I think I would put some climbers on the fence. Many to choose from, clematis, roses, honeysuckle, bittersweet. They would add some color and a small amount of barrier for the dog. A small tree strategically placed would block unsightly views from the neighbors. Try something like Japanese maple, Amur maple, Korean lilac. They don't get very tall or large. You have some beautiful peonies along the one side. They are very easy to care for and have nice foliage all summer. Cut them back to the ground first thing in the spring before the new stalks start to grow. Then, before they bloom put a cage around them to keep the heavy blooms from falling on the ground. I use 18" chicken wire which is not noticeable. Put mulch around the base of your flowers and trees to keep the weeds down and you'll have a lot less work. Even dried grass works for mulch and keeps the weeds down. Good luck.

Your view is beautiful view, except your neighbors house. I think I would build a wood patio out and leveled (over top the Slab), add a frame so curtain can be hung for privacy. I'm not very good at description. I will look for a picture.

Without information about location, etc making suggestions about planting material is impossible. If it was my yard I would consider leveling out the back area at the fence line and making the most of my space by bringing the entire yard level and flat. Then if keeping animals in the yard is the next priority I would add a simple wire mesh ground level to whatever height keeps the dog in. After all of that I would install some formal seating with either a deck or patio to accomodate grilling and entertainment. Whether you have ability to construct something is for you to determine with your HOA rules. For myself, I would want privacy and whether you are allowed to build anything like that is up to you to find out. Also you might be restricted to what types of plants you can add, color etc. I've heard of some simply crazy rules set by HOAs. I wouldn't ever live in a community that was HOA controlled. Good luck.

For privacy I would uses tress and bushes along neighbouring
fences. I would then use hedges to block out the road that runs along the front
fence. I like open spaces and grass. Wouldn’t do away with any of that. Keep it
natural. Bring some colour into your yard. Perhaps consider some well place
rocks to give it more character and create a garden feature/ focal point which
can compliment your awesome view.

I wouldn’t level the entire grounds. Just a large enough as
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To echo others here, your planting zone needs to be determined before any recommendations. We just planted Monterey Bay Brush Cherry Shrubs to obscure a very long block wall. We also have red and yellow Lantana in various areas to create "mini-walls". But determined dogs can go under shrubs and plantings. A solution may be to layer your border...starting from the low rail fence, plant dense hedges, then install a higher fence. Then it's not visible by neighbors/street below, and may skirt the HOA rules. Problem is, hedges take a long time to grow full and connected. HOAs are buggers...

Above all else, whatever you do make sure the grading is correct and that the downspouts are extended far enough out to keep water away from your house-and your neighbors'. I found out the hard way on the house that I bought that just because a landscape architect designed and installed the landscaping did not mean that they were an engineer ensuring the yard didn't flood after they were done with the work.
Check the HOA covenants-throughly. There may be restrictions on the types of plantings you're allowed, along with their dimensions (my HOA dictates these!).
I have honeysuckle on my property, and it does attract snakes (so far I've seen the little garden snakes in the shrubs), fyi.
As far as the dog getting in the yard, I found that s good coating of cayenne pepper along the fence line sometimes works. It's a pain because you have to keep throwing it down after it rains, but check the local dollar store if you have one-sometimes they carry it.
Good luck! Your view is so pretty-I'd definitely have my morning coffee outside!

Consider an invisible fence to keep your dog from jumping the rail fence allowing for planting shrubs or flowers. Local nurseries often provide free help when purchasing from them. I would not spoil the view with trees. Talk with neighbors who have nicely designed yards. Make sure the HOA will approve your plan.

had a similar situation at our last home. We ran a deck across the whole back with open, wide steps to the yard and put in a flagstone path to the gate. Later we added a pergola and a frame, then put up an outdoor curtain to shield us from the neighbors' house. We put in small hollies along the part of the deck that was higher than ground level (they should grow pretty much anywhere!) and added color(and fragrance!) w/lilacs on either side of the WIDE (so you won't mess up your view w/a railing) steps. Filled in color w/hostas (ours was shaded), and various annuals/periennals. (don't use too many....looks much better if not cluttered...I got over-excited and ended up taking a LOT out and placing elsewhere! Also used a few simple tall pots on the deck) Used black (iron?) uprights instead of wood uprights, which looked pretty classy!! :) If you can afford it, Trex is the way to go....will save you money (and time and labor!) in the long run, but is expensive! We DO have an electric fence at our present home, and it works....again, initial investment (think ours was around $1000 but is front and back which is .6 acres). The rest of your landscaping would depend on where you live, of course! And, as someone mentioned prior, a nursery usually has a design person you can have design, with the understanding that you will buy your plants from them. Good luck!!!

We have learned to go with the experts!! My husband and I did our own "designing" and planting in our second home. We did the front and a designer did the back. The back was gorgeous. The front was good but looked like we did it. After having just finished a major outdoor reno on home #4, I would suggest a company that offers the services of a landscape designer. On our present home (#4 featured above), we had a designer make the plan, giving him our needs and budget, and had the company do all the work--the front a few years ago and we just finished the back.

I see you could benefit with terracing. Also, if you want a space to eat outdoors the "landing pad" could be removed and turned into a welcoming patio. Grading and terracing will actually give you more space--usable space. You have a really great view and you should enjoy that! If you hope and plan on staying in the home, it is worth the investment. I have included a before pic. I will attach another comment with a few pics closer to the finished stage. Check out my instagram page @maxandbarlow. A lot of "in process" pics. I will try to include a few here but not the overall finished picture--tons of rain and I can't get out to take photos. Just tried and my lens fogs up!!

You have a magnificent view. So does everyone of you, out there on the precipice. Fortunately, they are far away so don't worry too much about it. The utility things are only about 2' tall, so shrubs in both corners should be a mix of stuff in the 3'-10' height range to make an effective screen. Create a "window" for your view with these shrubs. Plant a tree in the right spot if shade is required (not possible to tell solar orientation from photos). Put a nice paving over the concrete. A retractable awning or lanai would be nice, if allowed.

These are your bones. Fill in with perennials around the patio and shrub border. Pots are nice. Turn your gas grill 90 degrees for easier access, and to free up more space on the patio.

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of the great things grading and a designer can offer. We needed to expand our driveway, got rid of an old walk down to a door in the lower level, really updated it all! If you compare to the first photo I posted you can see where the grading occurred for the steps. We didn't want two levels, or to pay for that, or a really high wall so we went with a bit of an incline on the walk up after the steps, which are large stone pavers. Really worth our investment. Make sure you don't over do it for your home/area when redoing anything. Sorry for the double photo--couldn't delete it!

One more...the most complete photo but from the house. The day they finished!

Hire a garden designer to at least call out where to place particular size trees/plants to add balance to your design and basic structure. Then, choose a plant palette based on the surrounding nature to blend with all that open space. You won't waste money that way. It's like getting your sofa/dining table and then the pillows, art, etc.

I have a hill, very much like yours in my back yard - except my yard is larger - and it is not easy to landscape. I put in a foundation bed and then some bushes in the yard as stand alone focals. Consult with your local nurseries about what grows best in your area. Keep in mind that just because they sell it doesn't mean it will do well. Research and ask neighbors about what will do best.
As far as the fence goes, a 3-4 hedge should help keep the dog from jumping it. Hollies would be great, if they grow in your area, since they are prickly.

My back yard. I added everything since previous owners had really let the place go. My yard looked like an abandoned property when I bought my house. Yes, my neighbors love me. ;)

I removed a middle section of our steps in the hill hated how steep they were how can I connect the stairs again ?

The advice posts began with all you need. Dar and Sweetk8 said it all.

Call Miss Utility to show you where your buried utilities are. (Wasn't it terrific that they did not put overhead wires across you view.) Then build a wall at the back fence and continue then back toward your house, where it will not further bury Miss Utility. Level the yard.

If you wish to retain your stormwater on your site, develop a rain garden at the foot of your wall, so that the gravel drainage behind your wall is drained into the swale/rain garden between wall and fence, where the water returns to the subsoil, while nourishing glorious native flora and fauna.

As to your neighborhood dogs stopping by, uninvited, climbing roses on the fences will be thrilling to you and your neighbors, but not to your canine friends, whenever your gate is not open to them.

You might want to plant a few trees to calm the view from inside the home and make it more selective. Add some bird feeders and wind chimes to the trees to increase the activity.

Lots of good advice. Invisible fence might work, but expensive. You might consider knock-out roses on the outside of the fence, with some kind of chicken or rabbit wire on the inside. You could stagger them in and out of the fence for looks and color. They're not as much work as regular roses. A patio with lattice /screen or plantings would be great. Beds with curves always appeal, and you can add plantings as time goes by. Keep your view and shield yourselves from the neighbors.

Sorry, but invisible fence works for your dogs with special collars, not neighbor dogs, who obviously don't have invisible fences in their yards, hence no special collars.

What about a lovely yew hedge all around the perimeter of your yard on the inside of the split rail fence? It could give you a sense of privacy and turn your yard into your own private courtyard. You can trim the hedges to the right height to maintain your view, but give you a barrier. Then if you wanted to get fancy, you could plant matching flowering trees in each of the lower corners, like a dogwood, or perhaps a row of flowering shrubs. Then interior will free to be used as you see fit. Here are a few examples of yew hedges.

You don't have much room to work with, and with that slope you don't have much of a yard anyway, so I think -- unless you have kids or a pet to consider -- a multi-tier deck would be cool to take full advantage of your space. An upper deck with space for the BBQ (perhaps a built-in?) and a pass-through window if your kitchen location supports one; a lower deck with chairs to look out over the valley; a fire-pit in one corner or the other, or maybe even in the center; and a pergola over part of the top deck or maybe a circular hard roof design on the lower deck to give you some protection from the sun or during the rain. That would help you extend the inside to the outside. Finish it off with some appropriate flowers/plants/shrubbery to give you a little greenery, and it could look pretty nice.

Be careful about the blocking out features, they also serve as features for criminals to hide behind as they burglarized.

As i see it you have three main goals 1. Privacy for your patio and screen house next door 2. Keeping your dogs in or others out and 3. Preserving or enhancing your view.

As you are asking here and not hiring a landscape architect I presume you want to keep expenses to a minimum. So keep it simple.

1. Enlarge your patio and construct a screen wall at the edge that faces the neighbor - try horizontal cedar slates with spacers. Also look at an arbor over the patio if the budget allows. There are tons of examples of these in books.

2. And 3. You want to preserve that wonderful view while keeping the design simple and in keeping with the natural landscape scene of the fore and back ground. Go to your local nursery and see what they suggest for a low hedge type shrub or grass. I recommend an ornamental grass such as 'Karl forester' feather reed grass as it isn't too big nor too small and has wonderful plumes that are upright. Until the shrub or grass you have chosen grows into to form a barrier use hog wire painted black against the fence. Being black it will pretty much disappear. Remember don't get fancy and start mixing shrubs - a contiguous hedge type better suits your landscape. You could throw in a tree for a high light at one of the corners. The hedge is to be planted around the three sides.

you could also plant a larger mass of shrubs with a few multi stemmed trees between your patio screen and the neighbors to give added privacy and to soften the house .

Hope this helps.e

Actually just thought of the perfect hedge plant for you - look for rosa rugosa. It's a shrub rose so really low maintenance - has thorns so is pretty much impossible to get thru once it has formed a hedge - will take moisture from your runoff and perfectly suits your landscape. Added pluses are flowering continuously spring and summer and rose hips in fall and winter. By far one of my favorite plants.

She said deter dogs from jumping fence - not whether they were neighborhood dogs or her own.

Does the HOA have say over what you do in your back yard (in addition to the say on the fence)? If so, see what they say first.

All these people taking their time to help and not a peep from the one asking for advice. I don't get it

Yes, have you decided what to do, Jess? would love to see pictures!

Don't use yews of you have dogs. Poisonous. Would like to see how the yard is coming along.

Remove the lawn and replace with an interesting mix of perennials.

Roses would have briars and would help discourage the dog as would holly bushes or trees or pyracantha a/k/a firethorn bushes.

There are hedge bushes that grow really dense, some that grow rapidly, and, when mature, could serve to fence off your yard. When you choose your shrubbery, avoid climbers because your neighbors might seriously object and many tend to spread and become a nuisance.

If appearance matters, however, among my personal favorite bushes for the yard are the aucuba bushes -- aucuba japonica crotonifolia. These bushes keep most of their leaves year round, though they will have some turn yellow and slough off as the seasons change. They'd also hide any utility items in your yard. You can propagate these bushes by covering the lower limb that is touching the ground with dirt and adding a brick or rock to hold it into place until the limb roots, creating a second bush beside the first.

http://www.griffithpropagationnursery.com/Aucuba%20Hosoba%20HoshiFu.JPG

Would you be permitted to add lattice to your side of the fence?

Would you be permitted to add a wood trellis row very near the fence spaced only a few feet apart -- something to which you might add clear fishing line or thin wire just above the fence line?

Would you be able to add a single strand of an electric fence wire to the top of your side of the fence?

There are dog collars that will shock a dog when it wanders too far from the control box. Though not a huge fan of inflicting pain on a pet, perhaps you could use one long enough to train your dog -- I suggest it only because I hate the idea of a dog on a chain or in a tiny cage even more and understand that keeping your dog in your yard is safer for your dog.

These might inspire you!

Angelica, the OP never bothered to acknowledge any of the help offered back in June so it's unlikely that your inspirational pics are going to be appreciated other than myself and others that are still being notified re this dilemma

Good idea to check the date of the last post and whether the OP ever responded before puting any time or effort into it, although your pics kind of make me wish I had a terraced back yard!

river rock landscaping with thorny yuccas and agaves. dogs might jump it once. lol