Good morning and thanks for your question. 

Since your most recent question (#0137971) was not attached to your previous question (#0135717), it got assigned to a different Master Gardener. Once I discovered that, I arranged for it to be reassigned to me so that I could build upon the dialogue that we established in your initial question.

It seems that you have now discovered in your garden and lurking under the rock mulch, two layers of fabric/plastic and very compacted soil. In one sense this is positive because you now know why the previous owner and you encountered problems in growing things in this location. Due to the soil conditions, whatever was planted had difficulty in establishing a sound root system. Stress due to heat and insufficient water merely added to the problem. Identifying the causes of gardening problems can define remedial steps.

At this point, unless much of the rock, compacted soil, and fabric/plastic are removed, you will continue to have problems with growing things in this area. New soil should be brought in. This will not be a DIY project. It will incur some expense. You should now consult two or three landscape designers to get ideas and estimates. See the following:

https://extension.umn.edu/lawns-and-landscapes/landscape-design

https://www.aldmn.com/choosing-right-landscape-designer

https://www.groundonemn.com/should-you-hire-landscape-architect-or-landscape-designer/

https://www.houzz.com/professionals/landscape-architect/minneapolis-mn-us-probr0-bo~t_11788~r_5037649

Good luck. As always, please get back to me if you have questions.