After: Del Mar welcoming front yard

Removing the pines and replacing the junipers with a garden of carex, 'Tiny Monster' geranium, and Scotch moss groundcover definitely brightened things up; a row of low-growing purple 'Tom Thumb' phormium and a single showy 'Red Star' cordyline punctuate the palette of lime and dark greens. And now, broad stairs lead hospitably from the driveway straight to the front door.

Design landscape by: Kendra Berger, Revive Landscape Design, San Diego, revivelandscapedesign.com; stairs: John Eisenhart, Union Architecture, San Diego, unionarch.com