I believe your light conditions may be an overriding factor as to what plants will work for you or not. There are some succulents that will tolerate at least partial shade, but most salvias will not be happy nor does lavender do well in less than 6 hours of sun. This is not to say these plants can't work for at least a season or two - it is just not their preferred growing conditions so growth may be leggy and flowering sparse due to lack of direct sunlight. I'd also discourage the planting of most herbs as they tend to be full sun lovers, but hopefully the supplemental lighting will overcome the lack of natural light. Annual herbs seem to tolerate lower light situations better than perennial herbs, IME. Container gardening can be a very enjoyable experience....a bit like landscape design in miniature that can be easily changed out as plants fade, grow too big or your tastes dictate. Certainly a lot easier and cheaper than inground planting! I do a lot of container design and always try to include something evergreen in the mix to provide the same structure and year round interest that evergreens provide to the inground landscape. Depending on container size, you may want to create compositions of multiple plants in a single container and/or use a single plant as a specimen - these work well for annuals and provide a lot of color without disrupting the more permanent plantings when the annuals fade for the season or go out of flower. Focal points, plant forms, fillers, textural contrast and colors (whether from flowers or foliage) will all play a part in the design just as they do in the broader outdoor landscape. And any plant can be grown in a container as long as you size the plant to the container appropriately and provide proper ongoing care. This may involve periodic repotting and root pruning of larger species. I'd look to whatever plants your local nursery/garden center offers that are suited to part shade and make your choices accordingly. January may not be the best time for this, however :-) Select from flowering annuals and perennials as well as small shrubs and trees, both deciduous and evergreen - I could definitely see a dwarf Japanese maple included in your collection as a focal point! And if you need help to compose your design, there are all sorts of publications that focus on container design - Fine Gardening publishes annual special interest editions on this topic that are excellent. For a very rough rule of thumb in container design, think in 3's for multiple plant compositions: a "thriller" plant as a focal point (something dramatic or upright/more vertical), "fillers" to fluff out the middle ground and "spillers" to trail, cascade and soften the edges. For long term viability of container plantings, it is recommended to select plants that are hardy to at least one zone lower than your own....and more is better :-) This of course does not apply to annuals or single season plants. And proper container soil is a very important consideration, as is irrigation and fertilization. You may want to check out the Container Gardening forum here on GW for additional helpful tips.

I ended up taking pictures of the cobbles, and then editing it in Word, and it came out well. Thanks

We have a very large koi pond in Manhattn Bch,ca. Before you let a regular landscape contractor put in a koi pond, I would checkwith a koi farm. (try phone book) groups have tours of gardens with koi ponds; the ponds are trickier than they seem, herons are nasty predators and its hot where you are. You have to weave all that into the design. Asahi koi in Gardena, ca. has info about the koi society. Our koi are huge and some are 30 years old.

Doug - would love to see if you have any ideas for the back yard? It is huge! I want to keep the swing set and bird feeder but the tree is going and the fence is to be replaced. I would love some place for a small vegetable garden (last year, I put some plants where the retaining wall is). Any thoughts?