Plant with a low-growing meadow:

No one can give you much advice on what plants to use, as we need a zone and major city. While I like pinks and purples, you can do this with whites or yellows, too. These all have paths through them, but the basic idea is a large area of low-growing plants. Some are evergreen, like heathers, you can include some very low-growing junipers or other needled evergreens. Short grasses look good year round, too.

Hill meadow · More Info

Coan Waterfront Landscape, Camano Island, WA · More Info

adding rocks would be nice

Sonoma Back Yard Renovation · More Info

Oops big miss in my post! I am zone 9B ! San Jose , California

Ooh I love pinks, reds, purples and blues!

Ok - California = extreme water restrictions= xeriscaping Something along the lines of the Sonoma back yard reno @Sigrid showed you in her pics

I need to have a plan by tomorrow as my contractor is on stand by.

Your local nursery is your best bet.

I would suggest that some type of lacy tree is a given for your front yard.

There are tons of lovely, low water CA natives, but I'm not very familiar with them, I'm in Maine.