I'd make a raised bed out of that whole big corner and take out those palms that hate being so close to the fence anyway. What you need is to lower the dirt around the edges of the pavers so when it rains you don't get stuff going into the pool. That is what people would use the grass for, but there are so many other ways you can go, you just have to set it up right. The elevation of your materials makes a big difference. If you wanted to make the right side a walking area, then you can still mulch, or rock, the whole area just 4 to 5 inches lower than the elevation is right now. You leave that dirt in there as it is and you will be hating it forever. Even mulch at that level is a mistake. As an example, asparagus fern is a tough plant that can handle hot and wet and can be placed near the paver area and that can hold back and extra dirt that might get splashed into the paver area during a hard rain. Then inside of that barrier you can put your path for walking if you want, but I'd just take the extra dirt and pile it up in the corner and put smaller cycads, palms and whatever color plants you may want, and they would all be facing you while you are in the pool on the raised beds facing inward. With a curvy pool like that without a cage, it is just begging for a tropical paradise in the corner. I wouldn't even think about sod, but with all that full sun, the mondo (you would want dwarf, green mondo)would probably take more water than a St. Augustine sod because it really can't stand the heat in full sun like that.

In my humble opinion, the homeowner assumes the role of GC by hiring the designer separately from the installer, and is ultimately responsible for the results. He/She assumed responsibility for the landscape plan compliance. The designer should point out the pitfalls of taking on this role and should attempt to sell the owner on paying him/her to supervise. If successful in selling this additional service (perhaps for a percentage of the bulk), then if the contractor insists on installing a plant that is not on the plan, it IS the designer's fault for allowing it to happen, and he/she is financially responsible for the remedy--in my humble opinion. I am not a lawyer; I am an MBA with 22 years experience dealing with engineers, contracts/specs and crews, as well as a garden design hobbyist.

Readyami, thank you! We have some "mixed metaphors" going on with the Texas star decorations and the un-tiki gazebo, but I've always been kind of eclectic anyway, LOL! :-) Tim, thanks! When I was putting the skull up I was thinking "This belongs on Tim's pirate ship", haha! The ball is a Japanese glass fishing float (this one is actually a modern replica), a long time favorite decoration in tiki bars and restaurants the world round. It's as required a staple as the traditional hanging puffer fish lamp (I have one of those too) :-) Mostly they were hung indoors in arrangements of different colors and different heights and sometimes were lighted from within. I can't direct-link the photos, but if you look at the thread linked below (photos of vintage tiki bars) you'll see what I mean. They were also popular as A-frame decorations. My A-frame is actually a little teeny version of the real thing, the traditional A-frames built on restaurants and bars were enormous and had gigantic glass fishing float replicas, period light fixtures or even outrigger canoes hanging under them. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=29982&forum=5&13

Well it has been a couple busy days. Monday was supposed to be Day 4 but due to miscommunication between my GC conrete guys for the pool house/landscape and the pool installer little was accomplished. Reasoning was valid and stemmed from waiting for permit approval from the city before the footings could be poured. Lesson learned - get permits in early (my bad) and don't sweat small delays especially if it is because the contractors did not want to get in each others way and at least there were communicating with each other. So Tuesday was [b]Day 4[/b] which was pouring the footings for the pool house/shed and backfilling the pool overdig with dirt. Pretty uneventful in all honesty. Footing pour went well but was a little nervous on making sure it was centered with the pool. GC told me it would be even though it didn't look like it at first glance. Backfill went well, definitely will need to put out the soakeer hoses shortly to help the dirt settle with no rain in the forecast anytime soon. [b]Day 4 pictures are here:[/b] http://www.flickr.com/photos/54882847@N06/sets/72157625082581427/ Today was [b]Day 5 [/b]and was solely for pouring the foundation walls for the pool house. Even though it was extra for full foundation walls, with the elevation and concern for long term durability I firmly believe we made the right choice. Another GC bid we did not go with was going to just build up the grade and then do a slab with edge footings for the pool house. So with the foundation walls poured you really get the sense of just how big a only 10x14 structure will be. BTW, GC was right.. it is perfectly centered with the pool and we love how it is shaping up. Only other thing today was wathcing the backfill settle some (which we want to happen) and bringing a coping sample to start getting measurements for reatining wall height. [b]Day 5 pics are here:[/b] http://www.flickr.com/photos/54882847@N06/sets/72157625082588231/ Tomorrow the retaining wall and wall backfill will start and really excited about that. Hope it continues to go smooth. Enjoy! Here is a link that might be useful: Day 4 and 5 Photos