The yard is so small, I'm going to start with just one picture from across the street. Please let me know if that isn't sufficient and I will be happy to take more.

(Ignore the port-a-potty. Our ongoing kitchen and bathroom remodel should be mostly wrapped up in the next couple of weeks and it will go away!)

I previously started a related thread on the California gardening forum about plant selection.

And I have put together a moodboard showing some possible plant selections.

I am thinking rocks for the left side of the house with lavender. And rocks in the strip between the sidewalk and the street.

We are trying to decide on paving materials for walkways. I would like to eliminate the existing concrete sidewalk from the driveway to the front door. I am currently thinking limestone irregular stones with a brick border for the main walk way from the front sidewalk to the front door. Then just some limestone stepping stones between the driveway and the main walk way. I am thinking thyme between those and in the rest of the area between the driveway and the new main walkway.

Then some small shrubs (ceanothus maritimus) in front of the big picture window and under the built in window box. A small tree (pomegranate tree? Pineapple guava?) in the middle of the yard. And a small informal hedge of sorts in the front in the yard edging the sidewalk--lavender, Shasta daisies, maybe something else.

A couple of questions:

--does this sound good in general?

--thoughts on how to handle the joints in the main pathway? I'd like for this path to be smooth and easy to walk on, but permeable would also be good--not sure how to accomplish both?

Please let me know if you need more pictures or information. Thank you so for any advice.

Sorry for yet another post. This is a very rough sketch of the plan I described above in case it helps.

Thank you! I do love our front window. But it is so close to the street that it often feels rather like a shop window. When I sit in the living room I feel like I am on display. Many front yards here have small trees in addition to the street trees, I think partially to provide some height in plantings and partially to provide a bit of a sense of privacy.

Courtyards are also common as front yards here and sometimes a low hedge along the sidewalk is used to give that effect. So that's what I had in mind.

I can measure the yard and try to plot the plants at their projected full size, but I have done some measuring and I think the plants I listed should all fit with room around the base of the tree for mulch.

Oh sorry, ornamental grasses are often used and are lovely. But I don't think of them as cottage plants. So I had passed on them in favor of lavender, etc.

Oh, I understand your point of the tree for privacy. I guess that it is a style that I'm not used to - here we'd probably put something like a horizontal blind with sheers (I think the Silhouette style blind) on the window for semi-privacy, and put the ornamental tree off to the side. So that would be my personal preference, but it sounds like the style is different where you live. Sorry I can't be of much help. Can you google the style of garden you describe to get some more ideas, or hire a landscape designer for a short consultation to get some more advice? On Houzz, you can look through Outdoor Landscape photos using keywords like Drought Tolerant.

One suggestion that I have (again, my personal preference, so you can take it with a grain of salt!) is that I
would make the main path with the same material as the path to the
driveway instead of making the path to the driveway with steppings
stones. I don't know how you do paths in California, but for example,
here is a picture of a path that branches off in two directions:

https://www.houzz.com/photos/menlo-park-lawn-replacement-traditional-landscape-san-francisco-phvw-vp~26726613

Actually, the entire garden in the picture is more of what I am used to - the larger trees framing the house on the sides, and shrubs along the perimeter. So that is probably where I am coming from when I first made my comment.

Thank you. Just to clarify, I was thinking limestone for the main path, set close together with a brick border. Then the same stones set farther part used as stepping stones for the path between the driveway and main path.

Exterior Entrance · More Info

This picture that I had previously saved illustrates the idea to some extent. I am thinking of using bricks to border the main path to help tie it into the brick on the house. And I wouldn't have as many of the stones set farther apart--probably four or five just as stepping stones. But hopefully this helps illustrate what I described.

And this picture sort gives the idea of a hedge near the front of the yard, creating something of a courtyard.

Hopefully this graph paper plan is somewhat helpful. It shows ceanthus maritimus closest to the house--grows 3 to 4 feet across and 3 feet high. The circles along the front sidewalk denote lavender and the triangles denote Shasta daisies. Plant choices could shift and we would likely add some bulbs or perhaps some different small perennials at some point. I'd like to get the basics of the plan, especially the hardscapping and the location of the small tree--assuming we use one--right. Dh suggests that we consider shifting the small tree to left a couple of feet rather than centering it exactly on the front window.

Thank you for any further thoughts!

Another question. Any thoughts on the cost to lay the main walkway I have drawn from the sidewalk to the front step? In stone and brick. Thank you.

What does each square denote in your plan above? If each square is equal to one foot then your path seems to be eight feet wide at the least.

Each square equals 9 inches.

This picture might be slightly easier to read? The walkway as drawn would be 69 inches wide for most of its length to match the width of the front step--as I have drawn it it does flair out a bit where it meets the sidewalk in front of the house.

Dh is suggesting that we consider a main walk that looks something like this. I think largely because it should be less expensive to install--less prep work.

I was thinking thinking more like what is pictured below because I thought it would be easier to walk on. This will be the main entrance to the house. So furniture deliveries, older people who might be less steady on their feet, etc would use this entrance.

Any thoughts on what kind of paving materials to use would be much appreciated.

I also notice a lot of curved or winding paths when I look at landscaping pictures I love the look, but I had dismissed it for our yard as the path is so short I thought it would look silly. Should I reconsider that?

Thank you!

In terms of your question about curved paths - I can see why you might decide on a straight path given the size of your yard, but if you have a straight path, I think it would be better to have curvature in your plantings - right now everything is in straight lines.

Most (but not necessarily all) landscaping pictures that I see have some curves. Or in the case where the design uses only straight lines, they will have for example, one rectangle, and then another that is jutted out from the first, and so on in such a way that the various rectangles actually visually look a bit curved. This is a picture that might show a bit of what I mean.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/paver-walkway-traditional-landscape-columbus-phvw-vp~237790

In terms of your question about what type of walkway to use - my preference would be a solid surface as per your second picture. I think that the first picture looks a bit more like a casual path that would be in the back yard, and not in the front yard.

Here are two very rough possiblities of how to introduce a bit of curve into your walkway if you wanted curves.

Or another option:

Thank you! Dh is also requesting a less regimented look and a bigger variety of plants. I have redrawn with a similar thought on a bit more curve to the walkways and to the planting. I also played with the moodboard a bit.

When choosing plants, please remember that hardscape is hot and will affect plants near them. I'm in zone 7b Texas and failed at thyme between my flagstones. I think that it was just too hot, even though I was able to water twice a week.

Your new plants, even though drought tolerant will need to be watered to become established, just something for you to consider.

Thank you. I am hoping for a wet winter to help establish the plants. El Niño is currently predicted which is part of the reason we are hoping to get things in the ground this fall. If the winter rains don't come, I'm planning to water over the winter this year.

Creeping thyme is often suggested for between stepping stones in my area. Hopefully it will grow. I guess if it fails, we will just mulch that area? What did you end up doing?

Since you brought up the issue with furniture I think it would be best if it went straight to the door and was a solid surface.

Regarding your plant choices : Lavender and Shasta Daisies are not low maintenance plants. I suggest plants that are self cleaning like Lantana and Verbena.

East bay is a large area but if you are near Richmond you should visit Annie's Annuals Nursery. She says there are more varieties

than what she sells on the website. I hope you will watch this short video. I just want you to know what you are in for.

Thank you! I actually have lavender right now and it is flourishing with virtually no care.

I ended up letting ajuga, dwarf mondo and lyre leaf sage grow between my stones in the areas that have space. I have to thin them or they will overgrow the flagstones. I use mulch too in the smaller spaces or just let the bare soil show through.

To be fair, I lost the thyme during a 71 day consecutive stretch of 100+ degree days with zero rain. We were allowed weekly watering only at that time because of drought. I might try it again.

Thank you! Our hottest days are usually in the 80s so perhaps I will have better luck.