Need Help Landscaping Odd Shaped Lot

[dawnie08]

Just bought a house on flat lot.
I'd greatly appreciate any ideas anyone has on how I might beautify this awful yard.
The former owners did nothing to help the grass and, with watering restrictions in
the summer, it was left to dry out.
I want to get rid of as much of the lawn as possible without it looking like a rock quarry.
I was thinking of having river stones up to the front 3 trees with a curved border.
Then putting in some kind of patio in the front (?) while putting in sod on what's left.
The back of the house has a big patio, but still with the awful grass.
Any ideas? Thanks so much.

[gumbo2176]

What about drought tolerant flowering ground cover type plants that grow in quickly and uniformly that will work in your planting zone? Before putting a front yard patio in, it may be best to see if your neighborhood would have ordinances or issues with it if the area is under some sort of homeowner's association, or as I refer to them, pushy people with no lives.

Perhaps a small area in a rock garden type situation to add a little different texture. Being that far north, succulents are out, but they would have been a great option with watering restrictions, but sadly, not for your situation.

[rainbowgardener]

Where is your front door? Can you show a picture of the front of the house? What direction does it face?

gumbo mentioned "so far north." (Everywhere is north, when you live in New Orleans! ) I didn't see where you told us where you are?

[gumbo2176]

I swear I saw in his sig line he was in Prarieville??? or some similar name in BC Canada

[gumbo2176]

Correction, Parksville, BC Canada. I looked up his planting zone.

[dawnie08]

Hi,
Thanks for your quick responses.
BTW I am a she not a he.
I'm on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. Parksville
is in a rain shadow and very dry in the summer. Our
plant hardiness zone is 7 (like coastal Washington State).
You can't see the front door, but it is on the
right side of the house and faces south. I've attached a photo.
There is no homeowner's association and I can
pretty well do as I want. I was considering having
a small flagstone patio in the front rather than concrete.
Thanks for any suggestions.

IMG_0747.jpg (19.53 KiB) Viewed 11359 times

[dawnie08]

I just got this picture from someone. I think I like it better than my idea of river stones!