where are you? zone? photos?

There is a lot of climate range within zone 9 (FL vs NM vs coastal CA for example) since zone only indicates average coldest winter temperatures.

In my area, grass for the majority of the area and a couple of large pots with seasonal plantings in a visible location would make the most sense, but depending on your location and particular site, that might not work for you which is why Olivia would like a general location and some photos. For instance, if you live in an area with regular water shortages, grass may not be the best idea. You also want to consider use in the near future such as a temporary sitting area or a spot for kids to play.

Rocks. Use gravel to make paths or patio areas. Inexpensive and easy to diy.

But what will happen to all those rocks/gravel when a permanent landscape is decided upon that won’t need gravel? And in wet climate areas, rocks will start growing weeds in short order (with or without “landscape fabric”), creating either a weedy mess or a need for regular herbicide applications. Many types of gravel are miserable to walk on.

There isn’t a one side fits all solution - more info is needed.

Grass (sod). Fairly cheap (not free) and holds everything in place, easy to undo later in stages. If you can, decide where you want trees now so you can get those established as soon as possible.

If you need privacy, plant smaller and inexpensive trees now. I planted arborvitae and hicks yews - both which are evergreen and grow narrow and tall. The younger, smaller trees are much less expensive than the larger ones, but will grow and catch up before you know it.

I agree with Hallett & Co. Grass is a good temporary solution, seed will be cheaper but sod will be more instant. Later on, making changes is only a matter of removing small sections of sod. Good Luck!

Photos please.

Here are the photos:

Thanks for the photos. It looks like you are somewhere with enough moisture to grow grass based on the view beyond your property, so plant grass. You have three options: sod is more expensive but quicker to establish; seed is least expensive, but will take more time to establish, and hydroseeding is somewhere in between for both time and expense. Regardless of which you choose, you will need to water regularly the first season until fully established.

We still don’t know where you are. I thought I saw a 9 for zone by your name yesterday, but I don’t see it today and the photo looks too cold for zone 9. If you want to restrict children or pets to the yard before you get to a design, it will be relatively easy to put in a fence using metal fence posts/T-posts and welded wire for all or part of the yard.

I agree proacly grass to keep the mud down or some kind of ground cover. I for sure would not do gravel since removing it is a PITA Nice big space so good idea to wait to plan it well. BTW I find decks much nicer for seating and entertaining than grass and IMO a lot fewer chemicals to deal with which is a never ending story with grass.

Me, too ... grass.

I'm a Californian so I'd start with a fence. :) If you can continue the metal fence like your neighbor has, it would look pretty nice and preserve the view.

I'd probably get inside, go to the rooms with the best views, and see if I needed any trees to block anything ugly and get a head start on them. (They would probably be fruit trees.)

The nice hills look like the hills all over CA right now--they're green until about May. If that's your area, you'll probably need to water a lawn once winter is over. Invest in a good sprinkler that screws onto the hose and you can save serious irrigation concerns until you're ready.

Yes this is hill view. Builder will give wooden fence on the side and the iron fence facing the hills. I want to take time designing this large space. Hence want something cheap for now.

It’s looking soggy due to recent rains.

The photos are from the outer decks upstairs and downstairs. So nothing ugly as I see right now. There is a powerstation a distance away for which I will add a fountain to douse the hum - but that’s long term bucket.

How about mulch all over? Will it be enough to keep weeds away till then?

You'd need to go 8-12" deep for mulch to suppress weeds for any length of time. That said, it will do wonders for your soil!

Mulch will work fine. And you don't need anywhere close to 8-12" to suppress weed development. Half that - 4-6" - will work perfectly well in accomplishing that! In fact, it is seldom ever recommended to apply any mulch deeper than 6 inches. As with many aspects of gardening, more is not necessarily better.

Be aware that if you have pets or little kids, some mulch will stick to them and end up in the house. Just be sure to do a calculation of the volume of mulch to do 6” over an area of 46’x56’, figure out how many dump truck loads that will be along with the delivery charges and work and tools that you or someone else will need in order to get it spread, and then price out the three alternatives for putting in grass and watering. What you don’t want to do is put down a too thin layer of mulch and have a weed patch grow up through the mulch since things like thistles can be difficult to get rid of once established.

Mulch will always have some weeds. The wind carries seeds and they will germinate in mulch. No soil needed for them to grow. An application of a product like Preen will help prevent most of it.

Not saying you shouldn't do mulch but be aware.

depends on how long it'll just be mulch. If it's only till early spring, 4-6" is fine. Here in VA (especially out in the country), if it's still nothing but 4-6" of mulch at the end of May, you'll have a meadow by mid-June. If hort professors are recommending 8-12" of mulch or wood chips for pre-planting weed suppression and soil enhancement, I'm going to go with their recommendation as they have PhDs and I don't, but to each their own.

Omg no no no mulch. I would accept the wood fence to hide the mess to the left and decline the fence at the back which will ruin the lovely flow of the landscape. How about paths of grass with easy to seed native wildflower on the majority.

I also love the idea of a prastone (not sharp grey gravel) patio and Homemade stone path.

Take inspiration from your beautiful natural surroundings.

greenfish, this is not intended to be a finished landscape plan but rather just a stop-gap measure in a new build until the OP can properly address the landscaping at a later date. The subject title tells it all :-)) So weed suppression - which will always be an issue with bare soil - and erosion control/walkability of the property are the overriding concerns. And in that respect, mulch makes perfect sense!

But I still question the need to pile on mulch to a depth of 8-12 inches!! I am a degreed horticulturist, a professional consultant and designer and even teach classes on soils and soil improvement and I have never encountered any other professionals that recommend mulching that heavily. In fact, you can find all manner of publications - most from .edu or industry professional websites - that caution against mulching too heavily. Not to mention the unnecessary expense of that much mulch and the need to remove a significant portion of it before any permanent landscaping can be considered!

Garden girl-I read the post. Mulch is a terrible choice. Any day I would just broadcast a nitrogen fixing covercrop before the 1) expense 2) bad looks 3) mess of mulch. The fact that some people use mulch decoratively is one of my greatest gardening pet peeves. Mulch is meant to help retain water and keep down weeds in an otherwise living garden.

Well, we can agree to disagree :-) Mulching is arguably the best thing one can do for a garden, even a brand new, unplanted, blank slate garden - insulates the soil, slows evaporation/helps to retain moisture, impedes erosion, suppresses weeds and if an organic mulch, will add to soil tilth and fertility. If correctly applied, there are no "bad looks" or "mess" with a mulch and one could make a strong case on a mulched surface of bare soil looking much better than any cover crop!!

But I do agree that both a hydroseeded lawn or a cover crop could accomplish virtually the same effect, more or less. But getting any more carried away with lawn paths or wildflowers or natural stone walkways is unnecessary and very premature at this stage of the game!!

I would never recommend spending money on anything short term. Anything that you spend money on needs to ultimately fit into the long term plan or it's not worth doing. You're much better off taking some time to come up with whatever the long term plan is going to be, and then just start slowing chipping away at that plan and make that your "short term plan" .... a long term plan executed in stages over time is the new short term plan.

Mulch is an ideal short term solution and is not expensive. And it will add to the long term plan by improving soil conditions and help to prevent compaction and erosion.

In my professional opinion, it is really hard to come up with any more viable and economical a solution to the OPs requirements, both immediately and long term.

The reason I recommend native wildflowers is that they can easily be mowed back as a plan moves forward, and as for rocks, I have built and repurposed walls and pathways around my gardens countless times. A wildflower yard would give you a low-maintenance, stunning oasis for birds and pollinators while you plot and plan, as opposed to a desolate landscape. A pallet of stones would give a quick, imperfect, but reusable patio

Not familiar with your zone, but here in New England I would ask how long is "temporary"? If it is just a season or a few, you might look into a zone appropriate tillable ground cover. If the soil is poor, something leguminous would feed the soil when it was tilled in. Otherwise there should be annual crops that could be seeded in at a nominal cost. If you do turf grass, removal can be a drag, plus watering, mowing, etc.. It will never look great without a lot of care and feeding. Talk to a real horticulturist, not some lawn guy, nor even a landscape architect. You need someone like gardengal48 to do a consult.

I am a native Californian...do not plant grass without a sprinkler system...and you may very well have watering restrictions. Those green hills only happen in the winter/rain season...they are brown from May until November due to dry season. Just leave it be until you can properly install irrigation and have a master plan.

No cover crop will grow beyond April/May...weeds grow all year...grassy weeds in the winter(reference hills in background), thistles and such in the dry season... Shredded bark might help, but would be quite pricey.

If you can at least figure out where you want your beds, you can add soil, amendments and mulch to those areas to keep the weeds out and then seed or sod your desired grassy areas. You would not be adding any plant material at this time but just doing bed prep and installing your grass. If you did this (rather than grassing the entire yard), you would save yourself the trouble of digging out and removing any grass later and you would, at the very least, have a neat and tidy yard (albeit empty aside from the grass). Then, when you are ready, you can add your plant material to your already prepared beds.

This is what I have done with my own yard...we only installed beds and grass and will wait to add plants/bushes/trees. It’s naked, but neat and ready for for planting when the money rolls in :)