Let's think about this backwards for a moment. Flowering perennials, even vines, like clematis, are the finishing touches of a garden experience, not the starting point. So, take a step back for now. Maybe you should think about trees, shrubs, evergreens. These could help to addressNope, nope, if they're needed to address something, then you once again need to take a step backwards. In other words, it's not the right point in the design process to think about plant material. You've stepped back, realizing that shade from the blazing hot sun will enhance human comfort on the patio. Sun and the southern exposure will influence activities in this backyard. You've thought about that and are considering a pergola. It might be possible to help the humans, if you could just get something to grow over it to provide the shade. Then you'd only have to swelter when you run out to water the nearly parched perennials lined up against the foundation. But wait a minuteÂMaybe there's another step back that needs to be considered here before assuming that a pergola is the answerÂMaybe it's not only not yet time to pick plants, but also not yet time to build structures SoÂanother step back. Maybe you feel like you've dealt with this one adequately. This step has to do with site analysis. It's sun and zone, but it's also soil condition. It's the house and its windows and doors. It's grade issues and possible views that you might like to screen or preserve. It's existing structures and whether they work or need renovation, definition, or replacement. This is the stuff that will help you decide whether a glorious tree or two will eventually shade activities or nurse maiding that pergola. HmmmmÂbut it might be useful to take another step back before developing this information. Our journey backwards is almost at an end. Or, should I say at its beginning. Here you'll be asking yourself what you hope to do in this outside living space. Quiet time with a book? Entertaining friends in an outdoor setting? A secret arbor garden? Preserving some of that sunny space to grow vegetables? Play area for children or grandchildren? Storage shed? What level of maintenance are you anticipating? Are you a gardener? Hoping to become one? Or, would you really rather look out at a landscape that requires minimal upkeep? What is your timeframe? Will you be moving forward in stages toward your imagined goal? Last step. What is your vision for this garden? What is in your mind's eye? It may be this central idea that caused you to leap forward to pergolas as an answer to your shade needs. But why? Why not some other answer to your shade issue? Maybe your central idea is Romance and Repose. When you get to considering your desired activities in this space you realize, however, that you want low maintenance. If you still want to hang on to that particular central idea, you may have to adjust your choices all the way back along the journey. A different "central idea" will lead to different resolutions to problems, development of the site, and ultimately choices of plant material. Choosing plants is the last step in the landscape design process, not the first. Wellspring

I think your previous owners were suffering badly from perimeteritis. Removing a lot of those beds, even in your mind to start with, might be a winning move. Start with this: where and when do you need shade in summer? Where would a larger tree have to be to provide it? Is that a view beyond your backwoods there? Is it possible or desirable to see more of it? Can you make a place to sit at the back of the property that there would be some reason to go to? You want to design places for people, so imagine yourself at different spots - what would you do there, and how would you get there? Then, where would pleasant plants have to be to provide enjoyment while you are there? Using the topography to make tiers or something along those lines across the yard could make so much more of this yard than simply using the perimeter. I don't think the wall is ugly so much as it is an improbable colour, and it does look unfinished. A bench top or something like that: good idea. Stone facing would take up some patio space, how about slate tile? Karin L

I'll leave it to others to suggest what goes in it, but I find the existing bed line to be very unappealing. Try changing it to something like this:

" I honestly don't know if the branches will grow back, " They won't. With almost no exceptions, this is not how trees grow. btw, if the tree looked like the last photo, I see no dead branches nor any other reason to prune. Or hack, as the case may be :-)) The solution now is to fill in the very visible empty front area with some sort of broadleaved evergreen shrub. Without knowing your location, I have no idea what to suggest but make sure it is evergreen, not deciduous like the fothergilla. Otherwise you will still have a bare gap for a significant part of the year.