We put in a retaining wall in the front yard and brought in a lot of dirt to fill in where we dug out all the rock and stumps. The dirt we brought in was perhaps not the best choice. On the one hand it had a very high compost content which should help anything that is planted in it.
On the other hand it had a very high compost content, so as the compost has decomposed, the soil level has dropped. There are places with over 6 inches of subsidence. This seemed to particularly be a problem around the edges of the yard, next to the retaining wall.
To remedy this, I bought a bunch more dirt -- this time with a higher level of actual dirt -- and put that in the cracks that developed around the edges of the front yard. Ten bags the first time ($26.70) and then back for another eight bags ($21.36). Each bag is 40 pounds of Texas Native Enriched Topsoil, which it says is "local soil" and "compost".
This seemed to fill in around the edges pretty well.
And in particular in the area between the house and the stairs from the front sidewalk to the front yard. Here we had to dig out the grasses that had been planted there, add the dirt and then replant the grass.
