To start you thinking:

And one more:

Start an ideabook just for front yard landscapes.

Xeriscape. A few examples below (ETA: and Grover’s above, didn’t see them before posting) that would look good with your house/lot and be low water, low upkeep. Lots of info online about this type of landscaping. You could do ornamental grasses, tough perennials, succulents, soft cacti, and drought-tolerant low shrubs. Mix in some hardscaping for interest: a big pot, stones, small boulders, stepping stones, birdbath, etc. If desired, you could eventually not have grass at all, or very little. For the big corner, you could break it up using paths, a small seating area, or stone designs, for example, if it seems daunting to plant the entire area solidly.

Check with your local nurseries for the best specific plants, sizes, etc. It doesn’t have to all be done in one weekend, take your time drawing up plans and acquiring what you need.

Re: Budget — my current house and last one, I was able to find beautiful stones and small boulders for free (one from a landscape business closing, one from a newly built mansion nearby — both said to take what I wanted, it saved them having to move it). Also check online sites or other sources for people getting rid of plants if you’ll dig them up and take them, plus nursery sales, etc. I recently saw on one of my local FB buy/sell sites, a person giving away 10 or so yuccas and a few small shrubs. Wish I had a spot for them!

Thank you guys for the details! Those pics seem amazing, but are intimidating projects. Not sure if I should be covering my entire lawn with stones or wood chips at once. If I were to take this in steps, would it make sense to just extend the dirt area (where I have plants currently) into the lawn by a few feet at a time?

I had been thinking about a path from the driveway to the porch or from the hose area to the porch. I'll need to research a bit to see what's a nice looking way of doing that.

We all know i love the purple grass and a sorted grass, they do well in low maintenance, succulents as well. I think bc you said you dont water, losing the grass came about. Your front yard isnt that deep and could sustain a garden like the ones above!

“Those pics seem amazing, but are intimidating projects. Not sure if I should be covering my entire lawn with stones or wood chips at once. If I were to take this in steps, would it make sense to just extend the dirt area (where I have plants currently) into the lawn by a few feet at a time?”

Yes, definitely. That’s what I meant by taking your time, because it can be overwhelming looking at every area you’d like to change as a whole. Make it a fun process by breaking it up into pieces and focusing on one area at a time. :)

For instance, choose a starting point ... say, this side of the yard. This is a rough mock-up and not to exact scale, but just to hopefully give a visual idea. The great thing about Xeriscaping is that it’s a more wild, natural, organic look — not formal, not worrying about perfect balance. Great for doing it in stages and having projects evolve naturally. The small tree is a Crape Myrtle.

Again, just for a general visual idea, not suggesting to do these exact, specific things. This area, IMO, would look best broken up (mulch and stone). And you could easily do this in stages, for example starting with the corner, or the path, etc, first. It’s possible you’ll need some sort of edging where mulch/rock meets pavement (or leave a bit of space between them for any possible washing out/movement). It depends on how it slopes and/or how deep you dig it out.

For your Hell Strip (street side areas), first check with your city to see if there are any restrictions. If there aren’t, you could keep it simple with just ornamental grasses, or those and tough perennials, or drought-tolerant groundcover. In real life, it won’t look so lined up and busy as this — mock-ups are very flat and one-dimensional (and I’m no pro, clearly, but hopefully it will inspire your own ideas). There are lots of great choices you could plant in your zone ... just mainly wanted to show getting rid of the grass.

Obviously, you’ll have to water new plants, but once established, the upkeep will be very minimal (depending on what you plant). And the more hardscaping you do, while having an initial impact on budget, the less upkeep as well. You certainly don’t initially have to fill each area — you can add as you go and as budget allows. As I mentioned before, keep your eyes open for people giving away things or selling cheap.

Wow. Thanks so much for the helpful information and pics.

I like the pics using a combination of wood chips and landscaping rocks and different sizes. I have a big lawn space, so I'm worried if just one material would be too much. I'm not too concerned with the specific plants, as much as the material selection and layout/arrangement at this point.

For the lanscaping rocks or wood chips, the best way is to dig out 4-6" of the dirt first from what I'm reading. Sounds very labor intensive lol. I like the idea of widening the porch steps and pathway. I guess the existing steps and path would have to be broken and redone. It still wouldn't match with the base of the porch unless I paint everything. Looks like a project in itself.

Lots to think about. Thanks for all the help. I agree that I should start by just trimming the tree.

"....the best way is to dig out 4-6" of the dirt first from what I'm reading." That is excessive. You'd be removing valuable topsoil! Too much reading is dangerous.

For my two Hell Strip beds, I only had to dig down about an inch. I used stone to border the sidewalk side (mainly for looks), no edging curb/streetside, and wood mulch for the plantings. I’ve not had any bad issues with it washing out (same setup at my last house). No need to dig 4-6” at all. In fact, just digging the grass out is all you should need to do ... that depth should be fine afterwards.

Please do trim that tree! you will be surprised at how it opens up the whole space. my neighbors had very overgrown trees, the new buyer's came in and lopped them back and I was stunned at what that did for the yard and house. what if you removed the current walkway and replaced it with large pavers instead of poured cement? might be less work as far as diy goes?! (like the ones Grover posted above), It does need a bit more oomph if you will.

What is the purpose of digging out the grass, as opposed to smothering it with newspaper and (free) woodchips? Is there something about xeriscaping that requires the surface to be lower than the sidewalk? I'm curious why you are suggesting a more arduous method than the one so many of us swear by...

Are you talking to me? The OP can do it however they want. I described how I did two similar beds that were bordered by a sidewalk, etc. It needed to be lower, maybe the OP’s doesn’t. I’ve done plenty of beds the way you described, worked great ... and in some cases digging out a bit works better. Depends on the situation. (And in my case, dealing with Bermuda grass. I still have to dig it out, even if I’m laying down newspaper or cardboard.)

some ideas:

Hm, so the easiest yet still effective way is to dig out the lawn but no deeper than that? That makes things easier. Should I further add landscaping fabric under the rocks/chips for weed prevention?

As for the strip areas near the road, there is some foot traffic from people who park on the curb to access the sidewalk. So something simple would work best that still looks nice. I like the idea of a small stone border (no edging) with wood mulched plants spaced apart. I'll check out more pics.

RL - I promise the trees will be trimmed before anything else! Thanks for the paver stone suggestion. I'd still have to paint the porch after widening the steps. I'll think about that one. I agree that something should be done to improve it though.

Thanks all for the continued advice!

Doug - just saw your post. That's a whole new idea. Looks great! Very cool, but I can see that being a pricey project with the retaining wall. But I am liking the idea of a path from driveway to porch that extends from the house. Thanks a lot.

So many good ideas to consider.

You can easily ruin trees arbitrarily whacking them back.

Been watching some videos on youtube. For the path (between driveway and porch), I do like small rocks as a cheaper alternative to pavers, and looks nice with the bigger rock border rather than normal edging:

Thought not sure about the size and shape of the pathway yet.

Also, I like this video of a simple hell strip DIY makeover, similar to Miz's pics. He makes it look easy and straightforward:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSOpzEBcLKc

As the owner of a yard with many tons of rocks, I want to remind you rocks are a bit messy. You will need to blow leaves out regularly to keep it looking good. Whoever did mine did a poor job or I got the wrong size rocks too. . . .

watch a video on tree trimming lol. or hire a guy, it wont be bad to have them do one tree....

I do agree that some of the yards with rocks, have weeds growing etc, plus I do see them with blowers out there all the time to keep it need. a more organic zone based planting bed would work better.

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Maybe start with something special and tightly put together near the front entry. Then spread out from there as you are able. Artificial turf/grass is another way to have a splash of green without watering.

Following, love your newly styled house

Thanks guys. Sorry for the late response, been busy lately. I'll hold off on a major landscape project for now (already went over budget on all the other work we had done). I like the idea of just starting with trimming the area and adding some flowering plants to my porch area.

Thanks Tami for the compliment!

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