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; 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. Rock removal is on your side (see note above). Once it's cleared, we'll add compost to activate the soil, plant, then top with wood chip mulch.

Pomegranate — it loves full sun, so we're saving it for a spot elsewhere in the yard where it can help with shade and cooling instead. Exact location still to be decided.

Healthy, and it's staying. It needs a proper prune this winter — we're linking our grapevine pruning guide so you can handle that yourself.

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

A shade tree that will eventually overhang the pool, so leaf drop and mess matter. 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 — good sun tolerance and fast growth 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 — 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.

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.

Replace with a similar ornamental tree at the same scale.

This tree is too large for our standard removal service. You'll need a landscaper to take it out — we're happy to help find someone if you don't already have one, or coordinate with whoever you bring in.

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. Curry tree goes just west of the bed to shade the herb garden from afternoon sun, with moringa further down the strip. A long planter bed runs the length of the south-facing cinder block wall — we'll line it with native flowering shrubs.

Add color behind the fireplace with a shrub that hedges well and can be trimmed at different heights as it grows, without losing a natural look. Same price either way — this one's your call.

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.

Remove the three dead cacti and the columnar cactus, keep the rest of the cacti in place. Clear the rock (your side, per the note above), replace with mulch. Build this out as a rose garden with a plumeria as the centerpiece.

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 plant in the front pots since it handles low light and doesn't need automated watering.

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

A native pollinator mix to match the desert vibe — color, texture, and pollinator traffic.