p.s. We are in Zone 9A, northeast Florida.

You need to fill your landscape ideabook.

There are some good ideabooks on Houzz about skinny yards:

[https://www.houzz.com/magazine/8-new-uses-for-your-side-yard-stsetivw-vs~3179255[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/8-new-uses-for-your-side-yard-stsetivw-vs~3179255)

[https://www.houzz.com/magazine/8-splendid-side-yard-designs-stsetivw-vs~2917468[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/8-splendid-side-yard-designs-stsetivw-vs~2917468)

What's your budget?

Our budget will range anywhere between $500 to $2000, depending on our other projects and the economic outlook for 2017.

That's add new mulch and some bedding edging. That is not a landscaping budget, even if you DIY all of the labor.

I loved the attachments from groveraxel. The yards were beautiful! I would start by making sure you don't have any standing water after a rain (mosquitos) Also check the gutters to see if water is directed away from your house and then I would run the sprinkler system to see where all the zones are located. We added new beds and had to add new zones to the sprinkler system. Great space with tons of potential!

Sorry- Groveraxle.

Thank you for all the advice! I have never owned a home before, or even mowed a lawn for that matter, so this is great feedback! I have always lived in dorms, military barracks, apartments, etc. I will get started with some mulching and border, then move on to the next phase. Anyone have feedback about what type of border would look good at the base of the trees, or how the border could be structured next to the house? Should I use red mulch or brown? Thank you again for the feedback.

einportlandor has pretty much nailed it. The only thing I might add is to make a plan for the whole space before you do anything permanent. Once you have a plan, you can implement it as time and finances allow, and you won't be adding anything that you'll later have to remove.

This is such fabulous advice for an enthusiastic beginner like me! Thank you for the detailed responses above. We are trying to develop the master plan and do one step at a time as resources (like time and money and energy) allow. We will begin by visiting garden stores and working with local Master Gardeners, as suggested. Then we will begin the mulch and border process, within the context of the overal plan. Our initial budget is small, but we plan to augment that with additional funds thoughout the year.

I like reference books, the two I found invaluable early on (and still refer to) are the 'SouthernLiving Garden Book' and 'SouthernLiving Garden Problem Solver'.

You can always take your budget and go to a landscape architect and have them give you a 5, 6, or 7 year plan. Then you can landscape, with a plan, to your hearts content. They will be able to tell you suitable plants, mulch, grass, sprinkler systems, etc. It is money spent upfront that will save you thousands in the end. And a lot of frustrating planting and unplanting.

Kathi, that's a great idea. We will give it a shot.

Here is a great website I found, thanks to the advice about the master gardener advice above. If anyone else is looking for info on Florida landscaping, you can visit http://www.floridayards.org/landscape/index.php

It was what we did when we moved into our house, and as a result, I spent a lot less on plants than I would have. You can dig holes where you will plant and begin to compost there. The landscape architects have great ideas.

Lasagna gardening. Look it up. And save your cardboard and newspaper.