Robin, David does cite an exception to your list - the Deut will be happy almost anywhere in your yard and would enjoy the winter rains. Just as some additional information, one thing I've noticed is that there are several, if not hundreds, of exceptions, but in general most pachycauls go dormant. Under the above-mentioned structure, of all my Adeniums the Adenium arabicum never lost its leaves (so I watered it in winter) and, oddly enough, the from-the-winter-rainfall-area Pachypodium namaquanum lost its leaves for the briefest amount of time of all my Pachys (I had around 11), so if it was in leaf I kept watering it, although in San Diego they were protected from the rains most of the time in the winter. Up here, my Fockea edulis, Raphionacme flanaganii and Jacaratia corumbensis do not go out of leaf in winter, so they get some water, though not as much as in summer, when they're outside and in full (shaded) sun. The rest of the usual suspects (Cyphostemmas and Burseras, with the odd Commiphora) go dormant wherever I've had them. But I'd agree with you - learn what you have and where it's from, and that will help a lot.

I hope you have resolved by it now. We have a hill in the back yard as well and I was looking on here for ideas. I would mix some stones into it (as simple as limestone rip rap)to help slow down the erosion. Mix some topsoil in. Sow some sunny wildflower mix seed. Maybe even make a few paths and small sitting area that will draw you up there. A bird bath maybe. Keep it low maintenance. I hope that wall has some drainage. Hills are for heroes.

I just found your blog while doing my initial research on pool builder (found it in your Yelp review). I loved reading about your experience and seeing the pics along the way! Thank you so much for the wonderful insight. I have to say that your pool installation has made me so excited to pull the trigger on our own, and now when I need a break at work, I go to your blog -- my new "Happy Place".

Perfect picture. I NEVER recommend rototilling, but in this case it might be an opportunity. Rototill with a Skidsteer or Bobcat to ensure the tiller remains at a constant level. If you use a hand operated tiller it will dig deep and bump up leaving an uneven subsurface. After leveling, apply any organic fertilizer at a rate of 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet. I also never recommend compost, but again, an opportunity. Apply about 1 cubic yard in that area. Then roll the soil down to start it settling. Water it lightly to moisten the organic fertilizer and repeat light watering every day or two almost as if you were starting new grass. If there are weed seeds in the soil, some of them will sprout. Don't worry about those, because roots are generally a good thing to have. The idea here is that the soil under the slab has gone, more or less, sterile, and the organic fertilizer will revive the microbes still there. The compost brings in all the microbes the soil needs, and the fertilizer feeds them. By spring, this will be a good soil organically speaking. In late December you could fill the area with topsoil getting ready for the new grass. You can roll the new topsoil, but don't till it in. Get the topsoil as level as you can get it. Repeat with the organic fertilizer and you could get a soil test of the new soil. It's never perfect. When you get the plugs of UC Verde, the soil should be ready to go.