(Click on underlined title to see more pictures/info) (before photo above)

What I'm showing here is a 'before' and 'after' of a given yard, wherein the 'before' photos show how the landscape was, which I describe as 'Distinguished Classic Modern Conservative Landscape Architecture'.   And the re-composition in the 'after' photos is what could be considered a relatively low quality example of a more so 'water wise' 'California Fusion' landscape composition.  

No offense intended, I'm just being straight on basic judgement sensibility, because the change is so extreme, and, the quality is quite lacking, compared to beforehand, which was basically world class top quality,... basically.  

I was not involved with this landscape design or work.   The point I'm making, is that the 'before' is a vastly more architecturally endearing landscape structure by 'normal good' human sensibilities, in comparison with the 'after'.   Of course, the 'after' re-doing could be much more elegantly/attractively done, and still achieve the goal of getting rid of lawn space, and making the plantscape more useful to hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, but, there's the matter of the streamlined ease-of-maintenance considerations, plant durability, plant resistance to damage, and consistency of attractive aesthetic year-round.   This is at a public church.  'Before' photo above, 'after' photo below:

Before:

After:

Before:

After: