In June of 2025, we did some landscaping on the right side of our house, which I called Part 1. This time we're working on Part 2 of our front yard, which is on the left side.

What you see below is what our house looked like in June of 2012 when we bought it new. I didn't think much of the size of all those plants back then because everything was new and fresh.

And the tree that you see in the grass, along with that cactus, I removed both of them within the first year living here.
 

All those plants sure do look small compared to what it looks like now. And if you're wondering about that green fence, it was temporary because our house was the last one on the block at that time. A few months later many more houses were built but it sure was nice not having any neighbors for that short time.

Now, take note of the size of that tree.
 

Fast forward almost 14 years and this is what the yard looks like now. What a difference between the before and current pictures.
 

The plan is to remove almost every plant that you see here, including that tree. Speaking of that tree, it sits right over our sewer line, which I figure is only a matter of time before we have a problem. Now we both like the tree for it's beauty, but it's very messy (I have to rake leaves almost every week). Now raking doesn't bother me when it's on that decomposed granite that you see here, but I plan on using bark or mulch when I'm finished. So raking leaves on that kind of surface just won't work.

Those large round looking bushes are rosemary, and there are four of them. The stuff that you see that runs from the sidewalk to the fence is very weird and ugly in my opinion. So again, all that stuff gets removed.
 

Working In The Yard

What you see here took me about six to seven weeks to clean out because just one rosemary bush filled my green-waste container and part of my regular trash can every week. But over time I was able to get all of those plants out. However, the two that you see here we are planning to keep...at least for now. Once we get some new plants in the ground, we'll have a better idea, so we'll see.
 

Over the years, a bunch of this dirt has moved down hill towards the rocks when it rains To get back all that dirt, I moved most of the rocks towards the fence to gain access to it, and then shoveled it all back to where it belongs. Now it's time to make sure this doesn't happen again.
 

I installed some Bend-A-Board (edging) that is 3 1/2" X 3/4" X 20 feet long. You can do all kinds of custom designs with it, and it's easy to work with as it's made of composite plastic. With that being said, this stuff resists rot very well. All you do is put some wood stakes in the ground about every six to eight feet apart and then use a single screw through the edging and secure it to the wood stake. At least that's what I did.

Once I had this piece of edging in place, I moved all those rocks back where they belonged and back-filled the dirt against it. This is a simple process, but it requires a LOT of squats by the time you're finished.
 

I also used Bend-A-Board between our yard and the neighbors, because this makes for a much cleaner install. And I installed all new drip line in this area and next to the house.