Thanks for the frank assessment, marcinde. You can see gaps at the back corner because we haven't finished. We needed to get a rotor blade that could cut masonry, but we were trying to lay things out to get a sense of the sizes we needed. Yeah, the material we used was labeled "wall" at the big-box store where we got them. Perhaps misleading. Today we had a nice long talk at the local, independent garden center, showing them pictures of what we've done so far. They gave some advice on how we could salvage the work we've done and make use of the materials we have. First, they suggested using a surface bond on the inside of the walls, rather than dismantling the wall and using mortar. Next, line the inside with landscaper's cloth. Then, make sure to really tamp down that earth that we use to fill the bed, tamping down each layer as we go. Then leave it all for a week to further settle, before we start planting. We are going to give it a go, and hope for the best. But we welcome further input. Thanks, MSP & JLP

@ oilpainter - regarding draining ditch, the stuff blocking was removed the day after it created flooding of my neighbors yard and mine. What i was trying to communicate was that because of the blocked storm drain the heavy rain we had and subsequent flooding was the final blow to the rotted out retainig wall that's in place. @ lehua13 - thanks for the ratio. I was thinking 2:1 closest to my house but towards the rear of the backyard i was thinking a steeper slope. Current plan is for the neighbor to kick in on the fence if that holds then I will suggest putting the fence on the top of the slope. Did you do the work yourself and how hard was it? What tools or advice can you give based on your experience? @ Audric - The only significant slope is between my backyard and my neighbors. There are other areas around his house and that sit slightly higher but not significant. The only time any significant draining from his yard has gone into mine was when we had heavy rainfall and the storm drain that sits closest to his house was blocked by construction materials which forced water into his yard and then into mine.

So the overgrown bushes, and especially their roots, must have soaked up and slowed down the water so that your patio stayed dry before, huh? Sorry to be a downer, but I'd be surprised if there is anything you could do with bricks and plants that would stop the water from coming down any time soon. Maybe eventually the plants might develop enough roots to do the job, but if it's going to be a veggie garden it doesn't seem to me that you would get enough. Installing drainage tile behind the base of the wall would work, but that's a ton of work, and would probably mean rebuilding the wall. I get tired just thinking about it. You could try digging down a foot like you were thinking and then lay the drain tile in that trench, covering it with small stones and landscape fabric. That might intercept enough surface water to do what you need. Good luck. ThinMan

Edging & paths: You might find you like the flexibility of no edging this year, see how you enjoy your space, and make changes in width of paths or size of beds for next year. Wider paths 3' or more are nice because once the plants are producing they tend to lean out into your path. Even if you won't use a wheelbarrow through them while harvesting you might carry a bucket or shovel & it might catch onto a plant if your path is narrow. A few years ago we built wooden raised beds & converted part of our garden space to the SFG intensive planting. The squares fill quickly even though we plant squashes, tomatoes, peppers, and perennial edibles (fruit trees, rhubarb, strawberry, raspberry, topsetting garlic, herbs, etc.) in our regular garden spaces not the wooden sided beds. The space greedy plants are rotated in a few pockets of open ground amongst the perennial edibles. I have permanent paths of wood chips or straw mulch that define space & keep weeds down. In fall as needed, I move path materials to beds for winter sheet mulching & put new stuff on paths. We've been gardening here for 20 years, so it wasn't all built one spring, but each year we add something. The soil building & renewing process is important to figure into your garden space. If you figure out how to compost in place on top of your beds it won't seem so difficult to make enough compost to keep it going. I'm a different gardener than when we 1st started, so I'm glad I didn't have defined beds to begin with because I not only grow different crops, but the way I grow them is entirely different. I tend to start too many garden projects in spring that take me all summer to catch up, so if you're done designing & want to be tending plants instead -- go for it! Remind yourself that the other part of gardening is resting in it!