I'm not sure I can give you anything too constructive right now - my brain is too fried from weekend work! But I do want to say that you don't have to apologize for the trash cans and garden debris. Be sure to incorporate trash areas into your final plan! You'll always need someplace to put those cans.

I like the plants overhanging the fence and would incorporate that into my design. Put taller plants in the corners and something lower by where the neighbor's plant hangs over. Don't forget to add a feature like a water garden in a container, or a fountain, or a flamtain (like a fountain but with flames instead of water) or some statuary. Wall art on this fence would be good too. A mirror or some wrought iron. One or two of the gold speckled crotons would brighten up the area and can look very oriental, too.

Wow! What a great area to work with! You even have large trees already in place!

For me, before I can select the plants, I have to decide what I am planning to use the 'space' for...ie: patio entertaining, somewhere to 'nap' between weeding, a pretty place to view out the window...etc.

In your photo, I see a perfect place to hang a hammock between those two trees or to place a fountain (if you are leaning toward a zen/japanese garden) or as Solstice said, a fireplace piece. I have "hammock on the brain" right now, so that's what I'd be doing.

Adding a hardscape material would be awesome too...brick pavers or even just river rock. Don't forget to add the weed barrier material of your choice first!

I find shade gardening to be a challenge especially if you are trying to add privacy features along a fence line -- which is what I am doing as well.

I have had great success with the Florida 'faux' gardenia shrub/tree. The white flowers seem to illuminate the shade and the leaves are always shiny. It's beautiful in the rain. It's pretty impossible to kill it. I have dug it up...moved it to the other-side of the yard, only to have it regrow in it's original spot.

Also, white bird of paradise as it gets very large and provides great screenage and that tropical feel.

Elephant Ear is another good choice, but does require regular watering. I haven't been doing that and mine is pretty puny this year. They seem to die back some in the cold but come back every year once it warms up.

Dipladium prefers shade/semi-sun. Also, good ol' reliable coleous. And, don't forget Camelias!

Let us know what you decide to do!

Thank you so much for your replies!

I should explain more. I was planning to put a rock garden, stepping stones, and fountain on the other side of the yard, which is this:

The stepping stones will be between the lines (I found some bluestone which I think will be nice). The ellipse will be Mexican beach pebbles with a columnar basalt fountain sitting on top of it. The lower left will be the rock garden with stone lantern. I was thinking bamboo on the other side of the path but today I saw a Podocarpus Standard which I fell in love with so I might do a combination. I was planning to put the camellia in front of the fireplace bump out.

The Ali Ficus side is really just for viewing from the patio. It's more for show. I don't think it can be used at all because the driveway runs between. Luckily we have the patio so we don't really have to use that side of the yard - except of course for it to look nice.

I eliminated the idea of rocks (all but the most minimal amount of rocks) because of the oak trees which drop leaves. There is no way I can keep those rocks free of leaves without quitting my day job!

I really am liking all your ideas - it's really helping. And feel free to critique the design since I have not bought a thing yet (although I plan to buy the stepping stones soon).

Oooooh, beautiful space!!! Why don't you do like me and make a ginger, alocasia, hymenocallis garden? All those beautiful foliage plants would look so lush in that shaded area, and add a Japanese look. Put in one of those stone lanterns. Also, how about a couple of the shorter clumbing bamboos (Buddha belly? in between the trees? Then put your tall gingers and aroids in the back, mix in some camellia or gardenia, then costus, curcumas, colocasia, finally caladiums, impatiens, etc. that can be changed seasonally. Maybe a pretty oriental looking birdbath right in the middle surrounded by some stones. A little koi fountain pond in the center, surrounded by bamboo would be breathtaking! I wish I had a spot like this!!!

Two things:

Firstly, you have the right to prune anything that hangs over the fence, even if it is the neighbor's fence.

And B; Think white! I see a perfect spot for white caladiums, white butterfly ginger (Excellent suggestion, Jockewing! and exquisitely fragrant), white double impatiens and maybe something variegated. Or white bleeding heart on a trellis...

I just got my first Costus speciosus 'Variegata' and it has gorgeous white and green foliage. The helix like way the stems twist adds another dimension of beauty. That plant would show up so well in that area, I think.

All these suggestions sound beautiful, but they also sound like a lot of work! Tell me it's easy. :-)

The one thing I should add is that I have reclaimed water which I believe has some salt in it.

I am actually starting to visualize a stone bench in there. This therapy is working, guys!

I see a fern garden. Tall tree ferns. Fishtail fern, Holly fern, Kangaroo fern. Thick, lush, green. A water
feature to top it off and Orchids on the tree ferns when they
mature.

Thank you so much for all your truly wonderful ideas. I am going to start researching and thinking about the plants you all suggested: crotons, gardenia, elephants ear, dipladium, gingers, aroids, and ferns. I would really like to start planting this weekend, but I still have to figure out what to do to define the beds. And I really need to come up with a planting design. Thanks, again!

Nice spot Jerzeegirl. I am so jealous of your fence. Mine is tired and being pushed in by the neighbor's shrubs. Your's looks nice and stable. I'd be in heaven if I actually had that much space to fill without ripping something out.
Nancy

My first thaught was formosa azalias with smaller plants, caladiums, annual flowers etc. A bench would be perfect and a few rocks. Easy to take care of.

We have a very similar privacy fence up against a large shade tree. Putting in the fence (it replaced a chain link) plunged the area right up against the fence into deep shade. And the white bleeding heart seemed to revive in this situation. So, it's not a great foundation planting because you'll probably want something taller along the fence, but I think it would be happy there, and it's so nice in the blazing sun of mid-day to look into that dark area of my yard. In that light, practically all I can see are the white bleeding hearts against the green and the darkness. It's almost the same effect as putting in a a white night-flowering plant.

Just a thought.

I love your space and the possibilities are many! Do you use the drive strips?

You have been given so many wonderful suggestions already and I can't wait to see the results! I see lots of tropical foliage there with white blooms. I've always wanted a white garden but don't really have the shade required for what I see in my mind. I would build a little pergola and hang all my orchids there. Stone bench, stone birdbath and as someone else suggested stone lanterns would be awesome!

Keep us posted. This spot is going to rock!

~Betsy

Gingers! I can not say enough good things about gingers, which are one of my favorite varieties of plants! Also, hydrangeas add wonderful spots of color to shade gardens. Some other possibilities are variegated cast iron plants, bleeding heart vine, calla lilies, and walking iris.

Here's a link to some of my ginger pictures so you can get an idea of how wide a range of gingers are available.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I eat so much ginger candy I should probably plant some! I love your picture karalynn, especially that short ginger that looks like it could be a hosta.

Betsy: I do use the drive strips because the garage is immediately to the right. I wish I could visualize the plantings, but I have always had trouble with that part of gardening :-)

natives and veggies: I am used to bleeding hearts from up north which kind of die off in the summer. You must be talking about a different cultivar. I will look it up.

Thank you all again!

Jerzeegirl,
I picture pea gravel as the floor. It is especially comfortable to walk on and the easiest to keep clean with a few sweeps of a leaf rake. You might even enjoy making designs in the gravel. I'm thinking of a garden area that I used to have. When I was finished working in my garden I would get out my rake and make a design in the gravel -- my favorite design were wavy lines that reminded me of rippling water. I could work all day out in my garden and never get my shoes dirty or wet. It could pour rain and I could work in my garden right after and not have to worry about tracking dirt, etc. Zen garden comes to mind.

brass tacks, I was originally going to use pea gravel. I dug a 4" trench next to the drive strips for the pea gravel and sloped the ground up toward the beds. I figured it would be the easiest thing to step on when getting out of a car. But I started rethinking the decision when I read in a landscape book that you shouldn't use gravel under trees because it's impossible to keep clean.

Because of this I figured I would use pine bark mulch near the drive strips and pine needles next to the plants to differentiate the bed from the open ground. Once the oak leaves start falling, it won't really make much of a difference what I use!

There are a lot of things you can use to differentiate between the garden beds and the walking areas. In my shade garden I'm currently using rock about the size of canteloup to seperate the beds from the seating area and I plan on using colorful bottles to outline some of the pathways I'm incorporating into the garden. I've also seen people uses things like bowling balls, colorfully painted boards, and pretty dinner plates to do the same thing. There are endless possibilities!