A First Look at Planting for Your Yard
This is a quick breakdown of what I'd propose for the yard, area by area, to give you an idea of direction.
My approach here is phased. I don't want to come in and rehaul the whole property at once. The priority is getting the larger shade trees and the hedges that cut down on heat in the ground first. Once those are established and growing, we can look at everything again and figure out what's actually still needed versus what the space is already telling us it doesn't need.
Driveway Hedge, Heading to the Garage
The bottlebush currently lining the concrete driveway to the backyard garage is looking rough, and honestly I'm not a fan of bottlebush as a hedge plant in general. I'd replace the run with Arizona rosewood instead.
Arizona Rosewood
Native, and it forms a dense hedge that doesn't need much water once established. It can be left to grow up to 20 feet if you want more height and privacy, or kept trimmed shorter. I'd plant on 4-foot centers so the hedge fills in quickly.
Extending the rosewood around the block wall
Since the driveway sits in the middle of the backyard, we're going to keep the rosewood going rather than stopping it at the garage. It lines the driveway, heads south until it reaches the west facing wall, turns and follows that wall north, then turns again and runs the length of the south facing wall all the way to the gate. That gives you one continuous hedge line along the driveway and the full block wall, which reads a lot cleaner than a hedge that just stops.
There are a few cactus and agave along that wall right now. I'd pull those out so the rosewood runs uninterrupted and the whole line looks intentional.
North of the Garage
This area is currently holding some large landscape rock and is one of the hottest spots back there. A tree is the first real step toward cooling it down.
Chinese Elm
A fast grower that gets you good shade quickly. It's deciduous, but it only holds off on leaves for a short stretch in winter, so you're not losing canopy for long.
The Cinder Block Wall
The long cinder block wall on the west side faces east and is a very hot stretch. Oleander used to line it but had to come out. Hopseed would work well as the replacement hedge here. It handles heat, loves full sun, and grows at a decent clip, so we should see the area filled in nicely within about 2 years.
Hopseed
I'd also pull the rock out from along the wall and swap it for mulch. That gives the hopseed a better environment to thrive in and helps cool that whole stretch down further, which matters given the hot artificial turf sitting right next to it.
Two tall shade trees in the turf
You mentioned you're open to shade trees in the artificial turf area in front of this wall, and I think that's the right move. This side of the house takes the full afternoon sun, and since it's two stories, the trees need real height to do anything for the upstairs. If we're planting for shade, let's actually go for it and plant two.
They need to go about 20 feet out from the wall so they don't shade out the hopseed behind them. Hopseed wants full sun, and a canopy sitting right on top of it would undo the hedge. Twenty feet gives both the trees and the hedge room to do their job. If the turf stays, we'll cut a generous water well around each tree so water and air can actually reach the roots instead of hitting plastic.
Chinese Elm
My first pick. Planting elm here matches the elm going in north of the garage, so the whole west side of the backyard becomes one continuous line of the same canopy. Fast, tall, and short on leaf drop.
Tipu
The other option if you want the fastest, tallest shade possible. Tipu grows quickly and gets big, which is exactly what a two story wall wants. The tradeoff is that it's a heavier tree with more surface root activity and more litter than the elm, so it's a little less tidy next to turf.
Shade Tree by the Palm and Agave
In front of the wall above, near the palm tree and where the current agave sits, another shade tree would help block the afternoon sun coming from the west. This spot is closer to the pool, and since the pool may end up being moved or removed down the line, it's worth being thoughtful about leaf litter and root behavior near it. Two options here:
Red Push Pistache
One leaf drop per year in winter, otherwise fairly clean. Moderate grower early on, then picks up speed after year 3 to 4 with good shade once established.
Willow Acacia
The other option for the same spot. Gets good height and canopy to block that western sun off the pool area.
Finishing the Ruellia Hedge
There's already a ruellia hedge running up against the house on the east side, but it stops short and doesn't finish out the rest of the wall. I'd continue it the rest of the way and fill the area out completely. It's a great spot for ruellia and easy to maintain long term.
Letting it grow taller, and a few other options
One thing worth knowing about the ruellia: it can grow to 5 to 6 feet. If we keep pruning the sides to hold the shape but stop cutting the top, it grows up into a taller hedge that adds privacy and some shade to the front windows. That's the cheapest win on this side of the house, since most of it is already planted.
You asked what else could work here instead. This wall faces east, so it gets morning sun and afternoon shade, which is a comfortable spot for a hedge. Here are the options I'd put next to the ruellia:
Dwarf Myrtle
Tight, dark green, and very clean looking. It's a slower grower and stays a bit more compact than the ruellia, but it ties this side of the house directly to the myrtle we're proposing across the front, so everything reads as one plan.
Japanese Privet
Glossy, dense, and happy with exactly this exposure. It fills in to 5 to 6 feet with no trouble and takes shaping well, so it can be kept as a formal hedge or left a little looser.
Jojoba
Native, dense, and needs very little water once established. It's slower to size up, but once it gets there it's one of the toughest hedges you can plant in Phoenix and holds a nice gray green color year round.
Wrapping the Front Yard in Shade
I'd like to wrap the whole front yard in tall shade trees for a clean, uniform look. On the east side, that means two more mesquite trees, one on each side of the walkway.
Mesquite
These are the first item of business for this side of the yard. Once they're grown in a bit, I'd follow with native agave and colorful, pollinator-friendly shrubs planted sporadically underneath, as much or as little as you'd like.
Options for that pollinator layer once the mesquites are established:
Native Agave
Desert Milkweed
Chuparosa
Globe Mallow
PenstemonLining the Outer Edge of the Walkway
The house side of this walkway gets finished out with more ruellia, as noted above. The outer side of the walkway is currently lined with bottlebrush, which would need to come out to make room for something a few feet tall, but not towering. A few options:
Coral Fountain Grass
Soft, low border planting with movement and color along the walk.
Baja Fairy Duster
Fine texture with red bloom color, good pollinator draw at walkway height.
Texas Sage
Tougher, more structured option that still stays in the right height range.
Shade, Vines, and a Matching Hedge Line
First step here is two more mesquite trees to start building shade across this face of the house, same as the east side.
Creeping Fig
I'd take out the two cypress currently here and plant creeping fig vine in their place. The front of this house is calling for a vine, and creeping fig against the wall would look great.
Twisted Myrtle
I'd also remove the orange jubilee out front and replace with twisted myrtle. It matches the vibe of the creeping fig against the house and forms a nice hedge line of its own.
Dwarf Myrtle
Up against the windows, dwarf myrtle would form a lower hedge that matches the twisted myrtle to the east of it.
Underneath the mesquites here, same idea as the east side: native plants with color that bring in pollinators, once the trees have some size to them.
This is meant as a starting point for the conversation, not a locked plan. Once we get the trees and hedges above in and growing, we'll walk the yard again and figure out what's next.