Planning the backyard makeover

The first decision I need to make - which direction should I go?

I already mentioned that I want a low maintenance landscape; also I want a change that can be implemented by myself without spending much time and money. I don't have a specific budget, but I would hate to go over three or four hundred dollars.

In general, I prefer minimalistic and clean designs. I like the landscapes with rocks, pebbles, sand, and water, but in my case, it is too far from my starting point and, therefore, would take too much effort to implement. It seems that I should try to use moss as much as possible because moss is the best growing plant on my backyard.

Here is my current backyard layout:

The area outlined by the dotted line is my "lawn". This area seems to have two different zones - about 1/3 of the lawn where grass grows well and the amount of moss is manageable, and the remaining 2/3 where I have more moss than grass.

I need to follow the path of least resistance. This prompts to separate the area into two zones - one for grass and another - for moss:

Below is the same plan after adding more details:

• add the third dimension by creating a small mound near the patio with an accent in the center (a small tree?)
• break the straight line of the patio border by having moss to go over the patio
• add a path of stepping stones
• maybe add an area to put a table and a couple of chairs (I am not sure about it - seems to be too much work)
• add another accent in the third area

I am not worried about accents now - my main task will be to exterminate the grass in the "moss area" and vice versa. Since I want a low maintenance backyard, I need to make sure that I not just kill the other plant, but I change the environment to encourage the growth of the "correct" vegetation in each area.