Garden plans (and a "before")

Now that spring has finally sprung (hopefully? finger crossed!) we're turning our attention to the outside.  The house has a side yard for the dogs and a courtyard.  We see lots of bbqs in our future.  Both are a bit overgrown right now and we've got our work cut out for us.

(those roses and I are not friends.  I've already shed quite a bit of blood b/c of those suckers.)

 We are making progress, bit by bit.

Roxy and Kinsey were happy to hang out outside while I worked.

I can see the potential, it is going to be great.  It has me dreaming about a veggie garden.  We don't have a lot of space or a lot of sun, so we'll need to be creative.  Some inspiration I've found:

 
from here



Both from here

This area of the courtyard gets lots of sun, so may be our best bet.  I'm imagining a raised bed, and maybe even a pallet garden attached to the wall.

I was also thinking about the front yard - it gets good light, but neighbors have warned me that people will steal the pots/pick the veggies.  City living does have its drawbacks.

I guess some of the neighbors were annoyed that the previous owners left the lattice white when they redid the porch.  Because white wasn't available in the 1880s, obviously.  We live in a historic neighborhood and I guess some of our neighbors are pretty serious about it.