Without deer you will have many more options. There are so many different styles out there but I would consider creating a counterpoint to the geometry of that hedge. Another personal preference is to add plants with fragrance. Syringa vulgaris, Lilac would be nice and give height. You will want to consider sun exposure and I would place the hosta in partial sun. If you have a heavily shaded are I would use fern. Again consult the web for what is cold hardy. Irrigation systems are designed to have areas and types of plants on different zones. This divides the total water use over a longer period of time and reduces the stress on your well/water supply.

Probably 90% to 95% of the lawns in the greater Phoenix area are one form of bermuda or another. New homes start with TIF 419 type of hybrid bermuda to have an instant lawn. 419 only comes as sod and should cost about $50 per pallet. Seed is much cheaper but the grass becomes shaggy with seed heads. 419 has no seed heads. Then as trees grow and people neglect, other forms of bermuda may move in or out. If you have 6-8 hours of unfiltered, direct sunlight, then you can grow bermuda just fine. If you have sissoo or palo verde trees in the yard or over the south, east, or west fences, then you will have to go with St Augustine. St Augustine is not the water hog people will tell you it is. If you want to have a green lawn, bermuda or any other, you will have to give it an inch of water a week most of the year and 2 inches when the temps are closing in on 110 or more. I'm not certain gardengal is familiar with your soil. Six inches is a luxury especially starting with what you have. Another possibility for full sun grass is UC Verde buffalo grass. That also only comes as sod. Don't know if it is available to you there, but it would be acceptable in full sun. For right now, I would mow the weeds with a mower and string trimmer around the edges. Start taking care of it like it was a lawn and it will look much better. Furthermore once you start mowing and watering, some of the weeds will actually disappear. Some weeds, especially sand spur stickers, cannot take any care at all before they die. The roots of those weeds are very important in improving your soil. With temps in the 80s you can water it every other week. Coming very soon will be temps in the 90s. Then go to once a week watering, 1-inch, all at one time. My favorite sprinkler is an oscillator on the end of a 3/4-inch hose. Get the "turbo" type oscillator that does not have the exposed mechanical linkage. Those linkages can break or jam at any time...even the very first time you use it. The turbos will go for years without messing up. Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall. Mowing: Mow bermuda at the lowest setting. May as well mow your weeds low, too. Mow every week. Fertilizer: Wait to fertilize your weeds until the end of this month. Phoenix is way ahead of the rest of the country on timing things. The fertilizer you use is less important than most anything else, especially if you are growing weeds (for now). If you want to use an organic fertilizer, that would be great. Just out of curiosity what part of the area are you in? I know it sprawls everywhere. Oh, and do you have that shade thing with trees around the yard?

Alfred, I have not read through all of your thread, but from my perspective, it seems like the tile is ok. Have you looked into having it professionally cleaned? A “green” type of cleaning maybe, if possible - I’m sure something like this should be available in CA. Then just do the pavers and maybe some edge plantings in unpaved area, and put up a gazebo. You could start with, or just permanently use, a portable gazebo - as I show in pic in my first comment. I would really not get jackhammers, etc. and try to do this yourself. If you want to make a major change in the future, I would recommend just saving up and hiring professionals. You will save yourself the wear and tear and probably get better results that way. I really think you can work with your tile as it is. If you want to change/vary the look, in some areas you could place some outdoor rugs.

Hmm not a kid friendly back yard for sure. Running a jack hammer is really not all that impossible and given your concrete is chunked with all the lines I see you could easily start near the grass and see how much you want to break up /remove. You are lucky you will have defined places to stop with no weird chopped edges given the blocking I see. What do you want for your child? I see all these super expensive play sets--and given the lifestyles of most families very little time at home to play on it is available. Back in the day we got away with a LARGE sand box, a swing under a raised deck (sand box was under the deck) and a Little Tyke's large climbing/slide apparatus. The wait a year and see is tough as kids grow fast and they need what they need NOW. If we are talking toddler #1 right now I would be hitting the garage sales and buying every riding toy I could find. We had a fleet of those things and quite a race way in our unfinished basement!! All that cement is premium rolling space. A kiddie pool will fit in one of your grassed areas...optimize what you have!!