Congratulations on your new condo. It's such a great step to have your own place and even more fun that as a plant person you will have your own garden.

Bougainvillea is more of a floppy mound than vine. Also, It might be an annual in Dallas. A climbing rose would work, check out Antique Rose Emporium. Mexican Heather is an annual here in San Antonio, so it would be in Dallas also.

Love the idea of ferns and ivy with the stumps. You will need to check which ones work in your area.

How much maintenance do you want with the flowers? You need to consider if you want annuals, perennials or a mix. Roses will create a good foundation for any planting bed. You can mix in Iris and annuals.

Monkey grass is a good way to green up an area, but you might see if there is something more unique that works in your area. Feather grass or muhly grass will take the look up just a notch.

Make sure you check your soil and see if you need to add top soil and compost for best results.

Spend lots of time researching, photograph landscapes you like and check back here often for advice.

A coral vine (Antigonon leptopus) in the narrow area could be encouraged to grow up the fence. It dies back in the winter, then takes off again in spring. Has pretty little flowers . . . but no scent, unfortunately. (I thought of confederate jasmine at first, which is evergreen with heavenly smelling flowers for a couple of weeks each year, but that would probably extend out over the walkway too much and need to be pruned constantly.)

How about something like Verbena canadensis 'Homestead Purple' in the sunny corner? One plant would probably fill the area. You'll need to be careful not to get things that will get too big. (Brick can be moved/removed pretty easily as long as it's not mortared in.)

Monkey grass combined with flowering bulbs in the SE corner would be attractive--maybe with a piece of sculpture.

If you plan your beds carefully, layering things so they'll bloom in succession, you should be able to have some color almost all year. You'll be able to find books at the library that have lists of plants with their light/water/soil requirements, sizes & bloom times and colors.

Make sure you amend your soil before planting, if it needs it. Have fun!

Here is a link that might be useful: some good plants for Texas

rock oak deer and treelover, thank you both for your help and suggestions!
I loved the idea of the different types of grass like the feather and muhly grass. Especially the muhly grass :)

treelover, the coral vine is super cute! I had not even thinking about adding a sculpture in my garden but the sounds like a wonderful idea. I have the perfect buddha sculpture to place there! The website you gave me is just what i was looking for. I have already found over 10 plants that would work in my area! :)

As far as annuals and perannials, which do you think would be best, since I am planting late into the season?

You should plan on spending this fall and winter preparing your planting areas for spring planting. Some perennials need time to get established before winter, others will be just fine. They will be dormant in the winter and start growing in the spring anyway. The exception would be if you find plants you need on sale in the early fall. Be sure to mulch anything you plant in the fall to help them get through the winter.

You can use hardy annuals like snapdragons and pansies in containers to brighten your landscape this fall.

I won't be much help with annuals, because I rarely use them . . . just a few that I grow from seed.

Your beds are small enough that I would think you could get them ready to plant with just a day's worth of physical labor. If you plan to have your soil tested, that would be the first step. Then gather the compost and/or whatever you're going to be digging in to the existing soil. Once the soil's prepared, you should be ready to start planting.

Rock oak deer is right about finding sales in the fall. That's when I do a lot of my purchasing & planting. It seems like the roots grow some during the winter even though the above-ground parts don't.

I think you're in a slightly colder zone than I am, but I imagine the microclimate in your small, protected yard will be a little milder than it would be if you were gardening out in the open. Plants that would normally go dormant in your zone may not in your garden--or not as early.

Gardening is just a series of experiments, imo.

Forgot to say: Truly Tiny Gardens by Thomasina Tarling might give you some ideas & inspiration--though the plants she suggests may not work down here in he11. . . I mean Texas.

Used copies are available very reasonably online, if your library doesn't have it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Truly Tiny Gardens

Another plant lover explained some steps for the soil preparation. I honestly had no idea I had to do so much for the soil. I thought that all I had to do was pull the weeds. So, knowing that, can anyone please let me know if this is all I have to do or if there are more steps to be done.

1.Clear away the weeds, (be sure to prepare your soil thoroughly before you plant anything, that is your greatest predictor of success)

2.Work in some compost or other amendment, maybe some steer manure.

3.Add some slow-release fertilizer such as Osmocote at planting time.

4.After planting, finish with an application of a weed-preventer such as Amaze or Preen.

5.Then top with a layer of mulch

Treelover, I agree with your idea of tx! Ha! :)
You mentioned testing the soil, what would I have my soil tested for? Am I able to do this on my own? You also said" gather the compost and/or whatever you're going to be digging in to the existing soil." Should I dig up the soil and mix it around to soften it? If so should I buy different soil to mix in to the soil at the condo? One more question, how far down should I dig to till the soil?

Rock, thank you for your help! Are there bulbs that I can plant now for the winter?

Thanks you two!

That sounds like a good plan, Ashley. I'd be inclined to skip #4, but that's because I don't mind weeding and prefer not to have chemicals in my garden. (Birds, bees, butterflies & beneficial insects don't either!) I don't even feed my plants with anything but compost, coffee grounds and alfalfa pellets.

Everybody recommends having your soil tested (for pH, nitrogen, phosphorus & potassium, organic matter & other micronutrients), but I suspect that very few people do it. You can probably get along just fine without one. You may have gardening neighbors who can tell you what kind of soil is in your area. Most plants aren't all that picky about pH.

I'd try to dig things in about 6 or 8 inches, unless you hit clay or hardpan right under the surface. In that case you could consider making raised beds.

One thing you might want to do is dig a hole 8" or so and fill it with water. See how long it takes to drain. Some plants are real fussy about having good drainage.

Here is a link that might be useful: checking drainage

Yep, I agree with treelover on #4. Your garden is small enough that if you mulch about 3" or so, you should not have to work too hard to keep weeds out. A small amount of weeding keeps you in touch with your garden.

Spring flowering bulbs like tulips can be planted in the fall. Tulips do well in Dallas but you need to treat them as annuals. Bulbs that return each year like hyacinth and daffodils also return in the fall. You can also plant iris in the fall. Since you have limited space, you would need to plan the placement of bulbs to avoid having to dig in the bulb bed later.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's a great resource for bulbs

I've finally got pictures to post on here, unfortunatley, my sketch of the area was not accurate. I am now thinking that I might have to just do a container garden, rather than trying to plant in such a small area. Take a look at the picture and let me know what you think.

North side
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North close up, these two stumps can be moved
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Northeast
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Northwest side
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Northwest close up - last stump on the right is able to be moved.
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South side, I think this rain gutter will cause a problem.
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I visited my neighbor on and he has a container garden, which is what influence me to change my mind. I would still be able to do bulbs and such. The south side get partial to shade where as the northeast side gets full to partial sun. Would I still be able to have a bush or shrub in the northeast section? And if so would it be best to have it in a big pot or actually plant it? This is such as odd shaped area I am at a loss for ideas. Any advice for the southeast side? The rain gutter scares me, I do not want to plant anything and they it get drowned. What about a fountain or sculpture there? Along with some ivys or ferns (because they need little light). If you have a different idea please let me know! :)

A container garden is an excellent way to start your garden. I have a large yard, but many of my flowers, bulbs, and tropicals are in containers. This allows you to plant things quickly and move them around to see where they work best. You will be busy enough with moving and getting settled, so containers will provide an instant garden. You can keep almost anything, including shrubs, in a container for a year or so as long you water and fertilize them. Once you get an idea how things will work, you can plant. Ivies and ferns will work nicely in the corner by the downspout.

Does the water spill out of the downspout directly to the ground there? You can channel the water with a downspout stone or rocks.

The northeast section is right by the door so I wouldn't recommend a shrub there. A narrow plant or climbing vine would be a better idea. I don't have a lot of experience with those, but I'm sure someone will be happy to share advice.

Thank you so much for your ideas and help! I really appreciate your time! :D

Oh, I don't know. . . it looks to me like you have room to plant things in the ground, as long as you're careful about mature sizes. I would definitely take up the bricks on whichever side you aren't going to have your bbq grill.

If you decide to go with containers, I recommend using large ones. Lots of little containers might just make the area look cluttered.

A large mirror---can you get waterproof mirrors?--- strategically placed on one of the fence panels would expand the space visually and reflect light.

What's on the other side of the gate? Maybe you could extend the downspout to drain on the other side of the fence, outside your planting area.

One of my favorite things to do in the French Quarter was to walk by these tiny courtyard gates and get a glimpse of some shady oasis w/ a beautiful white sculpture or fountain as a focal point! You can have something pretty like that! Ferns will give you greenery and will love your shade! Caladiums will also do well. I have the 'Christmas' variety planted for the white color against my dark green shrubs. Impatiens and begonias also do well in the shade and will give you color. You can look for varigated things like vinca that will also look pretty. I second the idea of the mirror. I saw that in a garden featured on Central Texas Gardener (PBS) and it was really, really cool looking! They just took a big long mirror and hung it horizontally on their fence. It almost looked like a window through the fence!

If you are interested in attracting birds, you might want to consider a 'Pride of Houston' Yaupon Holly. This is a small tree that will stay evergreen. It grows pretty slow, so you will have time to prune it to the shape you want. It has a pretty red berry in the winter that the birds love.

It is good that you are considering where you will place things like your bbq now. If you have a small patio set, get that set up too so you can feel out how you will be moving through the space.

I also agree with testing out how slowly the areas drain water. From your photos, it looks like the dirt could be compacted. You could just invest in a pitchfork and see how hard it is to turn the soil. And look for earthworms while you're doing that. If you don't find any, go buy some at a bait shop and set them free at your place. Be sure to feed them w/ coffee grounds, leaves, grass clippings, etc. If they are happy, your plants will be happy!

Congrats on your new place! Post back with photos!

treelover, the brick wall is right next to my glass wall/sliding door. The white wall is one of the walls of the courtyard bathroom outside of my patio. Once you step out of the gate, which the picture is not shown, there is the large pool area and immediatly to the left (the white wall you mention)is the bathroom for the courtyard. I would be able to possibly trail the water by rocks or the bricks out of the gate but not under the bathroom floor. Bummer, I know.

I love your idea of the mirror, I would never have thought that but I will start looking for some. THe containers I want to use will be large ones because I would like to grow a couple of cannas in the pots but also have large mixed plant pots.

Maden, Why earthworms? Do they get rid of nasty bug that are bad for plants?

Thanks for your comments, I'll be moving in mid august so hopefully we will continue talking about the design and I will post pictures as I progress! :D