I know Plumeria grow in tropical type areas of the world, but what is you climate type. Do you get a lot rain? What is the cement block wall in the right side of the top picture?

Hi Johnnymac, I live in Southern California so it grows very well. The cement block wall on the right is a planter that holds a row of trees (plum, lemon and orange), however one of the planters has two types of lavender growing. The more I write these out the more I realize I have a hodge-podge garden.

Hi rozaida If you don't need this area for kids or dogs I would just take down the picket fence and leave the rose covered arbor - then clean up the area and make it part of the yard . Maybe add some ground cover or more plantings. I don't know why this area was fenced off- but it should go.

Hi Lefty47, thanks for the suggestion. I am leaning towards taking the fence down. It was there when I bought the house and at the time seemed quaint but now I'm looking to change things up a bit. It doesn't help that there aren't a lot of flowers blooming this winter.

Hi rozaida -- If the hodge -podge plants bother you then I would remove everything you don't like and make a plan based on 5 kinds of plants , Get some more of the ones you kept and then plant some ornamental grasses - some flowering bushes- some ground covers ( some of these flower all year) and plant in multibles. And you can grow Japenese grass in California - you don't have to mow it and it looks great and it's very soft. You can add some big rocks and colored gravel or colored landscape GLASS. Even a water feature is nice and adds personality. Houzz has lots of landscaping ideas. And don't forget to add a few big art pieces - and no I don't mean gnomes or silly little animals. I would paint the planter with a blast of color like a rich red or Greek Blue what ever your favorite is. Use a good quality masonary paint. I would also paint or stain the fence Black - it shows off the plants and looks great at night with some yard lighting and up lights for the trees. I would also get rid of the lathing from the top of the fence .

I think this 10 x 30 area was meant to be an attractive place to hide garden stuff: wheel barrows, terra-cotta pots, soil, mulch, tools and other garden items. This is a good idea b/c the fence and arbor and roses are attractive and behind can rest all of the unattractive garden equipment. The only problem is if cans and such are tall enough to be seen over the fence, they distract from the beauty of the fence and arbor. So, the garden equipment you store there should be shorter than the fence. If you want to store tall things there plant a line of shrubs that will grow fairly tall behind the fence on each side of the arbor. Japanese Pittosporum would be one choice http://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+pittosporum&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8DoWT7ioOuOJiAKNr73ZDw&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=618

If you do not need the area for tools, I would keep the the fence and arbor b/c they make a nice focal point, almost like having a view. I would pull out the flowers in front of the fence and plant Lirope along the fence. It grows fast and is easy care, a variegated leaf would be nice http://www.google.com/search?q=liriope&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=iTwWT4ewG4StiQLS5tC-Dw&ved=0CFUQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=618

This shows the grass-like variegated Lirope

If you put down landscape cloth and filled the area with pea gravel, it would be less muddy for the tools or if kids want to play “house’.

I love the stepping stones I see there, especially the free-form cement ones, but the round ones are nice, too. Try to use they somewhere in your yard, they’re really nice!

On top of the wall I’d pull out the lavender (it’s nice, but I think something else will be better) and plant low growing Rosemary all along the planter. It grows fast doesn’t need much water and will give the various tree

continued It grows fast doesn’t need much water and will give the various trees a more cohesive look. The low growing plant that looks a little like lavender is Rosemary

Hi j222b,

You give some really great suggestions. I like the idea of the Rosemary giving a cohesive look to all the trees. I'm not too familiar with Rosemary but if not this I will still use something to line the entire planter (approx 60 ft).

Pulling the existing plants/shrubs from the front of the fence is a must. They just don't flower or grow the way they used to and I think something with a splash of color would be nice.

Still on the fence about the fence but the more I change things around it the better feel I'll get for what I should do.

Thanks again for the great suggestions and wish me luck!

Hi Lefty 47,

I agree about the covering the cinder block wall but not quite sure about the color.

Funny, I've never owned a gnome or little yard animals....there's enough live ones roaming around the neighborhood as it is!

Thanks for the great suggestions and I hope to post pictures of my backyard soon.

Some people go crazy with the little animal statues - their are a few in my area . I am looking for some concrete Orbs for my yard . Be brave -- a strong splash of color in the garden is fun . Whats your fav color !

Since some people have asked about the planter adjacent to the fenced area, I thought I'd post a picture to give a better idea of how things look in the summer time. Please excuse the pile of crafts on the deck, we were doing some house cleaning.

Two other ground covers other than Rosemary for under the fruit trees that grow very well without much care or water in your area are MYOPORUM http://www.google.com/search?q=myoporum&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvnsfd&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=1UwYT-30MsOviQLOsKTGCA&sqi=2&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=618

and GAZANIA http://www.google.com/search?q=myoporum&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvnsfd&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=1UwYT-30MsOviQLOsKTGCA&sqi=2&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=618#hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=gazania&pbx=1&oq=gazania&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=99888l102142l0l102865l7l7l0l0l0l0l221l1084l0.6.1l7l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=79cc85a52d5b8ca9&biw=1280&bih=618

That’s a long wall. The brick edging at the bottom and top is nice. I’d cover some or all of the wall, though. If you can remove a few bricks from the center of the base of the wall, ficus (creeping fig) or ivy might be nice there growing up the wall and hiding a bit of it. You’ll have to prune the ficus / ivy after a while so it does not grow over the pretty brick on top and just stays on the wall. I like to use anchors & ties until it catches on to the wall. I put anchors on with GE SIlicone not the glue the anchors come with. If you like the creeping fig these you could buy 2 more and space them at the wall base, too.

Hi j222b,

Thanks, I REALLY like the gazanias. With there being so much green between the lawn, the trees and my orchids, the yellow will really add some well needed color.