Backyard: Left side when facing the house, you can see part of the sun room. The sides are about 10 feet wide. Could have concrete sidewalk here too or just a small concrete border along the house with grass and a small border of plants along the boundary wall.

Backyard: Right side when facing the house. The garage door opens here, so we will put the trash cans on this side. I am thinking of putting concrete sidewalk with a small border of plants along the boundary wall. How can I hide the ACs?

Backyard: thinking of putting some kind of patio here. What should I put outside along the longer side of sunroom?

View from the sunroom (longer side), you can also see kitchen island.

Another view from the sunroom(shorter side). It has a door that opens to the backyard.:

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with water limited to two days per week, it is really a challenge to have a green lawn even in areas that have a more temperate climate.

since it is a new home, I would check with a plumber about putting a system to capture grey water for your landscaping. this would be one way to have the grass and flowers that you have mentioned.

as has been mentioned, xeriscaping is way to go until the drought ends. I'm not crazy about it either, but it will save you a lot of money on water as well as any fines.

I agree with Kelley the lawn to establish needs to be watered every day you won't even get the lawn to grow on two days a week. I know some people don't like the drought tolerant look but there are some ground overs that take less water and look green or blue. Here is a link to some drought tolerant renderings I have done. There are a few styles there so maybe you can find something you like.

http://www.houzz.com/projects/579051/renderings-drought-tolerant-california-native

For what to look for when looking for a designer find a style you like and check if the landscape designer does your style tho a good designer can design in different styles you will always see part of their flavor. I like to work with shapes. I do cover southern ca for design so if you are interested why don't you give me a call and we can talk about the process.

Thanks for all your responses. I also need ideas on hardscape. I am thinking of putting concrete along the sides of the house and out where the sunroom opens.

Please share any do's and dont's for hardscape. Is it okay for the plants to be next to the house? Or is it safer to have concrete outlining the house so the foundation is not damaged by plant roots?

There's no need for a concrete barrier against the foundation, just don't plant trees with aggressive root systems up against the house.

Does your HOA require you to have grass? If not I think you should definitely look at a xeriscape yard. Two days a week isn't much for turf in a semi-arid region, which is what you're in. There are some really attractive alternatives.

You have a blank slate, which is great, but you'll only have that once with this house. I agree with the above recommendations to start with a landscape designer. We've just rolled out our online landscape design service so I'd be happy to chat with you.

A few observations for your consideration.

a. Run downspounts from roof into deep rain barrels to store water. During a watering day, also fill the barrels so you can water lawfully during the next two days. New plantings will require daily watering for at least two months to become established in their new home environment.
b. Behind the street tree, plant a solid block of roses, with a low evergreen hedge on all three sides of the block.
c. On the steps, consider adding the stone veneer that you added to the wall on the left, to the step risers, so that it appears in more than one spot in our street view.
d. In the downspouts up front, place small rain collection barrels, painted the same color blue.
e. If you have a dog or young child, copy the same grass sod as used along the curb.
f. Looking out the bedroom windows at the views all around the neighborhood, decide where you must have trees.

I'm So Cal, too. The dirt is a challenge because it is like concrete. Some nurseries will plant trees for you. Start there. Pepper trees grow nicely and will not need to be watered once established. A few small citrus trees would need watering but will do fine on a drip. Rosemary will be very hardy and beautiful- you can shape it into something formal or let it grow wild. Lantana is gorgeous and drought tolerant- makes a nice underplanting. Iceberg roses and agapanthus or society garlic would also complement your beautiful home.

If no one lives behind you and you don't have small kids, consider planting a bougainvillea along that back wall. It will grow wild, takes little water, and has thorns, so no one will ever hop over that wall.

I agree with some kind of water collection rain barrel on that downspout. They have a lot of pretty ones on the market. Or, if you choose not to do that, use rocks to create a dry river bed to divert the water when it does come.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

It seems like there might be El Nino(wet season) this year. In that case, I am thinking it should be okay to put grass. The xeriscape garden/drought tolerant plants may not work well if there are heavy rains this winter. Is that correct?

We are currently thinking of having hardscape (may be, 3 feet concrete sidewalk ) all around the house to protect it from water damage.

Need help deciding what would look good for the patio in the back? Please share your ideas. There seem to be so many choices, concrete, pavers or stones.

i would recommend of going with a green grass up on the front and have pavers of gray going from the walkways to the side/edge of the home and then to the back of the home to make it look like a one while piece of pavers, where it is up to you where you want to end the pavers in the back of your home. And also have tree planted about 10ft away of the gate on the front of the yard.

Purewal Contractors Inc

Please read today's Houzz story, California Says Goodbye to Sprawling Ornamental Lawn. It will give you some great ideas on how to have a lush, green, native-plant garden without a water-sucking, sterile, chemically fertilized lawn. Even if we have a wet winter, water will always be in short supply in Southern Cal.

I have seen weeds growing out from paver joints. Can that be prevented? What other material looks good? Some landscapers have recommended acid finish concrete(sand finish) to us.

If you use barrels to collect water make sure it is legal to do so as EPA fines are pretty steep.

Aran, You've chosen a very northeastern-looking house in what seems to be a stucco neighborhood, and it does indeed call out for a lush and colorful landscape that runs against your climate and local watering restrictions.

You likely will have to give up your favorite flowers, but don't worry, xeriscape offers many beauties that can become your new favorites. Believe me, I survived a move from Maine to Arizona!

There is, in fact, no reason you can't do a lush British-style perennial border with xeriscape plants, unorthodox as that is. It won't be the nonstop riot of color you think of, but you can get intermittent splashes of color most of the year.

I'd start with a couple of trees in front, as almost all desert plants prefer dappled shade (counterintuitive, but true), and will thrive underneath them. Then search the deserts of the world for a vast array of options. Many prairie plants will also survive your conditions, and Mediterranean plants too. If you happen not to like cacti, there are hundreds and hundreds of other choices.

In back, I'd recommend a quartet of desert-adapted trees that will form a natural pergola, around a square or round or octagonal paved area. If you want a darker shade on the patio, the new favorite is mastic tree
(Pistacia lentiscus) from the hottest and driest part of the
Mediterranean. They are slow growing, so spend the money on the biggest
specimens you can afford. Work outward from there with smaller plants and shrubs to soak up the glare, and go for taller ones again at the perimeter.

Mix bushy plants in with sculptural form plants, alternate silvery with darker plants. A couple of boulders can ease the flat monotony.

Beware of fountains as water guzzlers. Find something you can tolerate with a very small trickle and a very deep tank (so it won't grow to annoy you, water loss through splashing will be minimal, and the tank won't go dry and burn out the motor). Those fountains with water flowing down the outside of an urn are gorgeous but have appallingly high evaporative water loss.

Plant xeriscape in the autumn. The long cooler season will give their roots a chance to get established before summer returns. (except for cacti and palms, which prefer to go into warm soil).

Pots (always large pots in a climate like yours, as small ones dry out too fast for you to keep up with watering), can be used with bagged palm-and-cactus soil in terra cotta pots for all desert and Mediterranean plants. Never place glazed pots in the sun, as they will get hot enough to burn your hands and kill the plants. If you must, line them with bubble wrap first.

You can use richer soil, glazed pots, and hand watering for a few "must have" high-water plants, and keep these in the shade of a porch or against the north side of the house.

For ease in manipulation of irrigation, I've done my front garden entirely with mediterranean plants (very loosely defined as everything from cold arid mountains of Afghanistan to Morocco and Spain to the Canary Islands, plus a few that get "honorary citizenship" for centuries of cultivation in the Mediterranean countries), and I put all my desert plants in the back garden. Australia and south western Africa have some great desert plants to contribute to the selection. Brazil contributes the unexpectedly drought-tolerant bougainvillea and lantana. Don't forget to sow and rake in desert wildflowers in the autumn. Water twice a week until two or three inches high, then soak once a week or every ten days.

Okay, that is all too much info, but gives you ideas to think about. Here are some pictures from my garden in the scorching Sonoran desert. First the rock garden, then some spring wildflowers (native s.w. bluebells, African toad flax), then a corner of my small Mediterranean garden (this is also where I grow all my culinary herbs), and lastly my porch with a half-dozen or so inappropriate tropical plants, my own "must have" water guzzlers.

PS: I lost about 30% of my original plants through my own ignorance; your landscape will take time and patience. Good luck!

Thanks for all your suggestions. We have decided to go with acid finish concrete for the hardscape.

Next we need to decide on the size of hardscape and planters. Any suggestions on size are welcome. All of the following ideas are flexible.

+ For mow curb along the property lines and planter edges: I am thinking 6" wide X 4" depth along the property lines and 4" wide X 4"depth for planter edges in. Is it okay to mix the sizes or is it better to stick to only one: either 6 X 4 or 4 X 4? 4 X 4 may be too narrow for property lines and 6X4 may be too wide for small spaces along the front of the house (bedroom, steps and porch)

+ Planters: The planters will be along the property lines (about 2 feet wide, kind of framing the house), 18 inches along the bedroom in the front, the steps and all along the porch and about 4.5 feet(is that too much?) for the backyard. All the planters will have concrete mowcurb to keep a neat edge from the rest of the landscape. Plan is to put some lighting in all the planters, esp. along the property lines and the steps.

+ Drive way: extend 20" or 24 " with concrete both sides. Which one is better? We could also do 24" on one side and 20" inch on the other since we have lesser space on one side but I am concerned about the lack of symmetry.

+ Sidewalk: 3.5 feet wide with 3.5 length block and 1/2" pencil cuts along the sides of the house and also along the back of sunroom. Does that seem sufficient? I am going back and forth about putting a planter next to the sunroom and then have the concrete pathway framing that or just do only concrete pathway. We plan to use only the sidewalk that opens to the garage more and not plan to use the other sidewalk of the house much.

+ Porch: 15 or so feet depth and about 20 feet length filled with 3.5 inch square blocks and 1/2" pencil cut between them. Does that seem sufficient or too much? We want enough space to accommodate table and chair. Should we give a 6" border to the porch or just keep only square blocks for the entire porch?

Can someone please help me with landscaping questions above? Thanks!

Your new home is very beautiful. I hope you have done proper arrangements for water removal so that it does not get accumulated for long in one place and cause water seepage and other water damage. I would suggest you to do that beforehand.