Veggie Garden: Blank-ish Slate in November

Here is a photo of the very back corner of the yard on the north side in November when we originally put an offer on the house.  We didn't move in until late April (that is the joke about short sales, they aren't so short!), but it was pretty much the same.

A quick rundown of all the plants, clockwise from bottom left:
- rosemary 
- pippin apple
- plum tree
- a rather trashy-looking cable dish that needs to go
- camelias against the house
- unknown citrus in wine barrel
- red japanese maple

Three of the raised beds are 8'x4', and the other is 4'x4', which gives a nice 112 square feet of garden space.  All are connected by soaker hoses, which I hadn't encountered before!  Theoretically according to the square foot gardening method, 50 square feet is enough for one person for fresh veggies, and 100 square feet is enough for one person's entire year's worth of food (including grains) if you stick to a very intensive gardening program. 

We have some major plans to renovate this area, but moving in at the end of April and then needing to get everything planted by May didn't leave much room for improvement.  So this year we are keeping this part of the yard as it is. 

I am pretty excited about the plum tree.  My grandparents' old house had an ancient plum tree, and I have great memories of eating perfectly ripe plums fresh from the tree there.  Grandma would make the most delicious plum jam.  They have since moved, and we no longer have access to a plum tree for all that jam... until now.  I may invest in a food dehydrator and a canning machine so that none of those plums go to waste.

So much to plan before spring, it boggles the mind.