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

Thanks ThinMan. I was afraid there wouldn't be an easy solution. I have just planted ice plant, gallardia and gazania around the top of the rocks hoping they might help some when they mature.
I think I must not have explained myself very well. I'm talking about coming in 1' from the rock wall on the existing concrete patio and mortaring a brick planter around the two sides. Does that make better sense?

Are you talking about covering up the rocks with the planter?

I'd be tempted to pull out all the rocks and reshape the slope a bit. Maybe a series of retaining walls instead if just one at the base. I'd try to slow down water with Swales or checks.

trovesoftrilliums, No, I'm talking about building a planter on the patio itself. Sure wish I could explain myself better.
Does the pic help? I'm not good at this, but the pink lines would be the built up bricks and I would plant between the bricks and rock wall.
And I don't understand swales and checks. Thank you for your help.

Do you think I could plant an evergreen perennial ground cover to help take up water and not disturb the veggies? Could I plant any small evergreen somethings near the top of the rocks that would help?
I will plant this area back into smallish evergreens next year if I have to and plant just tomatoes and cucumbers mixed in. Any suggestions for what to plant for water retention?

I get it now, Sandi. I think the brick planter would probably slow down the water, but not stop it completely. Bricks and mortar joints usually aren't water tight unless they are sealed with some kind of tarry waterproofing.

Looking at the way the ground slopes down toward your rock wall, I think it's amazing that you don't have a worse water problem, especially during a rain.

I think your veggies would suffer to some extent from any competition from ground cover, but maybe not much the first year.

For water retention, it seems to me that the bigger the plants are, the bigger their root system will be, and the more effective it will be at soaking up water. That's why your big old bushes were doing such a good job. It will probably take some years to build up the roots, no matter what you plant.

TM

ThinMan, thank you for your help.
I'm already working on getting the adjacent area ready for veggies next year so will start adding perennials in this area and just suffer until the root systems help.

the only way you can fix a water problem is laying down weeping tiles so water is drained out of the area. That's a bit of work and expense.

ianna, I wouldn't mind the work if I knew how to do it, but the expense would be too much. I think the water problemt will go away after the bank is planted nicely. Thank you for your help. I don't know what weeping tiles are so I'm going to google now.