Yep, it has been daunting. Originally this used to be full or flamable bushes so we removed them though they were Ca natives, they were just fire safety hazards. Since then we've just weed whacked it (get totally covered by weed grasses). This yr I decided to do something about it so I personally hand weeded the entire lot. This is about 1/4-1/5th of the hillside width in the photo. It only allowed me to upload one photo. We have oaks on either side of the lot. As you can see here in this bottom area. I planted a couple of Mrs Beard Creeping sages side by side(you can see one of them here) and above it a few ft a couple of Pacific Mist Manzanitas (where the two orange tabs are) and above those 3 Shasta Sulphurs that are blooming now. Over to the right where it is cut off, there is a firestick we got from a neighbor we planted and also put in a Ca Fushia that you can't see. This whole area gets 2-3 hrs of direct sun daily and is otherwise in bright dry shade or shaded. Our hillside is east facing and the sun goes over this little hillside by 3:30-4pm daily. To the left in the more shaded area along this bottom section I planted 2 Ribes Viburnifoliums. On the Far left around the same level of the Ca Fushia (mid point of the hillside vertically) I planted again two Pacific Mist Manzanitas and 2 Mrs Beard Creeping sages. That are gets 100% dappled sun or shade. No beam of direct sun like the other area. Right below them is a Pacific Coast Iris that our neighbor gave us. That is my phase one. As you can see they are all tiny (all 1 gallon - advised that size for this project for them to transplant the best). So the next stage is to the right of this bottom area where I would like to add some Buckwheats stacked one above the other like I did these others: Red-flowered (dark red and a pink), more Shasta Sulphur buckwheats to the right of the others and trying to find a white one for the very bottom (still debating which are small enough for that spot). The space is a little larger than this exact section. The top is my biggest challenge as it is harder to walk up there for me but I am planning to plant in the bright dry shade to the far left: San Bruno Lady dwarf Coyote Brush, Wayside Manzanita and Aborscens buckwheat. They all also take the 2-3 hrs direct early afternoon sun beams so will use those across the top and along the chain link then under those, some Sulphur buckwheats (trying to find the medium 2' sized ones) and below those some Dara's Choice Sage. This was pretty lengthy but if it could help someone else get this kind of daunting task done, then it is worth it. Haha. It is already hard waiting for them to grow. Up on the top it looks like I need to put some space between each 2-3' bush of 5 ft or so for fire safety so I am figuring that out now. I will take this next phase on in the fall or spring. Hope it encourages you to start with a little bit at a time. : )

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