Re: Talking to Land Lord
Personally, I agree with you about buying things that can be moved. My husband wants beautiful landscaping which means building beds where there are just huge roots from the trees and nothing can be planted now but I want to make beds for a vegetable garden. We both have different landscaping goals and of course different spending habits 
We have little space that gets good sunlight and the current beds are completely dilapidated. The front gets sunlight but can’t vegetable garden in the front. The back is very shadowy and has big ugly old bushes in the spot where sun comes through the trees.
Last year, I had a container garden with not any success 
and I’ve been dying to have a vegetable garden for the last several years and finally I have a yard to do it in. Container gardens require daily watering. And if you plant your plants in the ground, you can go away for a few days without the plants dying out of dehydration.
I think we have 3 choices:
- Clean out the weeds and keep the place manicured. Plant perennials (Tulips, Daffodils, Irises, Mums, etc) I can get from Mom for free. It’ll look nice but not as superb as if we spend good amount of money. Investment - manual labor
- Lay down inexpensive top soil & mulch, inexpensive ground cover instead of new lawn, logs for bed edging, and plant perennials from Mom. Among the flowers, hide some herbs or vegetable plants that have pretty flowers and/or easily disguised (e.g. red Swiss chard) Investment - manual labor, $500 ?
- Go all out and buy the expensive stone, good soil, and nice plants so that I can plant what I want . Have the old bushes in the back pulled out, build up the bed in the front so that things can be planted. Investment - manual labor, Lots of $