This is a rather dark planter well that only gets a bit of AM sun peeking over from the east. It's about 7 x 3 feet and filled with fairly rich clay soil. I used it as a base to start plants to put elsewhere in the garden and ended up with this. So I kept it. Plants are a mix of succulents like jade and aeonium, then I put cuttings in of geranium phaeum, begonia, woodland oxalis, baby tears, dwarf mondo grass, and the vine is a bower with a cobaea volunteer that's running across the window. Just make a little astro turf wig for your AC unit, add some plants, and voila! You could put a tall columnar planter to the left of the AC unit with cascading plants and something light weight like a fuchsia that won't blow over. And just kidding about the wig by the way.

This post was edited by elysianfields on Thu, May 29, 14 at 20:21

This is what I meant for a columnar planter. Something lower and not with bamboo as this blows over when its windy. You can put a slow growing vine in to cascade over like bower or star jasmine. Trimming those make them fuller. Or sweet potato vine and wave petunias for annuals. There are some rocks in the well above but the plants hide them a bit. Remnants like barn board, a bamboo teepee trellis, or a standard trellis can help to mask the AC unit too maybe. Old garden gate with clematis. You got any kids that can sit on a chair there for a spell? Give them an allowance and say they are art for a day... Okay, kidding again.

Thanks for your suggestions. I was hoping for something a little more basic I am a novice.

Thanks for your suggestions. I was hoping for something a little more basic I am a novice.

I get the novice thing completely. The garden I have came to be through lots of mistakes and my mantra of do well or become mulch. I lost much of what went in. Now I pretty much take cuttings from other plants and plunk them in to start what I have in these pics. And that big planter will never move nor will we get another one because we barely got it into the garden in one piece. It is a permanent part of the property now. But you already have your border in place, all you need to do is dig up the soil a bit and plunk some plants you like in, and add water. Plus, I hate upkeep, I pick plants that take care of themselves, we have no grass to mow, it is all ground covers out there. I cut all the trees down so I don't have to prune. And I reused remnant concrete from a patio and sidewalk I took a sledgehammer to for new paths and walls. I'm older now than when we bought this place and am officially a lazy gardener. I putz. Your plot has nice bones as they say. You putz too, and you'll have your own eden soon enough.