Thank you again for all your help, everyone. These are great ideas! I have a whole different concept now. My computer crashed completely. I'm having so much computer trouble neither one of us can get any new photos in but here's an old one already in the computer. This is one of the terraces which go up at each side of the flat space in the middle. We've since stained the wood a very dark brown, and replanted the terraces with brightly-colored perennials, and ornamental grasses, which are doing well. The concrete has been replaced with a more natural stone-like look. There is about 20 feet of space between the patio floor and the top edge of the rocky slope; that area has woolly thyme groundcover and low perennials with stepping stones. On the right-hand side we have a very large bowl fountain with two Asian-style herons standing in grasses near it (all taken in for the winter now). porkandham, bleigh, teacats: I didn't think of putting colorful plants on the deck that can be seen from the road. I love the notion of railing planters. They'll have to be very well secured because of the wind, but I think this will be an amazing help. And I think one large metal art piece will be just the thing for that empty spot on the wall, teacats. We're both art lovers. It will be fun looking for just the right piece. jterrilyn, we hope we won't need a new roof for another decade or so! lynxe,cyn, lolauren, oakleyoak, teacats -- I hope the second photo helps. I get your point about staggered heights and placement on the slope looking better than a solid mass of one plant. We don't want to plant anything very tall because the view is the major attraction, but we could plant several large shrubs in a natural-looking pattern. We had the slope shot with wildflowers when we first built the house, but for a variety of reasons they didn't make it. We have irrigation to the slope that we're not using now, so we can reinstitute that. annz, you're right. Because of the wind a row of pots won't work. I love the idea of a retaining wall "bench", but the outer edge seems to be holding fine, and now that the flat space is all planted people sitting on the wall would probably step on the plants getting there from the patio. livewire, cyn, judith, we did have a structural engineer and the County okay the deck. That was when it only had 4x4's. We changed it to 6x6's for the aesthetics, and it really should be okay now, I think. The deck is 24x12. jane, what a gorgeous yard! I love it. We can't replicate that here, as the climate just isn't right, but thank you for the gorgeous photos. I had to laugh at the deer going swimming in your pool. Nobody here has pools, so they don't get that upscale experience! suzanne, we have bears and mountain lions here, so we'd rather not make it even easier for them to get to the deck. Bad enough we have racoons climbing the posts all the time. We're just a bit too low for aspens to do well here; we have some in the front yard, and they're not very happy. madeyna, we thought about cross supports earlier, but it would obstruct the view. So, thanks to you all, we've been able to look at this freshly, and here's the plan: We're going to plant a tree above the right-hand terrace (as you look at the house in the photo view) so that it will appear to be at the corner of the house. It won't be where the view will be obstructed much. On the left side we'll do a similar placement with a large evergreen shrub so that the tree and shrub don't "match", but harmonize. We're going to get some substantial planters which will hang on the deck railing and be planted with colorful annuals. On the slope instead of that green blanket of junipers I was imagining we'll plant a more natural landscape with a few large scattered shrubs, using a drip system and leaving the rock as is. This won't be expensive, as we have the irrigation still in place that we used for the wildflowers which didn't make it and can easily convert the spray to drip. We'll either block in the posts to make them more substantial-looking or perhaps plant a climbing vine on one of them for color. Everyone, thank you again! All of this will be doable, not expensive, and will make us happy with the way our back yard looks. And thanks also for your concerns about erosion and the safety of the deck; I think we have that handled, but I very much appreciate your caring enough to point out potential problems. Now I can't wait until spring!

First, there is no St Augustine seed, so you can't do that. Second, once the sprinkler system goes, you have to buy a hose or two and a sprinkler. I recommend the turbo style oscillator sprinklers because they apply the most even pattern and coverage along with a very slow application so the water can sink in. I have a house now where I turned off the automatic system and use only oscillator hoses. They cover the area much better than the center-throw pop-up heads. St Augustine is pretty easy to grow once you figure out how to water it. Like every other grass out there, it needs to be watered deeply and infrequently. Deeply means 1 full inch every time you water. If it rains 1/2 inch, then you need to add another 1/2 inch. Infrequently means no more than once per week in the hottest heat of summer and less often when the weather is cooler. With temps in the 80s, you should go up to 2 weeks between deep watering. Most people in Florida seem to want to water a few minutes every day. That process develops grass with very short roots. Short roots are intolerant of drought, so if you miss a couple days of watering, or if one of your sprinklers clogs or breaks and you don't notice it, you could lose a lot of your lawn. But if you are deep watering on an infrequent basis, the roots will develop deeper down into the soil/sand and be much more tolerant of head and drought. Also weed seeds practically rely on daily watering to germinate. When you deny the water from the weed seeds, they will not germinate and develop into plants. So you can almost eliminate new weeds without any preemergent or other herbicides simply by controlling your watering. Mowing Always mow St Augustine at your mower's highest setting. There is never any reason to lower the deck. Tall St Aug provides shade to other plants, grasses, and weeds that might be trying to grow. Dense St Augustine will be the dominant plant in your yard. Fertilizing With your sand I strongly urge you to use nothing but organic fertilizers on the lawn. These will build the organic matter in your soil rather than deplete it like chemical fertilizers. Organic fertilizers feed real food to the microbes living in the ground. Those are the organic matter that matter. My preference for organic fertilizer is either alfalfa pellets (Rabbit Chow) or ground corn meal. Corn is very inexpensive this year...at least in my neighborhood. Corn is also relatively low in protein, so I tend to use it fairly heavy at 20 to 25 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Alfalfa pellets can be used at 20 pounds per 1,000. Call your local feed store to get prices for a 50-pound bag. Be sure they understand you want alfalfa pellets and not bales of alfalfa hay. And be sure they know you want corn meal and not corn GLUTEN meal and not deer corn. I start fertilizing with organics about now then repeat on Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. If you do those three things, and note that you were going to mow and water anyway, the only cost is for the fertilizer. You should have minimal weeds. Now...how do you get St Augustine reestablished in the yard. Since you don't have money then you must have patience. If you can afford to buy a few pieces of sod, you can reestablish the lawn in a couple of seasons. Most recently I've used Floratam, but you have to use what you can get locally. I like Floratam because it seems to grow faster than disease spreads. It is a dense turf that loves full sun. Prepare the ground by clearing out anything that's growing and place the sod down. Start watering it lightly at breakfast, lunch, and dinner time every day for 2-3 weeks until the roots have grown down into the soil underneath. Once that happens you can start to water longer and less often. You're trying to develop those deeper roots. You don't have to water the weeds at all, so a hose and hand sprayer is fine for now. When the temps are between 65 and 85, St Augustine spreads and spreads. In my neighborhood that happens in the spring and again in the fall. I get about 5 feet of runners each time for a total of 10 feet of spreading per season. Your mileage will vary. Back on the topic of mowing, I have a house where I mow it with a string trimmer down to 12 inches high. When it gets up to 16 inches or so I cut it back down. If I had a push or riding mower that would mow that high I would keep it at 12 inches. That's not great for playing in but it looks perfectly manicured, uses almost no water, and seems to need much less fertilizer to stay dark green. Also, since it's so tall and never gets anything but rainwater, there are no weeds or disease. I'm not necessarily suggesting that for you, but I am suggesting that if you were going to neglect something, neglect mowing and let the grass get much taller.

Sorry Malika, I don't know where I found that painting. :-( I just copied the image from the google images search I did. Maybe type in the exact wording I mentioned in my post earlier and see if that image comes up. I don't know if it's the perfect painting for your room, I just picked it because it was one of the first paintings that caught my eye. I liked that the colors in it were softer and more muted, yet was still very colorful which you seem to be drawn too. That's too funny that I imagined you having a betta and that's what you have! Lol! I was actually thinking you meant a bigger aquarium fish tank. Best wishes.

I like the sofa but it needs space.....consider emptying the room of anything on wall, table, or mantle so it is basiccally empty, and place items removed on dining room table for future reference. Put the sofa on any wall where it has room for end tables. Put the chair where it can have a conversation with the sofa. At this point I would redo the curtains to coordinate with the wall and do them in a linen type weave. Remove the crystal chandelier and replace with something simple and maybe oil rubbed bronze. Go shopping for a large piece picture in a simple or frameless style that blends with the plaid pillow; take the pillow with you if necessary. So far so good. If you have end tables and a cocktail table put them in the room only if you like them. If they are wood that should be fine. Send us a picture of the whole room taken from another room so we can see the size etc of the room. I am showing this inspiration room because it is very simple with very trad furniture, but the mantle is very low key and would work nicely in your living room style I think. Also note the colorful throw on the arm chair. This is same room, but wood tables and metal cocktail table, simple window treatments in tones found in living room, and antique armoire that is similar to your Moms tallish piece by fireplace. TV opposite sofa and easy chair for great viewing This looks great; metal table, magazine rack in oil rubbed bronze, brass Pharmacy lamp for reading. Would work next to Mom's chair......these items can be found on line at Ballard Design and other places too; overstock.com, wayfair.com with great prices and great selection. Plaid pillows, one bright color pillow and another item in room (the end table, but could be lamp, vase, picture) done in a bright color to match pillow in intensity. And the upholstered ottoman adds a fun touch, but sized to match the sofa. Again a rustic trad feel with a pair of large photos over sofa. Great ottoman, lamps, footstool. Pillows match colors in photos of family members.... These are just inspiration but it might help you select the items that the room needs to frame and support the sofa style and colors. Nothing set in stone but a place to begin.