oh, I forgot to mention that I'm in Houston. The whole front yard and front of house get partial sun in morning and shade toward evening.

Start with bigger plants. Put them on an irrigation system. Fill the rest of the bed with Mexican beach pebbles.

that is so cool, is there a free program I can play around with different plants?

Could you do that with horsetail for me. There is crush granite there presently. Maybe some cactus like agave? Do you think I need plants with height?