I agree, those huge agave looking plants need to go. It also looks like the smaller plants are planted too close, so maybe spacing them out would be all you'd need, after removing the others.

I agree a little thinning would do the trick. Have you considered painting the shutters? A really bright blue green would be pretty. Like Benjamin Moore Bella Blue.

Your landscape must have been very attractive when it was first planted.

Sometimes people forget to consider mature plant size when planning. The Agave type plants will have to go. If you own a Sawzall, buy a pruning blade for it and that will help a lot. You will have to dig it out completely.

I also see Dietes and what I think is Garlic. These are good plants to have. They are simply overgrown. Both need to be dug up and divided. The Garlic is too tall for it's location on the left anyway. The good thing about both is that you can use the divisions to add to your garden or give them away to friends.

It is not appealing to have plants block the view of the entrance to a home. People like me call it "barricade" gardening. I made an image showing roughly how your house could look without all the barricades. I gave you an entrance walk as well.

If you'd like to further reduce your lawn area you could make a bed next to the wall on your property line. It could be deeper than I pictured. I did not take the time to add plants although that would be the aim.

I painted your shutters BM Stained Glass.

There are many attractive low water plants. (I am in California too) Next to your porch I gave you Blue Fescue, sorry it looks turquoise, and Helianthemum. Both will stay small which is what you want for that area.

I think Fescue looks better if it gets some shade during the hottest time of day. Some other plants that came to mind are Little John Bottlebrushand GuaraI hear there are now dwarf forms of Guara.

I know a path is not in the budget for now. I drew it as an option for the future. Without the path you still need to leave the area in front of the entrance in open view. In the second image I gave you Dragon's Blood

Sedum. It is less red than I make it look. It stays low.

Hi Melissa,

What a beautiful home you have! We are a Los Angeles based landscape company and are very familiar with drought tolerant design. I included some images and names of suitable plants for arid climates. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us. Check out our Houzz profile to see some of our drought resistant landscape designs!

Agave Americana

Aloe aculeata

festuca glauca

salvia leucantha

artemisia powis castle

bougainvillea

Best Regards,

Lara B.

562-209-9670

http://www.houzz.com/pro/caliscape

You can add color all the way out to the sidewalk or just add certain areas of drought tolerant. Here are some pictures of accents and a render of a drought tolerant option. I design in the LA and Orange County area so if you want to talk about your options feel free to call me.