if the weeds to over before, they are going to invade whatever you plant in the future.

how about some hardscape for outdoor living? A photo of the front of the house would help with suggestions.

Neighbors are pretty close, is that their front space too? what do they have?

Is the stone around the tree to the lot line?

I'd build a raised bed planter and define the lot line with trees, shrubs, tall foliage and plants.

plant grass from the driveway tp the lot line definition.

The weeds have been awful. Three major hurricanes in the past five years, one of which brought floodwaters, have scattered weeds from everywhere across the whole neighborhood. I am trying to avoid chemicals and I would like to be as Florida Friendly as possible, but I am on my one last nerve.

Have you considered artificial turf? We have it around our pool. It drains, it is antimicrobial, and pet friendly.

You would want Premium and have it professional installed by a reputable installer who knows the pros and cons of 9B.

I did find this suggestion for install in smaller yards.

https://dadeturf.com/blog/maximizing-small-florida-yards-with-artificial-turf

You can cut holes in it to add additional plantings.

The average lifespan of high-quality artificial turf in Florida is 15 to 25 years, depending on usage and maintenance. While cheaper products may degrade within 5 to 8 years, premium synthetic grass systems are engineered to handle Florida's UV radiation, rainfall, and high humidity with minimal fading or breakdown.

You might consider lirope (Lilyturf) for this area. It is slow growing in the Midwest, but I’m not sure about Florida. No need to mow it and not really walkable but otherwise it may fit your need as it’s zone 5-10 and grows well in shaded areas. It’s a pretty ground cover too.

Before choosing a groundcover, I would separate the three jobs this strip is being asked to do: hold the street-side slope, tolerate occasional foot traffic, and stay inside an undefined lot line. One plant is unlikely to do all three well in Florida 9B.

First mark the property edge and every place people actually step, then watch the strip during one heavy rain. Note where water enters from the path or street, where sediment moves, and where it ponds. If runoff is concentrating, correct that route before planting; new roots will not reliably stabilize an active washout. Keep a narrow, intentional stepping route of pavers or compacted mineral material so the planted area does not need to be both a lawn and a bed.

For the planting itself, use a defined edge on the neighbor side and repeat a small number of locally appropriate species in wider blocks rather than mixing many single plants. Ask your county extension office or a Florida-Friendly Landscaping program contact to screen the short list for your exact county, salt exposure if relevant, mature spread, and whether each species escapes by runners or seed. Buy a few plants first and test them through the wet season before filling the whole strip.

Also leave enough clearance around the tree flare and avoid raising soil against it. A temporary mulch layer can suppress the next weed flush while you finalize the layout, but do not bury the flare or rely on landscape fabric; sediment and weeds eventually collect above it.

We have the Lirope mentioned above and we are further south. New build, so everything was planted beginning of 2022. The Lirope is looking fine now, but it was slow growing and we lost a few plants early on. Older Lirope plantings in the neighborhood look great. Maybe it just takes a while to take root, our soil wasn't great and/or we got poor quality plants?

No to artificial turf (against HOA rules). I do have lots of liriope on the other side of the driveway. I am a little embarrassed to show a picture of the other side because the grass is quite dead. We have been in a drought for the past year with very tight watering restrictions. It was professionally landscaped about 5 years ago, but unfortunately even the landscape plants aren't looking great.

Gardmi: The tree flare surrounds a crepe myrtle which is actually my neighbors' tree. That whole area is somewhat problematic because the water meter for both our houes is buried there (on my side) and there is also a defunct cable box (Comcast-green and ugly). The crepe myrtle is causing that side to be shady in the morning. It has never been pruned and it is large.

Emily: that looks so cool....like something from the magic kingdom.

That detail changes the layout in a useful way. Treat the two water meters and the cable box as a permanent service zone, not as planting space: keep the lids visible and fully reachable, do not raise the grade over them, and leave a clear route for a technician to kneel and lift the covers. A removable mulch or stepping-stone strip is safer there than dense groundcover or fixed edging.

Before installing any root barrier, boulders, or deep edging, have the utilities marked and check the required clearance with the water and cable providers. Near the neighbor's crepe myrtle, avoid cutting major roots or adding soil against the flare; use shallow-rooted planting and hand excavation only. That service strip can also become the practical boundary that keeps the more spreading plants away from the neighbor's lawn.

Emily: I love!!! the rock lawn but I don't think it would work because we are on a slope and I think the rocks would end up in the road after the first big rain. Also, here is what the other side looks like. Scraggly (almost non-existent) lawn because many tree roots have come to the surface. Lots of trees, meaning lots of leaves. I do have rocks to the left of the pathway going up to the house but it takes forever for the lawn guys to blow them clean. I can see why people call the sod farm and tell them to deliver. It's just so much easier.

Check with your local nursery and see what suggestions they have. I’m sure they would come up with a ground cover that meets the needs of your lawn.

Your current grouping of plants within the shape created by your path could use some thinning IMO.

The rock design by Emily is definitely the way to go. Get a professional to help you.

More ideas

The rock paths are very nice and are a nightmare to keep that way in the South. Where you want paths, use stamped concrete, best, or pavers. For the beds, mulch heavily and cover with pine straw. Do not use landscape fabric. Weeds grow up and down through the fabric. I know from experience. Our gravel drive is always full of weeds and the fabric is worse than usless.

I've toyed with the idea of sprinkling concrete dust on the pathway and waiting for it to rain. so the concrete dust would harden and prevent weeds from popping up. That actually might work.

Your slope does not look steep and there is a liquid you can get to keep smaller gravel from moving. I have all gravel in my yard did some raised beds and moved some gravel for perennial beds in my back yard which is fenced but my front yard will be a desert type landscape with boulders rocks and cacti to keep deer damage to a min.I think that would be pretty FLA friendly too.

I would like to be as Florida Friendly as possible,

A good source for ideas/suggestions for that spot would be your native plant society. Every state has one.

Sprinkling concrete dust does not sounds like a good idea. I think you’d just have a mess…. and the weeds.

You're probably right. It won't work because of the landscape fabric under the rocks.

Patricia, I can't begin to tell you how fascinated I am about the gravel glue. I really need to check that out.

Larger coarse rock like crushed stone that is not smooth and rounded interlocks and does not move. It's used on driveways around here and even cars don't budge it.

I have used this one for a bit larger gravel than pea gravel and it worked well . From Amazon

Have you looked at any extension agency pages yet? IFAS has a whole 'Florida Friendly Yards' program with lots of helpful ideas...

https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn-and-garden/florida-friendly-landscaping/