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@irvinehomeowner I'd say about 10.5 days, as they did a little prep work two Thursdays ago, then started all the real work last Monday. @stromung One of the conditions that came with the HOA's approval was that our fruit trees be "of the dwarf variety." Though we'll keep the apple tree pruned...

Thanks for the compliments all! :D @JasonTheArtist - There isn't a pattern per se. After they first started going in I tried to visually discern if there was some kind of repeating pattern, but I'm now certain they inserted the bricks mostly randomly. I'm sure they had some guideline about how...

As Jason mentions, depending on what pavers you're using, poured concrete either won't be much less expensive and may even be more expensive than pavers. In our case it was a couple hundred dollar difference or so (I forget the exact amount), but it was small enough for it to be worthwhile to...

@stromung- Thanks! Yesterday we spent two hours with our landscaper at the nursery where he'll buy all our plants and trees. He'll be buying them later today. Meanwhile, his crew has been finishing up the pavers (by flattening them out and applying the sealer) and getting the irrigation system...

Thanks! Took the photos pretty late in the afternoon. During the middle of the day most of the large area sees sun. As @songkou said, yes 4.5' wide. The side walls are about 6.5' and the back wall is about 9.5' tall.

You mean in the last photo, right? Those are small planter areas that will each have a drain and a light and on the wall will be a trellis with jasmine. They are directly opposite of the windows in the house so that when looking out the window you see the greenery instead of the brick wall. : )

Here are photos showing Friday's work. This time I'm also including photos from both narrow sides of the house. Eager to pick out plants and trees. We visited Aki Nursery to take a look around and the nice lady there told us about a place called Emily's Garden off Harbor and MacArthur that is...

Saratoga homes with a courtyard come with an intercom (with remote unlock) outside the courtyard door standard. It's a little tricky to get working if you don't have a landline, but it's incredible to have. I've been saved several times from having to talk to door-to-door salesmen because I can...

Aww, thanks, folks. :-[ You make me feel all warm and fuzzy. I'm very glad if anyone finds this stuff helpful or interesting. Before I got my landscaping figured out I was desperate for photos and info on some local landscaping, but very little was to be found, even here on TI, so I wanted to...

Thanks for the tip about that nursery! If we closed off the wall and filled it with soil, yes, it would be a raised planter, however the HOA does not allow you to install a raised planter, so it's just a seat wall and the soil is to remain at ground level behind it. : (

Wow. I don't know if my photos do it justice, but I was a bit speechless when I got home. Most of the pavers are in now and it makes an immediate, immense difference in how large the entire yard feels. I absolutely didn't expect the completed floor would make the sardine can feel any bigger, but...

@Irvine_Dreamer - Sorry, I don't recall any specific rock names for the flagstone. Good choice of pavers. I really like the Antique Cobble look. Thanks for the reassurance about the weep screed. @phanpd - Thanks! Just behind the white bucket in the photo is where our fountain will go. I can't...

Thanks a lot for mentioning this park. We took the extra long walk there today (happily bypassing crowded, noisy Mockingbird) and were so, so very happy with what we found. It is a dream of a park and much more appropriate for our older boy. The [very few] parents there were also much more the...

Another day down and lots more exciting progress. The stacked stone veneer is on the seat wall and the flagstone floor is complete. They've also laid the border pavers all the way around and the full paver areas will be started tomorrow. My only concern with the flagstone floor is that it...

I've attached all the documents you need. They're for all of Stonegate, so you just need to find the sections that apply to your specific community. (It'll either say Saratoga explicitly or "detached condominiums.") I can't attach the full CC&R document because it's over 9MB. The CD they gave me...

That's for doing the entire hardscape with flagstone, am I right? I figured that'd be an enormous cost because just doing our little California room comes with a heck of a cost.

Today's work yielded some nice progress. The flagstone is all set and level. The cap on the wall is fully-formed and still curing. I was surprised by the crew when I arrived home and was able to see them in action for the first time. I don't think I've ever seen a crew composed of mostly...

Great. All that, but if you're the one to report someone with broken landscaping, they tell you to go screw yourself. Just awesome.

Did the letter state what kind of penalty you might face? I figure the only thing they might be able to do (due to your contract) is force you to pay a fine, but I wonder how much.

Awesome! Glad if I can help. : ) Note that there are several different colors available, and you can even mix two different colors together if you'd like. (That's what we're doing.) Check out the Orco website: Antique Cobble Villa