I moved into my new house last July and immediately started the destruction. The "soil" was mostly clay and rock w/ 1" of topsoil. After lots of digging, tilling, amending, and removal/transplantation of about 20 shrubs, I am finally ready to plant.

This is my new desert bed. I ended up with 3 tons of sand and gravel and was able to get to 16" high in the back of the bed. In it are Y. rostrata, Y. treculeana, H. parviflora, A. parryi, ice plant, and an unknown cactus. Behind, you can see my first overwintered basjoo and the stump of an unprotected trachy experiment. It was completely fried, but the spear is still intact. I will also be putting in E. ventricosum, S.minor 'McCurtain', and a needle in the bed immediately behind the rock garden.

Some pics of new beds

A small Japanese maple I moved from the front of the house last month. That small tree weighed a ton. I swear it was 250 lbs.

This is a before of my hill (in the background) which is now dead. You can see it in the background. It's not big but steep. You can see by how crappy the grass is that I was weedwhacking it instead of mowing. I got tired of tipping the lawnmower and slipping off the hill.

Now. It's almost done. Just a banana to go in at the top next to my neighbor's pool. It doesn't look that daunting, but it is a 29'X 80' X 5' triangle which is at almost a 45 degree angle in spots. It was all grass. There are now several transplanted shrubs, perennials, and 400 pcs. of purple wintercreeper up there. There will also be yuccas as soon as they pop up. I put some divisions up there which still haven't taken.

Plants waiting for a home

A new work in progress. It will be my shade garden. Sun until 10am only.

What's left of a bed where I removed a couple of shrubs. It is a streetside bed which will be the perfect home for another banana.

ID needed please. This evergreen sailed through the winter but I have no idea what it is. I inherited it. Probably something really common and boring, but I like it.