Try adding a nice large outdoor rug under your seating

Try these ideas

I would add more plants and flowers all around the fence to make it disappear and make your backyard look deeper. I can help you with that as I also offer decorating services for backyard

All great ideas above, but they are mere distractions from the discontent that you apparently feel, in this otherwise little bit of heaven.

Looking out from the home at the plants against the handsome fence, there is green chaos.

The entire yard is carefully ordered, with neat little rings in the sod around each plant, but the view of their branching and placement is pure disharmony.

The tall palms are regal and grand, the multistemmed plants are not. I am assuming that the disorderly plants have handsome flowers and fragrance, hence their introduction to your oasis.

You could prune them to look like a row of soldiers, but they are not evenly spaced, like cadets would be, so something has to move.

A few suggestions to consider for refinement of the space, and enhancement in coming years..

a. cluster the shrubby trees in a single bed, perhaps at the shallow end of the pool, so they become a mass planting, rather than a row of stragglers.

b. place a row of EVENLY spaced palms, of the same type, all along the fence. What are they now, about 15-20' apart.

c. To maintain the pristine environment, keep all your seasonal flowers in containers to be moved where needed and appropriate to the situation, family relaxation and swimming laps, or friends gathering for party time.f

d. Off at the open corner at the deep end, partially hidden from the adult lounge area, prepare a separate teenage lounge area/terrace, perhaps with electric outlets for a small refrigerator and CD player, so the teens can feel separate, yet are still within the safety of your home, whether your kids of those of your guests.

You have done a wonderful job with this elegant space, time to dismiss the intruders.

Maybe around the pool maybe put a few lawn chairs !!!! To not make it to plain!!!!!!!!

Cascino had some good ideas. My first suggestion would be to hire a well recommended landscape designer. If you want to do any additions, removals yourself, then the designer could draw a simple plan for you to follow. But without hiring someone you can study some pictures in garden design books and perhaps learn what your garden is missing. The muti-stemmed plants look to me to be bamboo. Bamboo and palms certainly go in the same garden, but you don't have much room there --all in a line they look patchy. Perhaps you could group like plants toward each end of the garden and then get a new group of striking palms for the middle--the direct view out of the house. I don't think flowers would add to your current situation except as Casscino suggested, in pots. The back fence area would look better as a "bed" and the grass must be hard to mow in the current configuration. Cut out the grass--mulch around your specimen plants and plant a row of lomandra or some other tropical looking small grass against the fence. Organization is important--either groupings or rows and rows can also be multi level and texture. What a beautiful setting. Your back porch must be a great place to relax.

Consider doubling or trebling the width of the pavers on the two sides of the pool away from the house so becomes usable. Then eradicate the sod completely and permanently. Infill where the sod was with more plantings to create a shrubby boarder to give context to the existing trees.

Your plantings have started with variety, so continue on that theme. Choose a mix of textures and colors of foliage, and choose plants that reach a variety of sizes at maturity. But don't go the one-of-each kind route; choose several you like best, best-suited to your climate, and then plant clusters of them, and repeat the clusters at intervals. It will bring it all together in a lush way.

Don't forget to include plantings for ground-level interest for when you are in the pool and your eye is at ground level.

Lastly, you can tuck in some oversize pots to highlight distinctive plants, or seasonal bloom. Good luck!

The rectangular lines of your home and pool suggest more formality to
me. The bamboo and other shrubs with irregular lines look unkempt in
comparison. Move them to another part of your yard and put in an
upright, formal line of trees. Any fastigate tree such as yaupon holly,
var. Sky Pencil (Ilex vomitoria) will work. A large metal art piece will
add interest to the blank wall in the right of this photo. Center it
against the pool. See the photo below.

Ok, any kids in the family? Wondering if you could use a spot for a playhouse? Are you looking for more activities for adults? Bocce ball or some game on the lawn?

Where do you live? If you are in CA like I am, get rid of the lawn if it is just to look at.

If you just looking for more drama for the space. An outdoor rug as suggested would be a good start. Then paint the fence a dark color to shade it away. Shade sails add interesting effect besides sun protection.

There is a large bare wall by the pool. Some sort of "art" for it would add a wow.

Dark fence would look more contemporary.

And I would remove those two plants along the fence opposite the sitting area. Replace with some feature...a large sculpture maybe.

Plus, add some more color with flowering plants.

There's no color or personality to this space as lovely as it is. Pick a color, say blue, and buy all new ceramic glazed pots. You could buy an outdoor rug and hang it on the bare wall adjacent to your seating area or use it under furniture. Instead of stacked chairs to the right of the grill add colorful outdoor chairs that have some personality in seating area or around pool. Pick one, two colors for chairs that go with rug. The rug and chairs are from Grandinrod.

Add a structure as a focal point for additional entertaining space with water features like the photo. This pool was an old 60's pool that had been remodeled once already and was sinking 5" in deep end. Had to do an extreme remodel from shell up.

Maybe you could add larger pots at each end of the pool. It would make it look more contemporary. Also, you could add a larger pot instead of the three small ones close to the sofa and add an outdoor carpet to make it feel more cozy. Add some kind of wall art to the large wall adjacent to the patio door.

Some of your recent advisers have suggested a bed along the back fence, with the row of palms.
If you follow this suggestion, please consider a precise undulating bed edge, if you can follow my suggestion. as follows.

It will swing toward to pool to half-circle a palm, then circle radius back at the fence, then circle radius out around the next palm, then circle radius back toward the fence - no straight lines please, a very formal ribbon of bed. Dignified and very attractive, with a hidden 4" steel edge maintaining the crisp edge of sod.
The top of the edging is down at the top of the roots, which it is keeping out of the plant bed, so it is hidden from view.

The quickest/cheapest ideas I'd suggest are to add white flowey curtains to the covered area, add an area rug to seating area, add more furniture to the covered area like a dining table or a bar cart, and add really huge planters around the pool that will sit taller rather than the smaller pots you have now.

For phase 2, I'd suggest adding a trellis with a climbing plant on the empty wall on the side of the house next to the patio. I'd also turn the entire back of the yard where the fence is into a planting area. Add more shrubs, trees, and flower plants along the back fence then mulch or add rocks to the entire length of the yard to make it look like a cohesive garden. With more budget you can add stacked pavers around the perimeter of this new garden to make it look fancier. If budget allows, I'd also add more pavement around the pool and place some loungers there. If that's too costly, then I would add another planting bed with tropical looking plants around the perimeter of the pool.

You have a great space, enjoy it!

You

I would add ME! I'm a great house-guest!!! Heehee. Love your backyard. Relax and enjoy it?

A curving bed along the fence with more plantings would be beautiful:

Your yard is great and looks like a really nice hangout space. What it lacks is a real focal point - a pool cabana would provide you with just that. Please have a look at our Houzz page or check out our website at www.summerwood.com for more ideas and inspiration!