Hi D1, I think you photo shopped your lawn to make it look that green. That's what I'm thinkin'. Your lawn looks great! I am posting an image showing the dimensions I need. Unfortunately the images get washed out during the upload. Looking at the back of your house starting from the right side these are the dimensions I need. A. From the right side of the house/foundation to the right edge of the slab. B. The width of the slab. C. The dimension from the left edge of the slab to the left side of the house/foundation D. From the right edge of the slab to the right edge of the door. E. The width of the door measured from the edge where "D" ends and "F" begins. F. From the left edge of the door to the left edge of the slab. G. From the house to the edge of the slab near the pines. H. From the house to the property line. A, C, and H. can be close (within and inch or two, "H" can be a foot or two) but the others should be exact or at least within 1/4". The photos show there is daylight available at the sides of the property and some locations to put a rain garden. If you can get me those dimensions I can draw the structure. The little red "dots" in the image below are camera locations. The ones on the corners of the slab should be taken with the camera sitting on the slab looking towards the the lawn just catching the corner of the house so I can use the siding to measure . I was showing 3 others on the left side from about 50'± away. Hopefully your neighbor wouldn't mind if you took a few shots from their yard. Do not use any tele or wide angle setting when taking the pictures as they distort the edges too much. Keep the camera as low and level as possible or a slight tilt up if any. Distance is key. The more area you can fit into a single shot without a wide-angle setting the better. I think the least expensive solution is going to be flashing the entire wall although you may be able to find someone who will come in and cut the sod and remove some top soil for free. So glad you posted some close-ups of the stair as in the other photos it appeared to be on the ground, which it is not, and the sheathing is exposed to the elements with only a thin coat of paint protecting it. Did you like the stair idea I posted above? I am going to specify cedar and Philippine "mahogany" so that it is easier to paint if you choose (just the cedar). Pressure treated lumber will warp split and check like crazy in that location. Guessing from the dual leaders on the corners of the house I am assuming you have a hip roof and not gable ends so I am going to call out gutter drains in those corners sending them to daylight behind the pines. Because lawn drainage is not a major concern in those locations you can use the corrugated pipe already going across the lawn and the same or a rigid pipe on the other side. I will be in and out all day today and tomorrow but will have time to get this done on Tuesday if you can get me the dimensions I need. The photos would be nice but are less important although a good shot showing both sides of the pines (in the same picture, distant) and where your property line ends back there would be a great help. Thanks, Jey

I had the same problem and It was so challenging. It always looked unfinished and I felt like people would fall off of the edge of the deck. Plus our dog insisted it was a dog run which was kind of gross. We found a work around. We bought a fence screen from an online store that offers next day delivery (website to remain unnamed. :-) They come in different lengths, height and colours. (Forgive the mess. We were prepping the spot in front of the equipment to extend the concrete pad and address the gap) The fence screen we are fast an easy install and this fabric doesn't fade or rip. It allows air to flow through but keeps dirt from going through the fence. After I dug a trent for the trees, I ran the landscape fabric over stones that we placed along the bottom of the fenceto create a basin. then back filled with soil. Fence fabric https://www.amazon.ca/Windscreen4less-Privacy-Grommets-Warranty-Customized/dp/B001OJXVKW/ref=sr_1_7?crid=LGXTY2DJMA7U&keywords=fence%2Bscreen&qid=1652055342&sprefix=fence%2Bscreen%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-7&th=1 The chainlink acts like the retaining structure, the fence screen helped to keep everything on myside and the landscape fabric, wood and stone helped with drainage. We have a 20" drop from deck height so we didnt' have to dig down too far to plant cedars and we could fill up the gap with soil. To break up the green we had cedar privacy screens, strategically placed to be over drainage, and grounding wires for the pool. I plan to plant hydrangea bushes at the base of the cedar screens but my husband wants hicks yews (no maintenance required and all around greenery for those of use who have cold weather 8 months our of the year).

The first time I ever tried to get rid of snails, well, I was young and idealistic and didn't want to cause pain to any creature, so I gathered them up in a garbage bag and took it to a local park at night. I set the bag down on the grass, opened it a bit and took off. However, one backward look gave me a horrifying sight: a homeless lady was eagerly going to retreive the bag, perhaps hoping for a nice dinner.

UPDATE: I wanted to thank everyone for their helpful suggestions. Our front yard renovation is almost complete. All we have left to do is pick out some colorful pillows for the chairs and wait for the plants to grow larger over time. We’re really happy with it. This is about the most sun the yard gets so finding native California plants that were shade tolerant and drought tolerant was a challenge. Here’s our plant list: Allumroot in 2 variations; Seaside Daisy; Narrow Leaf Milkweed; Blue Eyed Grass; and, Western Sword Fern The pots and window boxes aren’t natives but contain combos of impaitients, lace ferns, a different variation of allumroot, and daffodils. It’s much more enjoyable to sit outside and watch the kids play now.