Instead of that skinny "police lineup" border of plants along the fence, widen it into a "mixed border" of shrubs and perennials that takes all that grassy strip. Use plants suitable for your area, but here's the general concept. https://www.nature-and-garden.com/gardening/mixed-border.html More on reddit.com

Bought my first house a year or so ago. Had basically nothing so most of my money went to things like fixing the air condition etc. I’m finally in a place where I can do a bit of landscaping and honestly don’t know where to start. I know I’d like some lights leading up to the door and that I’m not a fan of the current plants under the living room window. Thoughts? More on reddit.com

This really isn't a 'design idea' but... that poor tree. This is a terrific example of really really terrible pruning (and landscaping). If it still lives, please consider helping it by shortening those stubs to the branch collar of the stems . Leaving those long stubs only leaves the tree exposed exponentially longer to damaging pathogens and insects, because it cannot compartmentalize them. Also, and of equal if not greater importance, please pull back the mulch from the base of the tree. It is extremely important to locate the root flare , make sure it is above grade and EXPOSED, and REMAINS exposed for the life of the tree. When transplanting, with bare-root trees the root flare is fairly obvious, but very often containerized or balled and burlapped trees have their root flares sunk down under the soil line, or near the middle of the root ball because it was transplanted improperly at the nursery, so you may have to search for it. Trees planted too deeply suffer because their roots cannot get proper nutrients, water and oxygen. Mulch and soil should never touch the trunks of trees because it causes stem rot, insect damage and girdling roots. I do not exaggerate when I say that this is an epidemic problem. Planting too deeply usually accompanied by over/improper mulching are the top reasons why transplanted trees fail to thrive and die early. More on reddit.com

You need shrubs in front of that wall imo. River rock can go there at the feet of them but that ground to wall transition needs something in between. More on reddit.com