For a first garden, I don't think it's too big. Just have fun with it and try a variety of plants, including summer bulbs. For a landscape bed, however, it's a bit busy on the curves and I can't say that I get overjoyed about beds that pen in walks. Still, I wouldn't change it now. Experiment with plants and learn as you go.

those are good points. definitely something to think about, especially the walkway bit . thanks

Do you know the name of the Rose you have?

I agree with Yarvark that it’s not too big for a first garden, but the curves do seem a bit busy. One question - do you often need to travel from the paved area on the left to the door or the paved patio area on the right? If so, that’s now quite a long walk to go around your flower bed. You may want to provide space for a pathway through the garden bed.

You’re off to a great start! Now is the time to get acquainted with a great local nursery. Do not use a big box store as you would be unlikely to get knowledgeable advice. If you take photos with you to the nursery, you can ask your questions. They will need to know how much sun this area gets and perhaps a colour scheme that you like. For instance, do you like cool, pastel colours (pinks, purples, blues, whites) or do you lean toward hot colours (reds, yellows, oranges.) Tell them that you’re a beginner and want to start with some easy plants that require just basic maintenance. You might want to play off the colour of your rose. The nice thing about gardening is that you can experiment and change things along the way. So have fun! (Don’t forget your neighbours. You may have some avid gardeners close by who can give you advice and possibly split off some perennials.)

Oh you are in for so much fun! Good idea to start with mostly annuals (plants that last only one summer). That way, you're not tied in to a color scheme or flower bed shape too early.

Between the rose and wall: it's likely to be dry, and you don't want a tall plant to interfere with the rose bush. So probably a nursery would recommend succulents, like 'hens and chicks' that will stay low and tolerate dry conditions.

Easy colorful annuals for your flower beds would include petunias, marigolds, and zinnias. Often the small plants at the store or nursery will already be in flower which is handy for picking the color you like. When you plant them, pinch off any flowers and buds so that the plant can establish itself before putting all its energy into making flowers.

For a smallish tree in zone 7a with lots of sun that isn't too messy near a patio ... so many choices. Native dogwood, korean dogwood, royal star magnolia, japanese maples, crepe myrtles, lots more ... best talk with a plant nursery near you for their recommendation.

As you get into gardening, order a plant catalog or two. Wayside Gardens and White Flower Farm are classics ... you can learn alot from paging through and dreaming :-)

The circle area is not anywhere close to be large enough to accept a tree, even a very small one. Even a tree form hydrangea (really just a shrub trained as a small tree) will overwhelm that space. If you like roses and need some height, a tree rose could work. And still leave plenty of room at its base for other flowering plants.

A vine on an obelisk could work in that location as well.

that squiggle you have in the bed edge.. drag out your mower.. and see if you can cut it.. without extending the mower into the garden bed.. i bet you cant.. and now would be the time to change that so you can easily mow it.. and not have to pull out the weed whip ...

i used to put the blades down low on my riding lawn maower.. and design the bed edge with that ... so i never had to slow down whle mowing.. and i had no interest in weedwhipping 5 acres .. so design was imperative ... [that red thing isnt your mower is it???]

how about a pic including the deck.. for better ideas on the tree or probably better.. a shrub pruned into tree shape ..

nothing but low plants goes behind the rose .. that thing will need heavy pruning to keep it like that.. and you need somewhere to stand while you do it.. preferably not on a plant ... unless some forgiving ground cover that doesnt care if you walk on it ...

when it blooms.. you might get an ID on the rose.. in one of the rose forums.. or the name that plant forum ... but include this forum.. so we can follow..

the problem with rose names .. is there are tens of thousands of named plants.. and unless its is rather common.. you may never know the name of it.. but it will be fun trying to find out ... but you will find out its type.. so you can figure out how to prune it ...

ken

@emmarene9 I dont know the name of the rose , but I plan on doing an id once it blooms

@pds290 the shed behind the grey wall has 3 access points to it. so we should be fine. but I am planning on extending my deck out so I need to plan a new walk way .. so much to think about!

@btaylor10. thank you! I am headed to the nursery.. choosing plants is the most exciting part for me

@nockel_kg thanks for the ideas.. just explored those websites, very cool.

@gardengal48 the circle has a 6ft diameter now. how bug do you think it needs to be? I like the idea of an obelisk

@ken_adrian that's definitely some good advice that I will be using. I have a riding mower. I will post the pic of the deck in a bit . we are going to be extending it out . I have this vision of waking upto a tree top filled with flowers and sitting on my deck and enjoying my cuppa. hopefully it turns out a beautiful

That is still very tight. Tree form hydrangeas can be as much as 12-15' tall and with an 8' spread. Hard to keep them much smaller, even with annual pruning. Same with most other shrubs trained into a tree form

But a flowering vine on an obelisk can work in a very tight space and still provide height. A clematis could be a perennial choice or there are many annuals that could work until you get your gardening feet wet :-) Black eyed Susan vine, cardinal climber/cypress vine, hyacinth bean or morning glory are all possible and colorful choices.

so this is the new shape of the little garden . I am beginning to realise that I may not be able to plant everything I want in it before summer kicks in completely. I am adding top soil, compost and some soil conditioner in and covering it with landscape paper. my questions are if 1. I should cover it with land scape paper till I am ready to plant at fall 2. do I need to keep it watered? 3. can I top it with 1 inch of mulch now and then remove the mulch and plant again in fall . I will add about 3- 4 inches then.

You're mainly going to be planting small plants. I would get on it ASAP and have it "cooking" all summer long ... as you're virtually finished with the bed. (The line looks much better.) Plant it. Water it. Enjoy it. Learn from it. Fix whatever you want to change in the fall.

I did want to mention, since I see someone mentioned a clematis growing on an obelisk above, if you want to plant two clematis together for longer bloom time - great - just make sure they’re the same “Prune Group.” Prune group 2 you leave mostly alone minus clipping off any dead growth in the spring. Prune type 3 you clip to 12” above the ground in the late winter/early spring. Group 3 only blooms on new wood. You don’t want to plant the old wood and new wood types together because trying to prune one without pruning the other would be a nightmare.

Also make sure the max height of the clematis matches your obelisk height. You don’t want to get a clematis that grows 10-12’ tall and have a 5’ obelisk for it. I recommend getting two of various heights so you can really fill out the obelisk. On an 8’ tall obelisk, you could have a 3-4’ clematis and a 6-8’ clematis, so you’ve got blooms over the whole thing. Hpotter.com has some of the prettiest obelisk if you’re looking for a high quality one. I did see several at my local nursery today too, so check out the smaller nurseries too.

That looks great for a first garden, you're a natural lol

Great advice so far. As far as a planting in the center keep in mind that you'll be looking down from the deck, so you'll look down upon a clematis or even a tree hydrangea since they're shorter options.

I think a rounded or horizontal tree such as a dogwood or redbud will spread too much towards the deck and patio and close it all in too much. A more upright crape myrtle would be nice to look into off the deck, assuming it's a variety which grows to at least ten feet or more.

If you're out there mostly in the summer a crape myrtle or hydrangea or possibly rose of sharon would bloom for you to see from your deck. Other small trees are mostly spring shows and then just foliage... which isn't bad either if you're trying to block a neighbor.