You have some great ideas already in your ideabooks...

Sophisticated Surrounding · More Info

I can only tell you what I did. I saved a bunch-o-photos just like you, then measured and drew a plot plan on graph paper marking the house and everything that already existed. I spent hours sitting outside with my plot plan and a tablet of tracing paper, imagining what I would do there and where things should be. I drew plan after plan and eventually settled on one.

After I had the hardscape mapped and garden beds mapped out, I decided what habit--ground cover, upright, spiky, etc.--I wanted my plants to have. I visited the best garden center in town and the horticulturist walked me around to show me what I could plant where. I wrote all those down, contracted out the yard. then after it was built, I (shhhhh) went to a slightly less expensive garden center and ordered the plants.

New backyard · More Info

Good luck!

Doris, your yard will be awesome. You have some fabulous pictures in your ideabooks...plus it looks like you don't live in a desert so you can go green. ;-)

With a yard that size & considering the scope of what you want I think it would be well worth the money to have a landscape architect or designer draw up plans.