Lots of good work already, Chris! How are the neighbors?
Do you have to leave the meter open for the meter reader? That will make a difference what you do with that bed.

Aaargh! Forgot about the meter reader! Yikes. I guess I'll have to build in a few steps for that. Thanks for pointing that out, Debbie.

Neighbors are super. Which is a good thing since it's a shared driveway. They have a knack of seeming to utterly mind their own business day-to-day but are very friendly when we stop to chat in the driveway. I don't even see the other neighbors, because of the large hedge on the other sides. All around, a pretty fine deal so far :)

Great house, Chris! I think your house is begging for some trellises - a great place to train some tomatoes, morning glories, runner beans, etc. I suppose my one concern about the placement of your bed would be drainage. Have you had an water problems thus far in your cellar? I think that if it were me I would be planting xeric shrubs and flowers to avoid adding more water up against the foundation. Maybe you are not the proud owner of sticky clay soil like mine ;-)... If you've got good drainage and no water problems, I think it would be a great place for a kitchen garden - you would have amazing luck with sun-loving veges up against that white wall!

I look forward to seeing it take shape!

Find out if your reader meter actually has to read your meter. My meter reader-guy carries a handheld reader and he just has to be able to point it at the meter and the machine reads it from 12 or 15 feet away, sort of like a TV remote. I have sweet autumn clematis over all the junk -- my phone, cable, electric are about 4 feet off the ground but 4 feet wide! In front of that is a callicarpa(beautyberry bush)

He gets in the every spring and pulls the vines apart with a vengence, but SAC doesn't mind and gets its revenge in the autumn when the bees are buzzing.

Lime

What about adding several more patio blocks so that you can position the grill in front of the airconditioner as a sorta screen to block the ugly view of a air...I think it might also unclutter the patio part so that you would be able to enjoy more so the new bed your creating...might find room for a chair or bistro table t hen to sit and enjoy your new bed or watch the grill while it cooks? A inexpensive arbor trellis across the front entry of it.might also add dimmension....

Stepping stones to the meter...and to hide it a bit even..what about a two armed shepards hook with several hanging baskets..just be sure to plant heat hardy, low water plants in the baskets..and go with BIG baskets and water crystals in the dirt. That might hide a bit the meter without obstructing the ability to read it.

I too, would watch drainage...you might want to consider adding the cellar window cover over that window also and seal it maybe?

Maybe some large grasses or small ornamental tree near the corner? I think it could benefit from some height and movement...

Keep scale in mind...don't just fill it with little stuff...layer maybe?

A bird bath or fountain in the middle might be nice? The bowl only portion might be a solution for the end of your retaining wall? A large enough one would cover that situation maybe? What about a concrete figure there? A finial type even? Or a one of those short concrete pillars with a light? Solar if electric is a problem? or statue or a pot on it? As kind of a anchoring feature of the wall?

Another inexpensive dimmension might be a barrel on its side with flowers spilling out? I think its a good start and you have lots of options!

Lots of random ideas. I see you have a nice birdbath and bistro table that you prolly want to reuse..

Wow, you've been motivated and busy!

I agree about creative mis-use of things--I look in alleys and dumpsters for things to use in the garden--just beware of clutter--things should be integrated into your landscaping.

If you trellis against the house, go with one big one, rather than a few small ones--you can still grow a multitude of plants. A large trellis between your two windows with part cut out for your meters. You can also trellis against the shed to disguise it and the smaller structure behind it. I would trellis the right side of the shed (as you look at it) and continue the trellising as a structure to the left side to hide the smaller structure. This could be done in a series of construction steps, as time and budget allow.

Thanks for these ideas, everyone.
After last night's rain it does look like I'll have a drainage problem. So now I'm thinking of moving the barbecue away from the house (in the spot where Busy was talking about trellises) which is closer to the seating area and not really that much farther from the house.
That would make the south wall less cluttered. Put in another window well on the left window (taking care of the drainage problem) to raise the soil level, move that wee wall right next to the AC and extend the bed up to it. That would leave me with one continuous bed from the AC to the far right.
If I make the bed less wide in places, the meter reader, unless utterly blind, should be able to read it.

I think I'll go (from front to back)with black eyed susans, cherry tomatoes, Shasta "Becky"(a must-have - I have several patches being babysat at friends' places until next year. Unfortunately, they've all fallen in love with Becky and may refuse to return her. Of course, she loves to be divided each year, so that might not be a problem), purple delphinium, some grasses, Butterfly delphinium, Autumn Joy sedum, coreopsis, and that russian tri-color sedum I love so much, wooly thyme - I'm drooling now from severe perennial withdrawal.

Busy, the trellis idea would be perfect around the sheds, but the sides you mention do not get direct light after noon. Any ideas for non-invasive shade climbers?