Hello Renee, I live in southern Cal. Sunset 19 as well, perhaps a bit hotter and colder than Simi Valley but very similar and have been trying different Conifers to see what did well and was less commonly planted. I have lost many more than have made it. The following is a list of what I know does very well and looks good year round. Many are not normally planted but are very choice. Not on the list for the most part are ones which rapidly grow to large trees. Cedrus all types of Cedrus do well as do their selections. the dwarfs do very well. Cedrus libiani 'Green knight' & 'Green Prince' Cedrus deodara 'Descanso Dwarf', 'Devinely blue' Firs Abies pinsapo - Spanish Fir slow growing,like a hedghog. Abies guatamalensis - Guatamalan Fir looks more like typical fir. Pines many types of pines will do well ,these are less common and are exceptional. Pinus bungeana - Lace bark pine, from asia slow, small tree,very nice colorfull bark. Pinus flexilis 'vanderwolfs pyramid'-great color, structure. Pinus heldreichii - Bosnian pine,small deep green, great form,like a xmas tree,white bark. Pinus lumholzii - weeping Mexican pine very pretty. Pinus maximatinezii - Mexican nut pine,big cones, blue when young, thrives. Pinus mugo - the dwarf ones, great around rocks. Pinus pinceana - weeping mexican pinyon small, nice form. Pinus quadrifolia - blue/green nut pine, nice pyramid shape. Pinus thunbergii 'Thunderhead'- deep green color,large white candles, makes a neat large Bonzai. Low Growing. Chamaecyparis obtusa'Split Rock' - small,blue and round. Cryptomeria japonica'koshyi' - a small round bun Juniperis horizontalis'Limeglow' - Limeglow juniper. Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star' - Blue ,Star Juniper. Taxus cuspidata'Monloo' - Emerald Spreader Japanese Yew. Sequoia sempevirons 'albo spicta' - Dwarf white tipped, Redwood. Upright narrow Thuja plicata'virescens'- bright green medium size. Juniperis comunis'Gold cone' - small ,gold tipped nice. Calocedrus decurrens 'veriagata' - Verigated California Incense Cedar ,medium size upright,giant splashes of bright yellow color. Spruces, do not be tempted though commonly found in the nursery during the holidays, if they survive it will look bad compared to what they should be. Two more places to visit to look at Conifers. Descanso Gardens in La Canada. San Diego Wild Animal Park in Escondido has a very good and unusual conifer collection, take care not to wander to far off the paths, one area is up against the Lion enclosure and when they roar it will scare your pants off.

Sounds like a few possibilities- if daughter/grandkids moved in recently there must be no father on a continual basis. The boy may not understand that your house is no longer 'his' home. He may have witnessed/lived with a defiant/violent/drunk male in the past where this type of behavior is all he saw. Monkey See- Monkey Do. He may be ADHD. ADD. Fetal Alcohol Sydrome Disorder child. - 91-94% of ADHD/AUTISM is later diagnosed at early school age or adolescent age as FASD. ... It IS his mother who needs to set boundaries. Grandma already raised her kids- it is not her responsibility. Is the mother an alcoholic? Drugs? Physically or mentally abused and does not have the capacity herself to guide her children. You may not know these answers yet but dig. Ask grandma over or out for a hamburger. Discuss your worries with her and she may shed some light on the situation. Or not... It is not the child's fault, as much as it puts stress on you. Be proactive- lock your garage door. Lock your home doors. Ask a legal person if YOU may put a lock on the gate. Look at your County Clerk office tax assessment/file to see who legally put up the fence- you may be surprised to find out it is really your fence. Talk to your insurance company- they will have suggestions about how you can cover yourself. Most of these things are private and the neighbor's will not know of you trying to figure out the situation. Sometimes it DOES take a village to raise a child- especially a mentally affected child. I am blessed- I too have a connecting yard because two sisters and their husbands lived side by side. Then they were widows. I was able to know/visit the sister that previously owned my house for a year, before her death a few months ago at 100 years old... Her sister is my neighbor at 90, who is a wonderful woman. Don't dispair- there is a reason you are there. Figure out why as exhausting as it is right now. Chin up!

Could be a couple of reasons: they have been mistagged they could be seedling grown and therefore not clones of the parent tree (fairly sure this not the case as I can see graft unions on at least 3 of them pretty clearly) they have been raised in a lot of shade and so have not developed their true color. Any red pigmentation (anthocyanins) are developed and enhanced by sunlight. Too much shade will typically leave them green or let the chlorophyll predominate. I suspect the last is most likely the case.......combined with them having been shipped from a warmer zone (??) and so not yet showing any signs of fall color/dormancy. ETA: If true to name, a red leafed JM will have red leaves all season long. They may be different colorations of red or purple or copper or even pink, depending on the cultivar and the season but they are rarely ever fully green unless deprived of sunlight. Of the 4 cultivars the OP acquired, 3 of them should never show green foliage unless grown in full shade. Brocade is one of a handful of JM's that sort of splits the difference between green foliage and red....in more sun, the red will be more pronounced but the foliage will always have a greenish, bronzy tint to it as well.

Zoe, I can't help you with the jigsaw puzzles, but the plant in the last two shots are a variety of Spider plant (the genus is visible in the picture, Chorophytum). I don't grow this species, and don't know if it suckers as vigorously and continuously as the more common species. As you said, you also have Aloe vera (now known also as, Aloe barbadensis). These things grow like weeds for me. I don't know what it is, but my friends seem to manage to KILL them all the time. Guessing overwatering from too much love and attention. It is one of my favorite succulent houseplants. I prefer growing them in clay pots for faster drying, and also like a very loose soil, so added coarse sand and perlite. I rarely if ever feed mine. Let dry between waterings. I think I water mine here at 41 N about every two-three weeks mid Winter and with a LOT of sun actually, even in mid Winter. UK, southern exposure is fine, but further south, they actually can burn in too intense, direct sun, coloration is better in filtered sun, in intense sun, leaves will turn more pale or even develop some reddish tones but I find the deep green more pleasing. These color changes are temporary..., depending on sun exposure. They sucker like crazy, so you can spend the rest of your life propagating them for friends. I am not familiar with the other succulent you posted.