Wow, everyone! I didn't get any notifications about this post but thought I'd visit it again just to see. I wasn't expecting so many kind responses so thank you! I love the mockup,
@Frillylily . :D And
@pepper23 and
@Serpent , thank you very much for the plant recs. I'll have to see what's available at the adorable nursery nearby but I'll bring this list.
As for the soil/substrate, the developers aren't getting back to me about it (it's amazing how quickly they'll ghost you as soon as they have their money, haha!) but it's basically dense sand and rocks right under the beauty bark. The grass was recently laid down so I haven't pried it up to see what's underneath but I suspect it's sand or a very thin layer of soil over the sand. I do have some rocky soil to work with along the top of the retaining wall (before the wooden fence) and my neighbor has planted ferns and what looks like Japanese andromeda along that section. As for the area right in front of the stones, I'll most likely have to do container planting in addition to a narrow raised bed, though something like Frillylily's beautiful layout would've been ideal. Thank you again for all of the suggestions. I'll talk to my neighbor to see what their situation is like, and will do more research before I potentially damage the area in front of the retaining wall.
