Not a fan of the lattice really

I’d replace the low fence with lathes cut to fit the garage itself. Attach to the inside the posts. Grow a vine on it

Reroute the downspout run off to empty out in a low area and drain away from the building. I don’t know where you are but it sure looks sandy. Yet the rest of the lawn looks ok. Maybe the previous owner kept a dog tied up there?? Scrape the sand up to use to level the lawn where it needs it. Replace it with good topsoil snd compost and sow grass or plant this fall.

downspout run off should be 8 to 10 feet from the house ... get an extension IMMEDIATELY ... while you work on the rest ... see below re: garden beds ... eventually we can work on shortening the drain pipe ...

and seed and grow the grass on the sand .. july/august is usually not the time of year for that ...

btw.. where are you.. for best help ...

do you think the sand was left over from recent construction???.. the carport pad??? ...

again.. where are you ... fall is probably the next planting season ... so now would be the time to build garden beds ... some nice shrubs would hide the carport.. but would probably have to be planted some number of feet out from the fence ...

location.. big city name.. the more info you give.. the better plant suggestions you will get ... go find out if all your soil is sand ... dig a hole and find out ...

lattice.. short wood fence.. tall wood fence.. crikey .. lol ... what a visual nightmare ... is there any reason you cant fence the dog away from the carport ... and be done with all the wood around and inside of the cars????

and finally ... as part of your long term plan ... will you be wanting a deck.. or patio .. because part of that plan might include a solution to the carport ... in other words.. make a 5 year budget friendly plan ... and just go at it.. over time..

do not have any instant expectations ... that is for when you have an unlimited budget ...

ken

for future reference: https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

It looks like the downspout is attached to a drainage tube in the ground. If so, is the runoff because the gutters or downspout tube is clogged?

I am in Mobile, AL and I’ve never seen this sand in any residential landscape! @kitasei2 I’ve been here 3 months and less than half the yard was covered with grass. I added top soil and compost, tried to level the best I knew how, added fertilizer, sparsely watered as it’s been rainy, and cut the grass in different directions. I am actually quite pleased with all the green I see now compared to what I had. I am almost certain I have St. Augustine.

I will add pics later of the satellite view and it may be after it rains because I’m honestly not sure how the other areas drain off.

As for the downspout it’s it $%#&show! Seriously rigged and rigged with 2 downspouts.

The sand...I still cannot figure out where it came from or what the purpose of it was. Maybe they had a sandbox? But that sand is a little different, finer, cleaner? Idk but it is also spread along the side of the house—backyard only.

Hideous carport...I do not have another way to keep the dogs contained. I also have a German Shepherd and the Retriever is still a pup.

Long term plan is to convert the carport into a garage, extend the patio possibly and adding a large pergola. Sago palms have to go, they’re not my thing. The Bradford and Pecan trees cut down and plant a Dogwood and Sweet Bay Magnolia tree. Created curved beds around the perimeter in an L shape lined with white Crepe Myrtles. Hopefully some of that will come sooner than later, but for now I’m wanting to fix the landscaping by the carport and the carport itself.

More views

I have a teenage son that can help with labor, but other than that it is myself and google. Some terminology may need to be elaborated on, sorry!

The same as it would be for a building, the grade should slope away from the slab of the carport, but looks like it does not. Running the back corner downspout underground but requiring the pipe it's connected to, to resurface at the front of the carport surely means that there is not a continuous downward slope to that pipe, which would be necessary in order for it to be "self cleaning." The consequence is that it will silt up and eventually clog. You've indicated it is failing now. The long term, problem-free solution is surface drainage that comes about by proper grading. You don't have the kind of topography required to use underground pipes here for draining gutters.

The downspout next to the carport column contributes to the clutter. Figure out a way to tuck it away and conceal better. If you regrade well as Yardvaark is suggesting, you may not need a gutter or downspout at all. Modern houses with deep overhangs (and that is what a carport is, a very deep overhang) are designed without them for a streamlined look and to avoid the inevitable clogging. If the water running off the roof is concentrated in one place, a rain chain might be enough to disperse the flow or channel into an attractive container.

I don’t find your carport an eyesore. It’s the clutter. Edit that away and you have a clean modern look. I don’t like looking at cars so I’d come up with a screening solution as several of us have offered,

Brava on your lawn restoration - and with dogs! I didn’t suggest using the sand to level your yard because I thought it was any more uneven than a typical yard, but just because that’s one thing sand is useful for. I didn’t know thst Ken’s suggestion to sow seed in sand was possible. I’m still skeptical if the sand is more than an inch or so deep.

I found this as a possible screening solution

From the pictures it looks like there is an existing path from the patio around the carport to what looks like a gate. So sidewalk or brick path in the same area may be a solution to your grass problem.

As others has said the fence and latices looks bad. I would take it down and if nothing else replace it with some thing like lilacs, gardenias, Rose of Sharon, etc. Or add some sort of matrix to the patio post and plant a vine like honeysuckle, etc. I would run the plantings from the house, along the fence on the right side of the patio, in front of the patio and then around the carport to the "Lot line" fence.

As a long term solution you may wish to close in the carport and make a real garage.

I like the idea of using a live privacy screen, preferably an evergreen with white flowers. As beautiful and perfect as star/confederate jasmine is it may be poisonous and quite unruly. Any ideas for vines that won’t spread uncontrollably and have a growth height of 8 ft or so? Here is some inspo I found