Could you post a picture of the whole front yard including the house?

Yes, we need to see the whole area to get a feel for where you should go. How about a picture taken from across the street?

Photos?

Yes please pictures are what we need for context.

I'll try to get a better picture. Hard to get one from across the street because there are usually neighbor's cars in front most days. But will try to find a time when there isn't.

And thanks Doug - I like that style. I'll have to go buy a couple figs (the fruit) and see if I like them. I don't think I've ever tried one :-) I am in a fairly warm area in Southern California - 10a in my zip, and surrounded by 9b all around my zip code.

I don't think you need to get rid of the wall, but I would remove the extra bricks that extend toward it (from the driveway?). You could create a flower garden on the smaller section next to the wall, and add some shrubs and understory trees on the wider expanse. Or if you prefer, you could plant the entire area and incorporate some vegetables with the flowers to create a cottage feel, but with a bonus. Just be sure you are able to maintain it. The wall is not a problem at all.

When you talk about the mulched area, what are your plans for it. It will get weedy very quickly when the weather warms. You want to have a plan ready to go.

Also, where are you? We can suggest specific plants if we know your zone and nearest big city.

Thank you cyn427. I'll have to find where to update my profile to add in my zone/location like you have it. I always forget to include that in posts. I'm in 10a, surrounded by 9b zones, in Corona, Riverside County in Southern California.

I'm kind of leaning towards adding a couple Barbados Cherry trees or low chill Cherry trees into that middle area now. Maybe figs, but I haven't had fig newtons since I was a kid maybe 40-50 years ago. Got some dried figs to try today, but still want to also get some fresh to try them. Sounds like they only last a couple days in the store, so it's hit and miss on when they have them.

Re: the mulch - yeah, I learned that very much this last year. I let the Bermuda grass/weeds get out of control. Now I'm trying to deal with them, and it's a major pain. And I don't like using Roundup because I like to also put food plants in the mulched areas.

So that's also a consideration on what goes to the left of the small block wall. I want it to help fill in so that it keeps the Bermuda grass out, but not so much that it feels too crowded as the plants mature. I put a few layers of cardboard under the mulch to try to help reduce the Bermuda grass coming up. I think it helps, but I'm not sure how much and for how long.

Where the brick extends beyond the path, it's coming from a side door on the side of the garage. I'm looking to make an oblong amoeba shaped birdbath that I think might go well there. The previous owners did have a bench seat there and a couple potted plants.

But it could also make sense to have that birdbath there without the brick extended so there can be more small plants under it.

So many things to think about :-)

But I'm actually glad my neighbor did put up that fence. It's got me thinking differently on how to go about things in ways that better match what I want. Brought me back to life in a way :-)

Thank you again Doug...

You also got me thinking differently with putting that 4' plant on the front side of the small block wall.

I was thinking something big out there then hides the rest - bad for curb appeal maybe.

I was thinking 'big in front is bad'.

But I need to re-think that thought I think.

Have you thought about a pittosporum?

There are many different types, and they do well in SoCal, and do well as a green privacy screen.

I am a little confused about where your property line is, and the hardscape on your property and what you want to keep.

Maybe take your photos and thoughts to your local reputable garden center (where you get real live gardening advice) and ask if pittosporum would achieve your purposes, and if so which one(s.)

I do love those dwarf pomegranates, too bad you can't eat them.

Speaking of trees, why not plant something you can use. Like a lemon tree. Or two or three. Even their blossoms smell divine.

How many figs can one person eat?

Now, lemons, that is another matter.

I don't know how old you are, but if that was my house, besides the lemon trees, I would build some raised beds.

That would make it much easier for you to amend the soil and fertilize and plant and water and maintain in shorter amounts of time and energy, all without overly stressing your back and knees.

You can even garden in a raised bed from a wheel chair if the width isn't too wide.

Another advantage of raised beds is that the dogs won't get to them, nor can rabbits or most other varmints. Deer can, of course.

I would have flowers, because one cannot live by bread (or fruit and vegetables) alone, and once you have grown your own fragrant roses, you'll never go back to store-bought again.

Besides, a salad looks so much prettier with violas or pansies sprinkled on it.

And for sure, grow things that attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Maybe make your life easy and buy a wild flower mix and just sprinkle and water and be wonderfully surprised.

Or get a cosmos mix and sow in un-fancy unfertilized soil and have great flowers forever.

Buy a passel of Command hooks and affix to that wall with a string netting and sow sweet peas along the base, especially the fragrant ones, are they ever great in a simple slim vase. Or a mason jar.

Put up a very simple water bath for the butterflies and hummingbirds, but get one with a simple bubbler, so you don't have stagnant water, you don't need to invite mosquitos and West Nile Virus.

I would grow herbs, and which ones depend on what you need for your cooking. be careful though, mint will overtake the whole garden, so confine that to a pot, and many herbs will not do well with fertilizer, so please read up.

In SoCal, tomatoes for sure. And pick ones that mature at different times so you always have a steady crop during harvesting season.

Zucchini, peppers, eggplant, oh my. Ratatouille isn't just a movie.

But try growing the mini varieties, you don't have that much space, and they are adorable! Also those micro-greens that cost a blooming fortune at the market.

Too bad the stone wall isn't a bit higher, you could get some clever person to hook up a twee recirculating waterfall along some part of it with a tiny little bubbling pond with stacked rocks and moss, the motor hidden by the rocks.

If you have children, for their benefit, tuck in a little tiny fairy or gnome.

There are a myriad of references on the internet for raised gardening beds you can check out, including the best way to water them.

Look at what I just found on the internet for outdoor water features or mini water gardens.

https://www.diyncrafts.com/26347/home/gardening/20-charming-cheap-mini-water-garden-ideas-home-garden

https://www.finegardening.com/article/make-a-big-splash-with-a-tiny-water-garden

Here's an additional pic from the front side that some asked for.

There's about a 2' drop in grade from sidewalk to where the mulch starts.

The mulch then goes back to the house, and to the left between the back of the block wall and the house.

Meyer lemon tree there to the left of the house, and a Ceanothus that died I think (if it doesn't come back in Spring will replace), and a Texas Privet there also.

When the fence rotted and blew down, I just put up a small red-neck fence to keep the pooch from getting out. But decided just to use plants to block the view from front to back yard.

And just for reference, the small block wall is about 32' long.

I do plan to keep the palm tree in that in-between space. May sound crazy, but the previous owners said it came from their father's nursury, and he passed on, so it was important to them. So I just can't cut it down :-)

But I do need to get out there and find a way to cut the dead fronds - it's grown taller than my saw will reach.

So I like the idea of something on both sides of it like in Dougs mockup picture.

So far I think it's either figs or Barbados cherries. I just tried a dried fig, and it was good, and I saw lots of recipes for using figs, so that could work.

Would kind of like to put a small male/female pistacio tree there, but I can't really picture that being a good option there. Just seems like the wrong shape unless I can prune it well into a semi-wide shape, instead of tall tree style.

I liked Doug's plants also in the mulched area, and the tall one up front in the mulched area.

So will have to figure out which plants best to use there.

Would like to fit in a Hosta or two or three - but I'm guessing I need to decide on the larger plants and position of them first, then can start also doing the medium, and then the small. The Hosta might actually go into the planter area under the palm next to the house.

What is the purpose of that cinder block wall? With the neighbors white fence it just looks oddly out of place. Would you consider taking it down and using the blocks to make a raised bed for your food garden instead? That would help.

Thank you loobab, all good things to think about.

One of the Pittosporums might be a good one to replace the Ceanothus that I think died back there on the side of the house.

I need something there that is also non-toxic to dogs, so that may work well there.

Lemon tree - got that already :-) It's the small tree directly behind the palm in the middle of the grassy area.

Raised beds - I love them, but mostly I like them in the back yard. I kind of think of the mulched areas as raised beds, just not raised, if that makes sense. So I have herbs there, tried some ginger and turmeric, and Brazillian spinach.

When I had a gardener, he pulled out the ginger thinking it was a weed.

And the turmeric dies off every winter, so it's not really a great front planter plant probably.

The oregano and lemon thyme I love as front yard herbs.

You asked about the property line - that was nice pre-fence - it just flowed without really worrying about it.

And it seems a little tricky now.

The new white fence is about on the property line on the back side.

On the front side, the white fence is about a foot or two on the other side of the property line.

So I'm kind of assuming I should just figure anything on the right side of the white fence is for me to handle at this point.

How old I am - 57. Hoping to retire the summer so that I'm still young enough to do some of these landscaping things :-)

Birdbaths - whole different story there - I want to get into making more unique birdbaths in retirement. I don't like the options available for them.

But that's maybe to come in the future.

Garden gnome - too funny... my sis gave me a garden gnome this last Christmas.

I thought she gave it to me because it mimicks me in retirement in the next year.

She said she didn't even think of that - was just a garden gnome to put outside :-)

Stream/pond was looking like an option if I were to take out the small block wall.

But if I'm keeping it, which it seems now like I am, the stream/pond is back to being in the back yard for now.

Thanks for the input.

melle_sacto - that was exactly what prompted me to ask the question :-)

It fit in well before the neighbor's white fence went up.

After the fence went up this week, it changed the whole dynamic.

Getting rid of it would probably radically change what I might have to do with the space.

But for now, I think I've got a good idea how it can stay there, and still make things work well.