Angela, here's what we covered

Eight Raised Beds, Set Up Right From the Start

This area on the north side of the backyard is where the eight raised garden beds will go. Olle Gardens is where I'd source the beds themselves. Once they're in, my Maricopa County planting guide will walk through what to plant and when as the seasons change.

For soil, don't go cheap here, it's genuinely not worth saving money on. Quality soil is the foundation everything else in these beds depends on, and cutting corners here just means fighting the beds for years afterward.

I'd also add a light layer of woodchips on top of the soil in each bed. It cuts down on how much water you need since it slows evaporation, feeds the plants as it slowly breaks down, and keeps the soil cooler through our summer heat than bare soil would.

Lush and Full, This Is the View You'll See Every Day

This wall faces south and it's what you'll see both out your window and while working in the garden beds, so it's worth getting right. I'd cover it completely and let it get lush and full rather than keeping it trimmed tight. Orange Jubilee is a great option here, just don't hedge it hard, it needs room to fill out or it won't give you that full look. Twisted Myrtle is a softer alternative if you'd rather have a gentler, more textured look than Orange Jubilee's brighter, showier growth.

A Real Orchard in the Middle of the Yard

This area north of the turf is a great spot for a fruit tree orchard. Florida Prince Peach is really the only stone fruit I'd recommend planting right now. There are other cool season stone fruits you could technically grow here, but our winters just aren't getting cold enough anymore for most of them to actually set a good fruit crop, the tree will grow fine, you just won't get much fruit off it. Florida Prince is bred specifically for our low chill hours, so it's the one that'll actually perform. Lemon and lime would both do well here too, and no orange or fig in this area, per your preference. Pomegranate (Parfianka) is a great addition, it holds up better against leaf-footed bugs than the Wonderful variety does. Guava rounds out the mix nicely, a smaller, easy going tree.

I'd treat this group, peach, lemon, lime, pomegranate, and guava, as your staples to get the orchard going. Once these are established and start creating some shade and their own little microclimate underneath and around them, you can always add more trees in later, including some of those cooler season varieties that might do better once the site has matured a bit.

A Green Backdrop for the Whole Yard

I see this retention area as a great spot for a run of large shade trees. Planted as a group, they'd become the backdrop you see when you look out into the backyard, just a wall of green in the distance rather than looking at the retention area itself. That kind of backdrop makes the rest of the yard feel cooler and, honestly, makes it feel less like you're standing in the middle of the desert.

Carob, Ficus, or Chinese Elm would all work well for this, planted roughly fifteen to twenty feet apart so they read as one continuous canopy once they mature rather than a row of individual trees.

Full Sun Options That Fit the Space

This area gets a lot of direct sun, so whatever goes in needs to handle that heat without missing a beat. Red Bird of Paradise gives you bold color and holds up great in full sun right by the pool. San Marcos Hibiscus fits well too if you want that softer, more tropical feel near the water, and Yellow Bells brings a lot of bloom with very little fuss. Chuparosa is another good option, bright red tubular blooms that also happen to bring in hummingbirds. Ruellia would work well here too, but only if there's a border around it, without one it'll spread well beyond where you want it. All of these are easy to work with regardless of exactly how you end up using this space.

Something With Presence, Right Where You Look Out

Right where you walk into the backyard, and where you'll see it out the window, I'd put something with real presence. A Purple Leaf Plum would give you deep purple foliage that stands out year-round, or Hong Kong Orchid if you'd rather have big purple blooms concentrated in the cooler months instead.

Hopseed to Cover This Wall

For the block wall on the side of the house, Hopseed is the call, fast and thick, it'll fill this wall in quickly.