Have you ever seen a mature Jubaeopsis caffra? It is a very grand, multi-trunked palm, each trunk as big around as your chest, larger toward the crown, and leaning outward. Three Dypsis decipiens together like that should be an interesting look in about 6 years. Enjoy the process, you are in for a great adventure.

Right now your house looks 100% better because you can see and appreciate the nice architecture. Several years from now it may be completely obscured again, but you will have many opportunities to tweak things.

I think it is exuberant! I'm sure you have a lifetime of ediing ahead of you, but that should be fun. Ir reminds me of an illustration in a children's book, and I mean that in the most complimentary way.

Consider adding some contours (low gentle berms or mounds) to give more visual interest to your otherwise flat yard. Also large boulders - large enough to not be able to be lifted will add textural contrast to your priority towards plant material. Also add some "negative space" like low small textured ground cover in a few patches. You don't have to fill up every square foot with a plant.

@kiminpl, yea the Jubaeaopsis are definitely awe-spiring in person. And the dypsis, I figured, would lean away from each other as they grew. I've seen habitat pictures of them with leaning trunks and really like that look.

@kitasei - Thank you! I did take that as a compliment. I appreciate it.

@JSL, You know I was actually considering a couple of boulders on either side of the walk near the sidewalk. Great ideas, thanks!

I think you articulated it pretty well, Kentc. The "cottage gardens" can incorporate some design, and sometimes do. But I think its main purpose it to satisfy a plant-lover's quest to "have it all." And if not all, then as much as possible! For the afflicted, the love of plants can overcome design shortcomings.

I know grass isn't cool anymore, especially in CA, but to me it does create a peaceful, restful landscape. It's calm. Your new landscape is busy, so busy that to me it does the exact opposite of the lawn you tore out. It feels intrusive in the same way a nervous, worrying, hovering mother is intrusive, too much concern, too much presence. I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone but me.

Yeah, that does make sense. I think there is a huge difference in a gardener's yard and a non-gardener's yard. As a gardener,, I'm in a constant tug-o-war between wanting a yard that looks like it was put together in a thoughtful manner, and wanting a yard to grow the exotic or literally whatever plant trend I'm in at the time. It's hard to balance the two.

As far as filling in with some low-growing plant to bring cohesiveness to the yard, I do have succulents that will do that as they fill in. Up front I have a grey-colored, low-growing sedum planted in a large swath. It grows to about 5 or 6 inches tall. Behind it is a swath of senecio mandraliscae which will get a little taller than that, and behind it is cotyledon orbiculata var. orbiculata which gets to about 2 feet tall. So the idea is to create a layered look punctuated by specimen plants. Perhaps it looks so busy because of the amount of texture the plant mix creates - palm leaves, fine-leaved succulents...