you could put a simple screen in the corner to hide the pumps. the "Improvements" catalog has some nice screens. You certainly need some plants to screen them, and in those planting areas. You could also paint your "boring wall" to add some color and interest. You say you have planted many things without success. What things? Are you planting native and adapted plants, or are you trying to plant east coast things which don't do well in the climate. What do you think is causing your failures? Not a good watering system? Is there caliche under there? what? You might ask for some plant recommendations here in the Arizona Gardening forum. YV, I think "steel cactus" is . . . exactly that. Garden art made of steel in the shape of a cactus -- saguaro I presume. Lots of steel garden art in the desert.

Hi daywednes. You have a wonderful space to start with with mature citrus. All the advice here is great. It can be overwhelming to redesign a yard. I have done quite a few of my own yard designs and remodels, but I know that's really rare. I didn't realize it at first, but each contractor has told me that they have never seen such designs without professional help. I wouldn't have been able to do it without growing up on a ranch and having a base understanding of landscape, as well as a creative side. If you do it yourself, it is helpful if you can draw (for plans), have a really good understanding of measurements and math (physics helps too), can communicate extremely well with others and also have a pretty laid back attitude because things are going to be misunderstood, go wrong, need to be done over, etc. As long as you have all of that... I think it's possible to design yourself but it can still be really time consuming and a bit of a headache. You can also miss important things like drainage, mentioned above. Drainage is extremely important in all yard designs... but especially with pavers. But even so, it's good to have a strong idea of what you want even if you get professional help from a designer. From the photos, what I would do if it was my yard is: 1) Take out the lawn. As others mentioned, I also personally don't like lawns so I have taken them out at each house I have lived in. Either partially or completely. 2) Put a garden in the sunny spot in first the lawn photo - either flowers, veggies or drought tolerant natives depending on how much I wanted to care for it later. Possibly raised beds if the soil isn't great. 3) Cover the rest in mulch with pathways in stepping stones, compacted gravel/stone dust or something similar. 4) Install drip irrigation. Also fix drainage that takes advantage of rain water and directs it away from the house and either to plants/trees at the fence lines (but not into neighbors yards) or to a better place based on your plot. 5) Replace the concrete with pavers, new concrete, stonework or a deck surface. Everyone will sell you on pavers, and they're great... I just had a bunch installed... but unless you're really going to live in the house FOREVER I still am not personally sure they're really worth the extra money, compared to concrete or other stone options. But... it's not my yard. It's your yard! Write down what you love to do outdoors. Look at ideas on HOUZZ and create ideabooks. Walk around your yard and look at where the sun and shadows lie, where the frost settles, where there are puddles, where weeds grow, where nothing grows, etc. Like everyone said, don't rush it. Take time to dream. Good luck!!! Also... if you live in northern CA in the Bay Area I can recommend people to help... as well as people to stay away from. :)

These pictures are not much helpful. What you need to do is stand in backyard facing your house. Line up with the center of the scene (which is probably the center of the house. Be far enough from the house that you can show the entire area of the proposed patio and surroundings, with the first floor and roof of the house in the background. If you see a lot of sky you are too far back. While at that position, take a series of slightly overlapping pictures (roughly about 3) that pan from far left to far right (we'll see your neighbor's houses in the background.) Don't substitute a computer generated panorama. Don't move camera location between shots ... only pivot.

I don't think you have enough room on the side of your house for a fire pit. This Houzz ARTICLE recommends a 12-14 ft diameter from the center of a fire pit. That's 6 ft minimum from the center of the fire pit. Plus, I doubt your neighbors would appreciate the proximity to their house, and you could be violating city code. Much better to put the fire pit closer to the center of your yard. I did a mockup of what this might look like. You can still place a patio on the right side of your house with seating. And, instead of building a pergola, consider a shade sail that attaches to the fascia of the gable and then to a pole at the edge of the deck.