when I plan a garden I consider fragrance and sound as well as color. I think you would enjoy the sound of a fountain and the scent of stephanotis or jasmine as well as citrus blossoms. Aside from the colors of the citrus fruits, orchids, ginger, bromeliads, and birds of paradise will add color and texture to your garden. A low maintenance option is a vertical garden of succulents and air plaints including orchids. Consider ambient lighting to add to your nighttime enjoyment.

Landscaping is not designed in complete disregard of whatever is the backdrop. The first picture is not the one someone would use in order to landscape the front of this house. You'd need to turn the camera around so that it is aiming toward the house. Because of the wall you'd need to stand at the gate and show the area in slightly overlapping photos, panning from left to right such that everything is included except what is near your feet, showing as much of the house as possible. You'd also want to take another picture by backing up and standing in the street that shows your whole property in a single shot. For the back yard, you'd need to do basically the same. From about midway out into the yard, turn around and show the back of house from lot line to line. If you can't capture it in a single picture, show it in two slightly overlapping pictures. If that back yard has shade on it from noon on, at what portion of the yard is the shade located? And where is it coming from?

Several questions first: Have you been in this home/area for at least a year to see how much sun those two areas receive in the summer? And by summer, I mean May-November. As you know, temps have already been in the 90's this month. What direction do they face? The ground surface for your proposed dining area is concrete, not pea gravel, correct? I'm not seeing any expansion joints. Hopefully, the tree cover provides wonderful shade most of the time so that priority can be marked off the list.

Concrete stain can really improve the look of concrete flooring. But you have to make sure your concrete is not already sealed. Since your concrete surrounds a pool it's possibly already sealed, and that sealer would have to be removed first. Below is a photo of unsealed (left) and sealed concrete that just had water poured on it. Hopefully you can see how it beads up on the sealed concrete. As to furniture around this pool, it's easier to fit chairs and loveseats into tight spaces. Outdoor furniture is often smaller than indoor furniture. Most indoor loveseats measure 3' deep x 5' wide. Sofas start around 7' wide. An outdoor loveseat may be as small as 2.5' x 4'. Nonetheless, your space doesn't seem that small. I think you should measure the area across each end from house to outside wall and from the pool edge to the outside end wall. Draw those measurements onto paper so that 1' equals 1" on paper. On another piece of paper draw the outlines of any furniture pieces you have or want to buy to the same 1' equals 1". Take a tape measure with you when shopping in case the size of furniture is not listed. Most online outlets will list sizes. Label each furniture piece and cut it out. Now you can move the pieces around to get the best fit and use of your space, but remember that where people walk there should be 42" or more width, but 36" to enter a seating area is OK. It would be great to find a tall cabinet to hold tools and chemicals for the pool, but most I've seen are under 6'. In the meantime, a folding screen could work to hide those items. Larger pots don't dry out quickly and are less likely to get knocked over, but terracotta pots get really heavy. In addition to plastic there are fiberglass and resin planters which can look like terracotta, glazed porcelain, wood, stone and metal. Here are some resin planters. Annual plants are the easiest to take care of and provide lots of color. If your winter is mild you can use cool season annuals, like snapdragons, pansies, pinks and sweet alyssum, to fill pots from late fall until mid spring.