individually. 'Herbs' is just a label describing the way certain plants are used, rather than defining a particular type of plant from a botanical point of view. Different herbs grow in different ways and require different conditions. Some are woody shrubs which will be permanent features of the bed. Eg rosemary, bay, lemon verbena. Some are hardy perennials which will die back in winter to a certain extent but return each spring. Eg mint, fennel, sorrel. Some are annuals or biennials which need to be grown from seed every year. Eg basil, cilantro, parsley. Some need full sun. Eg thyme, sage, oregano. Some can take a bit of shade. Eg dill, lovage.

And there will always be some maintenance. Weeding, seed sowing, trimming, cutting back dead stems in winter, etc. But nothing difficult or very time consuming.

great comments floral_uk!
I see your point on the already raised bed. the only thing I've even attempted to grow on this bed is jasmine. its to the right of that one out of control bush. here's a pic of the jasmine below.
the bed gets shade in the morning and sun in the afternoon. i only want to develop the area to the right of the bush/jasmine. how would you go about this, and what would you grow?
Appreciate your insight

The 'out of control' bush is a Plumbago auriculata. It's not out of control, it's just growing as nature intended. If you want something smaller you either need to plant something different or prune it. The Trachelospermum is a vine. The Plumbago is a sprawling shrub. Neither is going to make a neat shaped blob and both will need some maintenance in the form of a little pruning now and again.

If it was my garden I'd simply dig it over and plant the herbs I want, after having researched their size and cultural requirements (light, water, etc.) Most herbs don't need rich soil so I would bother to amend it.

thanks floral_uk!

cilantro on left. mint on right. more herbs(basil etc) coming in the mail. those will not go in pots, so I need to prep the land around these pots. whats that pesky insect at the bottom right of my mint plant? advice on keeping insects away? cheers