@William .... what a creative idea. Thank you. My biggest concern is keeping that much water next to the foundation of the house, even with a pond liner. I do check the other beds I have already planted for water damage to the wall, but so far, I've been OK as I've placed the plants away from the wall and don't water next to the wall.
@greene ... I think an arbor would be overkill, but I know you are right about creating shade. I have only removed half of the soil from the bed so far. The soil is dead. No worms or other signs of life, I don't mind using it in other spots in the garden to fill low spots once I have amended it.
The bed does get shade from the eves of the house, but in the afternoon, really most of the day during summer, it gets direct sunlight from the west. If I can solve the drainage problem, I might be able to anchor a lattice panel and plant some kind of vine on that side to block the sun. Also, I have to find a vine that can handle that kind of heat in an arid climate. Summer temps are in the high 90s to low 100s during the summer months. A drop to 90F is considered a cooling period.
It's when I hit hard pan at the bottom of the bed that I realized I had a problem and was headed in the wrong direction.
I'll dig out more soil today and take photos when I have cleared the bed out.
@chelle ... I doubt if weep holes in the brick will solve the drainage problem. The level of the soil on the garden side of the brick wall is only 10" lower than the top of the wall. The depth of bed is much deeper. Maybe I could do a rock garden kind of thing. Do I need excellent drainage all the way down for something like that ?
Thank you all for the suggestions. I didn't expect fixing this bed to be such a big deal.
Lyn
