I didn't want to mention the rock slide that crashed through the wall if it wasn't already bothering the homeowner's. Sometimes people don't want to have their attention drawn to something that's expensive to fix, if they're otherwise accepting of it. Since it came up, I'll not disagree with kiminpl's comments about the two elements being radically out of sync. I think the problem lies entirely with the rock fountain. We notice that the rocks are of relatively uniform, small size. In nature we would see some boulders in the mix. Also, the chute is straight, like a manufactured object. At the termination point, the stacking of stones is not at all like nature would do it, stable and in equilibrium. Instead, some stones are stacked vertically so an accidental bump could send them tumbling. That the "stream" has a given width at its base, but where it penetrates the wall it is only half that width, which looks unnatural. The pool at the base should be wider -- probably considerably wider -- than the stream, if it is to look natural. And It seems that replicating/simulating nature is the whole point. Looking at an example of a natural stream (or a good fake stream!) a quasi-alternating arrangement of boulders occurs more or less along the sides (encircled in yellow.) The boulders are "helped" by large, dome-shaped plant masses (encircled in orange) furthering the random, alternating arrangement. One might think of their arrangement as how a steel ball might travel a pinball course (red line.) In some cases these boulders extend, separate and outside of the stream, adding depth and drama to the scene. In the case of the property in question, no boulders to speak of exist at all! I would be tempted to mortar some stones together, making simulated boulders. (To be sure, though, it would require someone with an artistic sense to do this and massage the existing contents into a more natural arrangement.) Consolidating stones into larger masses could help to create more of a meandering effect. (It looks like the actual path of water flow might be curved.) It could also help to narrow the overall stream so that it fits better with the wall opening. It's going to be nearly impossible for me to describe in a concise way how the stream should meet the wall, but I think this portion needs a complete redesign. While the largest "boulders" might begin to penetrate the wall, I don't think all the "gravel" looks good spilling out and filling the pool. It should be more pool and less stream bed on the patio side of the wall. Given that the "pool" probably needs to be filled with gravel, it might be a smaller, different colored (dark) stone that simulates the effect of water. Don't know if this will help. Usually, creating these things like this are not for people working it out as they go. It generally takes someone with experience.

I wouldn't remove another thing until I identified everythng you have. You may be taking out choice trees, shrubs and groundcover. Make ample use of the "Name this plant" forum. Easy to post a picture and get answers often in minutes. I would also be very wary of what you're doing with the plant removal and potential grade change. It looks like you have created a bare slope aiming water runoff right for your foundation or cellar. Yes, tree work is expensive but you will get much smarter at it. Many of them can be felled yourself, especially when smaller. Some can be dropped and left for you to cut. If you burn wood, the hardwoods are valuable fuel. The softwoods like the pine you removed are good only for mulch and screening views (stacked). You can learn to prune. You now know the cost of tree removal. Planting new trees can be just as expensive if you hire labor to plant large specimens! It takes years of nurturing to grow a mature tree. So my advice again is to SLOW DOWN. Not to be a wet blanket...

@greenfish1234 Thank you again for your input. I'm attaching a better picture of the back door area. Our door is currently a slider door - not sure if that will be switched in the future to a french door. How far past the door should the steps/landing go? The further we go, the further we cut into that dead space next to our family room wall (to the right of the door). Also, the deeper the total of depth of the steps/landing combined, the deeper the bed gets to the left of the steps/landing, unless we don't make that bed as deep as the steps/landing, but not sure if that will look right. I'm also attaching a pic of landing/steps I found on line. Not that I want curved steps or that material, but was wondering if I could turn that dead space into a raised planter on the landing. That way I can soften that area. If I did this though, not sure how far to bring out the planter - just to the last step, or to the edge of the back of the family room wall. In this pic, their dead space is probably 1/2 that of mine.

Jen, this has all the potential you could ever want! First, budget permitting, consider working with a landscape architect for a hardscape solution that will gracefully allow you to negotiate up slope to a destination. They will have access to products/solutions to your specific site restrictions. Once you have that addressed, the rest can be worked on in phases.