Kristin, here's what we covered

A Small Grass Circle, Framed in Brick

Here in the front yard, the grass comes out except for a small circular patch left in the middle. I'd use the same brick you've already got outlining the rest of the front yard to build a hardscaped circle around that remaining patch, so it ties into the look you've already established. On either side of that grass circle, I'd plant two Red Push Pistache trees to frame it symmetrically, and I'd frame each of those trees with its own matching brick circle too, so all three circles read as one cohesive design across the front yard.

Around the base of each tree, I'd fill in with something soft and full rather than leaving bare ground. Foxtail Fern and Asparagus Fern both give you a lush, feathery texture, Iceberg Roses would add clean white blooms into the mix, and Yellow Dot would work well as a low groundcover filling in around all of it.

For each tree's water well, dig it out and put mulch down inside first, keeping it pulled back from the trunk, then plant the ferns, roses, and Yellow Dot in and around that mulched area. Getting the mulch in before the surrounding plants go in keeps the sequence clean and means you're not disturbing new plantings later trying to work mulch in around them.

Cardboard and Mulch Around Everything Here

All along the perimeter where your existing plants are, it's mostly bare soil right now with grass trying to creep back through. I'd add multiple layers of cardboard down first, then mulch on top around all of these, that combination smothers the grass out and builds the soil at the same time.

Dense, Whimsical, and Full of Pollinators

This area to the side of the driveway is getting the grass pulled too, same process, solarize, cardboard, then mulch. Once that's ready, I want this to be a densely populated bed, lots of pollinators, bright flowers, and things that specifically bring in hummingbirds and butterflies. Still desert adapted, but leaning into that whimsical, cottage feel you like. Chuparosa and Baja Fairy Duster both pull in hummingbirds with strong red color, Penstemon gives you tall spikes pollinators love, and Lavender and Autumn Sage round it out with that softer, cottage texture. Globe Mallow adds bright orange blooms and is genuinely tough and easy to keep alive, Texas Sage brings silvery foliage with purple blooms into the mix, Desert Milkweed is a magnet for monarchs specifically, and Greg's Mistflower pulls in butterflies with its fuzzy purple-blue blooms. That's a lot of options, you don't need all of them, but packing several of these in together is what gets you that dense, layered look with color and pollinator activity going most of the year.

This is also a great spot to work in the totem pole cactus you rescued. Give them a place with some real visibility within the bed, they'll read as a strong architectural focal point once everything else fills in around them.

Too Established to Lift, Root Flare Excavation Instead

This purple plum is planted a bit too deep, but it's too established at this point to try lifting it the way we would a newer tree. A root flare excavation is the right move here instead, carefully exposing the flare, that's the point where the trunk widens and the first major roots branch off, without disturbing the root system as much as a full lift would. Here's the video that walks through exactly how to find and expose it, and how to tell which roots, if any, actually need pruning once it's exposed.

Happy to walk you through doing this yourself using the video as your guide, it's genuinely doable as a DIY project if you're comfortable digging carefully around an established tree. If you'd rather have us handle it, this is also a standalone service we offer at $200 per tree.

A Big Shade Tree for This Spot

This spot west of the pool would look great with a really nice big shade tree. Carob is a great option, and Chinese Elm is another good choice if you want something a bit faster growing. Ficus is worth a look too if you want dense, year-round green, and Tipu if you'd rather have something that grows even bigger and faster with summer blooms on top.

Bubblers, Water Wells, and a Weekly Deep Flood

Bubblers are what I'd recommend around trees, especially newly planted ones. These go right inside the water well itself, dig that well as big as looks reasonable for the tree, add mulch inside of it but keep it pulled back from the trunk rather than piled against it. From there, deep flood the well once a week using the bubbler rather than watering shallow and frequently.

Keep the View, Just Soften the Wall Below It

We don't want to lose this view of the golf course and the mountain beyond it. Where the block wall itself sits, up to about three or four feet, a shrub in front of it would soften that without blocking anything above it. Arizona Rosewood would actually grow too tall for this particular spot over time, so I'd steer away from that one here. Hopseed and Dwarf Myrtle both stay in a good range for this. Yellow Bells, Foxtail Fern, and Cape Plumbago are all worth adding into the mix too, they stay low enough to keep the view open while giving you more variety in texture and color along this stretch.

A Full Rundown of Ground Cover Options

Since ground cover comes up in a few spots on this list, here's an overview so you've got the full picture in one place. Kurapia is a great low water option that handles foot traffic well and works in full sun to light shade. Clover does best with at least some shade, it struggles in full, all-day sun but thrives once there's a bit of tree cover overhead, and it's nitrogen fixing, so it actually feeds the soil as it grows. Yellow Dot (Wedelia) spreads fast and handles full sun well, giving you bright yellow flowers along with the coverage. Dichondra is another option if you want a softer, finer texture, it does best with a bit of shade too.