Drainage is a tricky thing, especially when the backyard is draining towards your house. You'll want to be very careful that you don't do something which in 'wet' years will cause problems for your foundation. You say the right side is all concrete? But in your "from the bedroom" photo it looks as if theres grass and dirt past those iris leaves. IÂll assume if that is concrete, thereÂs only a thin covering of dirt and grass, so you could build a basic raised bed for planting. This will even things out, and allow some height so you can have a much prettier view outside your bedroom window, with complete privacy as new plants grow in. Using the link below to a collage I made, what would you think about looking out at this instead? Think moderate height, interesting foliage, partial shade shrubs. This doesnÂt look like a large area, which helps keeps costs down. Your costs would be mulch, some pressure-treated lumber, soil, and 3 to 6 shrubs from container, depending on the size of the bed. I donÂt know if youÂre East Cst zone 9 or West Cst zone 9. IÂm the latter, so what I used (all evergreen, BTW) was: Top left: Pink cestrum. This grows very fast, vase-shaped at maturity, flowers almost continuously, hummers love it. About 6-8 H at maturity, 4 across but takes pruning very well. Right side: Tibouchina heteromalla. This can be a tricky plant to find and grow, but once correctly sited itÂs stunning and grows fast. ItÂs a tropical understory plant, so canÂt take too much sun but is somewhat frost-tender. 5 T and at least 6 across at maturity. The leaves are an amazing fuzzy, silvery gray-green that stops people in their tracks. I have had more people ask me what this shrub is, than any other I have. Once a year it puts up tall spikes of brilliant purple flowers, simply gorgeous. Do not get T. urvilleana, which is more common but a much more scraggly, leggy shrub. (If this wouldnÂt work in your zone, something like a variegated rhododendron, or even an Aucuba japonica 'Mr. Goldstrike' or ÂGold Dust would add year-long interest and foliage contrast.) I added a couple of ferns just to fill in the space. But IÂd prefer to add something more interesting, such as Abutilon ÂSavitzi or even ÂThompsonii if thereÂs room. A dwarf camellia would work, but they grow very slowly. The jade plant thatÂs there seems to be leaning into the walkway. You might want to move it  they can get quite large across at maturity so they may outgrow that space theyÂre in. Fill in with smaller plants that youÂll see when youÂre outside  dwarf hydrangeas, fuchsias, liriope, or even shade annuals from a six-pak. The brunnera ÂJack Frost has been a great performer in my shady bed, and the baby-blue flower spikes are charming. The seating area with the fountain as shown, is just leveled with mulch as a temporary measure until you work out your fencing and terracing solutions. Anyway, HTH spur some ideas for you! Good luck, itÂs always very exciting to consider possibilities for new landscaping.

Ornamental grasses would give you texture in a wide range of colors. One of my favorites is little bluestem, most of the sold varieties aren't "green" but rather a powder blue color. They turn an amazing pink/copper color in the fall though which I LOVE. They stay fairly compact. Blue grama "blonde ambition" gets to be around 3'x3' and contrary to it's name, isn't very blue IMO. It's actually more of a "spring green." It gets loads of little yellow seed heads on it and then the foliage itself dries down to a straw color in fall. Another favorite of mine is switchgrass. There are both blue and green varieties of this, and it might get a bit bigger than you want (I think some get to be like 3'x4' tall). However, it's another great one. I have "Shenandoah" which is a green one that gets spatterings of deep maroon as it starts to cure in the fall. Blue avena grass is a compact grower, and I THINK it's semi-evergreen too (mine tends to keep quite a bit of color in the foliage through the winter). But, once again, it's blue rather than green. Blue fescue is an adorable little plant. So, if you're looking for small small, it doesn't get much more than 1'x1'. Sold varieties are blue, but, if you are willing to start your own seed, you will wind up with mostly green ones (they are actually very easy to start from seed, you will just have to be patient as you wait for the plants to size up) I hate to add this one to the list because it is hands down my LEAST favorite grass, but feather reed is a VERY popular one that would definitely work for you I think. If you have the room, big bluestem is another great looking grass, but as it's name suggests, it get's big. Those are just a few, but there's probably close to a gazillion OG's on the market these days for all kinds of conditions. If you are looking for texture, I would definitely put some on the short list. I will also try to add some pictures soon for you to since I have all of those (except BB) in my yard.

Here are suggestions for a simple scheme that keeps some lawn. The first thing I would do, though, is bust out the end of the walk (where it meets porch) or maybe the whole walk, and redo it, adding space and width. A skinny walk with little space at the porch makes the whole house look cheaper. If breaking out and redoing is not possible, then find a way to patch on some extra space.

Center your porch between the garage and the double windows. With the cantilevered upstairs and full length upstairs window above the door, a forward facing gable isn't practical. A flat roof would work -- as a porch large enough for you to actually use as a place to sit -- or just as a stoop/portico. Alternately, you could create a nearly flat hip roof: from the center point above the door, you could create three roof sections with two ridges. Tried to get just the "hip" roof framing pic to come up but it wouldn't ... so ... it's on this page (you wouldn't need this much slope to your roof): https://www.google.com/search?q=nearly+flat+front+porch+roof+with+three+section+and+two+ridges&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwijptLTnJjbAhUDpFkKHXHiCeYQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=650#imgrc=z-3tvD8JrwOzWM:&spf=1526954467515