A tropical, pollinator, and shade plan for the Uppala backyard

One dead citrus, one citrus in decline, and a fig showing stress. Full rock groundcover runs on both sides of the center walkway. The home wall faces south on one side, and a cinder block wall faces north on the other. The north facing wall side is the wider of the two.

Convert this into a densely planted tropical zone where plants shield each other from summer sun and winter cold. Garrett's team will clear the rock and remove the two citrus. Once it's cleared, we'll add compost to activate the soil, plant, then top with wood chip mulch. The fig gets a root flare excavation so its base sits at the right level.

Healthy, and it's staying. It needs a proper prune this winter. Prune between mid January and mid February while it's dormant. Keep the main trunk and the permanent arms, then cut each of last year's canes back to a short spur with two buds. It feels like a lot, but removing most of last year's growth is what keeps it producing.

This corner takes the full brunt of western afternoon sun. There's room for one shade tree.

A desert lysiloma, also called desert fern, that will eventually overhang the pool. It tops out around 25 feet tall with a 20 foot spread, and its fine, feathery leaves break down instead of piling up, which makes it the most manageable option near the pool long term. This tree gets its own bubbler.

The back fence runs behind the pool and other areas of the yard. Cinder block on the bottom, metal bar slats on top, leaving an open sightline into the yard from behind the house.

Tangerine crossvine along the fence. It handles sun well and grows fast to fill the sightline.

The grass under the large shade tree is struggling and won't look good no matter how much water or fertilizer goes into it. It's a light problem, not a feeding problem. There's too much shade for this turf type.

Convert this area to St. Augustine. You can't overseed St. Augustine in winter, but it holds green later into fall and greens up faster in spring, so there's a much shorter dormant, brown window than what you have now. Turf conversion isn't a Garden Nerd service, so this is a suggestion only and isn't included in the quote.

The existing desert willow has grown sideways and is completely blocking the walkway. It's old, and it's time for it to come out. Garrett's team is handling the removal.

Replace it with a new desert willow in the same spot. We'll plant it so it grows up rather than out over the walkway, and a little structural pruning while it's young will keep the path clear.

A narrow strip along the north side of the backyard, wide enough to plant. It includes an in-ground garden bed (5' x 10') that needs updating, and an existing orange tree that's staying put.

Fresh compost to rejuvenate the in-ground bed. You'll source and plant your own herbs there, so there's no plant line item from us for that bed. The curry tree goes just west of the bed to shade the herb garden from afternoon sun, with the moringa further down the strip. A long planter bed runs the length of the south facing cinder block wall, and we'll line it with native flowering shrubs.

Yellow bells behind the fireplace for color. They hedge well and can be trimmed at different heights as they grow without losing a natural look, with big clusters of yellow trumpet flowers from spring through fall.

A cacti bed surrounded by patio and concrete, running very hot. Three of the cacti are dead, and a live columnar cactus sits right where the plumeria is going.

Garrett's team will remove the three dead cacti and the columnar cactus and clear the rock. The rest of the cacti stay in place. We'll replace the rock with mulch and build this out as a rose garden with a plumeria as the centerpiece.

We're starting with 10 iceberg roses. The plan is to get these established first so they create a cooler microclimate in this hot spot, then add more colorful roses once that's in place.

An oleander tree in the northwest corner of the backyard. Trained as a single trunk tree, it gives you height, screening, and color in a corner that takes a lot of heat, and it holds up to our summers without complaint. You can choose pink or deep red flowers.

Two small square planting areas flank the walkway near the front door, one larger than the other. A few patio pots sit up front with very little sun and no automated water.

Desert ruellia on both sides of the walkway to fill the entry squares with color. Snake plants in two of the front pots, since they handle low light and don't need automated watering.

Open space further out in the front yard, beyond the entry squares.

A native pollinator mix to match the desert feel, with color, texture, and pollinator traffic.