Front Yard - Japanese Garden

I finally got around to the canvas that is my front yard.  Yes, I've done a few things to it here and there with regards to Japanese Garden style.  For example, I have a couple bushes, unsure of the type, in a portion of my front yard.  They were here when my wife and I bought the house.  I hated them, even removed three out of five.  But once I started really getting interested in the Japanese Gardens i thought I'd try and give them a chance.  So I conducted a little Fukinaoshi, and hacked them back pretty hard.  Additionally, I started pruning a couple trees with my garden style in mind.  

Ok.  The above picture is of the left side of my front yard.  To start, I racked and weeded the area to prep it.  Then I started hauling a few stones over so I cold see what I like.  Those two bushes in the foreground were once hated.  Now, five months after Fukinaoshi, and a little training, they are starting to take shape.  Additionally, you might notice my Crepe Myrtle - after early spring pruning.

Here is one of my bushes again.  Sorry about the horrible camera.  I should have used my wife's DSLR as opposed to my IPhone.  This isn't a perfect specimen, but I do like the shape 
and angle of the trunk. - Notice the guide string for training - 

Here I was closer to being done.  Placed in some more Moss Rock stone, Juniper, juvenile Fig tree, Iris Grass, Mexican Bird of Paradise and some clumping bamboo.  I anticipate it will all look better as it grows.

Ok, looking slightly better.  I dug in my Moss Rock stone to give them a feel of permanence and time, and placed one vertically as if in an rock outcropping.  My eye is drawn towards the beautiful bark/trunk of my Crepe Myrtle next to the vertical stone that appears to be pointing at it.

  Here, I like how the juniper flows between the Moss Rock.  What you probably don't notice towards the left of the pic above is my small bare Crepe Myrtle.  However, as it's already starting to get its spring growth, I anticipate this will become more visible towards spring.

Notice the two vertical stones.  In between them is a very young, and bare, Fig tree. I've been working on training it as it sat for several months now.  Now in the ground, as it grows, I hope to have it in a considerable interesting shape.

With the exception of a few details I'm done with as much as can be at this time.  Notice the stepping stone bath make its way through the little garden.

From a different angle now.  You can hardly see my little Crepe Myrtle at the bottom left.

From a lower angle.  Above notice the small juniper I have cut and  slightly trained above.  It was in a container until I planted it here.

Above is a pic of a different area of my front yard.  Here I really like the trunk from the Birch Tree, as well as the interesting nodes of my Budda Belly Bamboo.

This is the far-right front of my yard.  With all the green on green, you probably can't see the bamboo in the background, or the Nandia bush.  


All and all, I've been waiting a while to really get started - which came with my recent purchase of Moss Rock stone.  This is obviously a work in progress, but at least it's progress.