It would be really helpful if you could provide a drawing of the footprint of the yard. I believe your camera is distorting the size and shape of your space.

I recommend researching which plants are native to your area and planting those. They will be better adapted to your unique environment and are low-maintenance. They also support more pollinators, and who doesn't enjoy having butterflies in their yard. Which county are you in?

Thanks for the replies! We're in Santa Clara country (Sunnyvale, specifically). The backyard is an "L" shape... here's a sketch:

We've considered adding more plants but that does require more water, and then we've got to figure out irrigation as well. Thanks thus far!

Here's a list of native plant nurseries in CA http://findnativeplants.com/pacific/california-native-plants/

Here's a good place to look up plants http://www.wildflower.org/plants/

As a butterfly gardener, I'd be remiss not to mention looking into which species of butterflies are native to your area and planting some host and nectar plants that they use. I'm in MI, so I'm not sure what they are in CA. I know that there are several milkweed varieties that grow there, are low-maintenance, and have deep taproots (which help with drought). They would help the mission to increase monarch numbers.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/checklists?species_type=0&tid=417

Definitely look at the types of grass that do well there. I know you don't get much rain there, but it's also not that hot. I am assuming the grass part is not that large (I know how large the yards are in the Bay Area). Along the perimiter of the lawn, you can plant flowers that do not require much watering. Russian Sage, for example, doesn't require water. Some of the milkweeds are doing well. If you visit any nursery in the area, they will be able to tell you what works best. Plants are not cheap, but a few go a long way

Wow, TanCalGal, this is great. I'll have to try getting creative... maybe some evergreen shrubs would also be a nice way to break up the fence a bit? When I go outside I feel like all I see is fence... everything green is so low to the ground.

I thought you wanted no shrubs. :)

The trees & vine(s) on trellis you have will grow fast. I'd leave them and the fence should look great in a year or two. This back yard is similar to yours & is in your area. photo 1. I say keep it simple and don't over plant.

Shrubs are usually planted in odd numbers. I'd buy one more matching for the 2 shrubs on the right.

I think I see 4 sage colored plantings? I'd leave the ones on either side of the tree in the corner and plant the other 2 behind that tree.

Some stones by the pavers might broaden the walk there and look nice; photo 2.

Los Altos Modern · More Info

Los Altos Modern · More Info

Those Los Altos houses are in a different league... but I do like the modern design, maybe some day. The stone approach is really nice. Would moving the two smaller plantings behind the corner tree make that corner too dense? That said, everything is so spread out right now it feels sort of forced. Do you think getting rid of the bark (not really a fan, and the dog ends up just chewing it) and replacing with the larger stones might make the yard feel a bit "cleaner"?

You can make templates of the 2 smaller plantings (crumpled paper) and place the templates behind the tree to see if the balance is right or not.

For now, I'd keep the bark mulch. It looks good and is repeating (more or less) the fence color.

Your dog might enjoy wallowing through larger bunchgrasses. Make a decomposed granite area in the middle of the lawn, so there's room for barbeques and activities, then surround that with bunchgrasses like California Fescue, Leafy Reedgrass, with shubs beyond that to hide the fence. Woody shrubs are the bones of the green back yard that you see instead of fence. They can be very drought tolerant: Ceanothus, Manzanita and Coffeberry look emerald green in August of the third year of drought. The grass will get a bit ragged by late summer but those larger clumping species maintain some evergreen through the summer. There are native lawn alternatives but will need almost as much water as a regular lawn if you want it to stay green. They will come back with the rains though. Perennial wildflowers will mostly look good in spring, so you need those big grass clumps and the shrubs looking green and healthy. I know this is much larger but shows what I'm talking about:

Country House, West Marin Native Plant Garden · More Info

Can you tell me what kind of flower the red/white ones are and the purple? I planted these at school and while it would be simple to "trash" them it seems like such a waste. I'm wondering if I could repot and keep them in my garage by the windows and possibly reuse in spring. They've really done well with all the rain they get. Anyway it's time for fall flowers and I need to plant something in there soon too. This is when they were first planted in August they are amazing now!

The red ones look like Penta..they are annual. You can do a search and see how you can keep them or if they make seeds.

The purple one looks like the fairy fan flower (Scaevola aemula)