It would be helpful to have some more background information on your particular tastes and objectives.

What I see, personally, is the start of a dry subtropical look with the young Syagrus palms and the borrowed scenery from the chaparral. I would build on that with some Proteaceae (many of which are attractive to both birds and butterflies). Dicliptera suberecta, penstemons and salvias will pull in the hummers like moths to a porch light.
I'm not sure that the dry, hot and windy exposure excludes Buddlejas. Buddleja davidii is invasive where I live and so I am hesitant to recommend it. It is a very tough plant, though, so I think it would succeed in that location. I'd plant a jacaranda in the other corner and cover that back fence with Distictis. I would also but in some more small Syagrus every 5 years or so to have grouped palms of varying stature.

I am conducting an experiment of my own at home with California native plant landscaping, and you might want to think along those lines. I have a small, unirrigated area above a retaining wall that was covered with ivy when I bought the house. Why fight Mother Nature?

I'm not sure where you are, but you might want to look at the website for Las Pilitas nursery or the Theodore Payne Foundation -- lots of info on native plants there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Las Pilitas

California fuchsia (Zauschneria californica)...check it out. Meets several of your criteria....drought, sun, native, hummingbird.

Would be a nice element of your puzzle.

Thanks everybody. The palms are going to a neighbors friend that wants them. I hope to put in crepe myrtles there. I have thought about a Jacaranda but the corners are taken you just can't see them. One with a waterfall in the right corner. I have been planning on putting the CA fuchsia in a planting bed on the right side you can't see.
I want color and of course some for all seasons. Not a big fan of grasses but I do have the blue fescue in on the lowest level now with the poppy seeds.
The area between the first and second fence needs to be cleaned up first but I do want to put in some native and fire resistant but that will probably be next year.

Hummingbirds like manzanita flowers, so you may want to consider some of them. They bloom in winter when little else is blooming and provide winter food. Some of the Aloes are also winter blooming and a favorite of hummers. Likewise many Australian plants such as Grevillea, Correa, etc. My Chasmanthes are blooming right now (South African bulb) and attracting many hummingbirds.

wanda

Natives and winter bloomers are always a good bet. One non-groundcover that came to mind is Cistus (rockrose), but it's not a winter bloomer. It only receives irrigation from rainfall in my garden, and the flowers are pretty. Of the two I have, I prefer the looks of the C. x pulverulentus 'Sunset' foliage rather than the Cistus ladanifer.

Brenda

Looks like you h ave a rther large slope there. I would contact Las Pilitas Native Plant Nursery and see if they can make some suggestions for you.

Hey Mamamia, Yeah it is quite the slope. There are sprinklers on the corners of second fence. And I do own way over the ridge and also behind both neighbors over the ridge. But we all pay taxes to have that managed. They don't do a good job. Plus it is coyote country. In between the first and second fence is not irrigated but I have to clean it up first, maybe that is where I can put my wild lilacs.

Youreit, I have thought about Rockrose. I meant I wanted some color all year, not everything to flower all year. That's not realistic here in winter. But will keep Rockrose on my list.

If you have good drainage and can resist fertilizing, the slope is a great place for some of the Australian/SA drought tolerant plants, such as grevillea, protea, leucospermum, acacia and leucodendron. I mix them with natives that provide habitat for birds and butterflies. It doesn't take much to attract clouds of butterflies by planting larva host plants, such as milkweed, passiflora, cassia and fennel. You'll get non-stop flowers, fragrance, and the envy of your neighbors without the water bill.
Ditto on the Cal Fuschia - hummers fight over it, and you whack it to the ground in the winter. Salvias, lavenders, buddleia and rosemary bloom consistently with no care, and a few tough crinum for summer blooms.
My back slope, just redone, is similar to yours (tho I don't have that nice wall!), and is monardella, duranta, misc natives, and a brug for fragrance to catch the breeze.
The tough part imho is selecting plants with matching water and fertilizer requirements. If you fertilize your palms, the phosphorus will kill aussie plants, for example.

How do you 'manage' the ridge? Seems like a perfect place for a bucket of wildflower seeds, and more natives.

Here is a link that might be useful: urban jungle

Wow Slave, you have done quite a bit of work! Very nice.
I really can't do much beyond the second fence up the slope. It is very steep, wildlife etc. Don't really want much more growing up there do to fire danger. This year I am concentrating on the part between the 2 short walls and maybe beyond the first fence get the right corner cleaned up and put in some wild lilac. It is not irrigated there.
I love the tango! I am trying to stay with cool colors as it gets 100+ here and to look out see orange or red is not very appealing. But I also know the cool colors get washed out so I need a variety.
All of you have given me great ideas and my list is expanding. Thanks!

I encourage you to learn what plants are growing naturally in your area, and use some of them. They will be hardy, low care, and look attractive with very little effort.

Beyond the second fence, up on the slope, I see sagebrush (Artemisia californica) and coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), maybe blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana). All of them can be grown in gardens and look pleasing with minimal care. Consider perennials like zauschneria, Aster chilensis, Grindelia for summer bloom.

In a Sunset 18 zone and with Colorado River water,( I assume), South African plants like Proteas and Leucospermums are not likely to do well. The California natives such as Zauschneria is a great choice, and I'd also recommend other natives such as Salvia clevelandii, Diplacus aurantiacus, and Arctostaphylos densiflorus 'Howard McMinn', all of which are easy and attractive to hummers. They also really like the winter into spring blooming Aloes, such as A. arborescens, A. saponaria, and others. The red/coral flowers occuring in winter/early spring are less likely to seem "too hot" this time of year, and they are really great nectar sources for hummingbirds. I'd also recommend other winter/spring blooming perennials such as Bulbine frutescens and Kniphofia 'Winter Cheer'. More large growing late winter perennial shrubs might include Echium candicans, or the biennial, Echium wildprettii. Not native, but great for nearly year round bloom would be the Mexican Sage, Salvia leucantha. If you wanted some good deep blues or purples in summer, you could also use Plumbago capensis 'Royal Cape', Agapanthus 'Elaine' or Agapanthus 'Mood Indigo', and Penstemon gloxinioides 'Midnight' or 'Grape'. As you also said you like lots of color, the spreading perennial Oenothera berlandieri, Mexican Evening Primrose could give you masses of pink in late spring into early summer. For that area just above the first planting bed, adjacent the fence, Plumbago combined with Ceanothus 'Julia Phelps' or 'Joyce Coulter' could also be blooming now.

Personally, I would also be inclined to get rid of the Euryops, as I find them boring, but if they are lightly sheared from time to time they can be kept looking fresh. You might also consider planting out some of the native Yucca whipplei for dramatic sculptural impact when in bloom. You could substitute Dasylirion wheeleri or D. longissima for these as well, if you like the dry look.

I have grevillea rosmarinifolia in my front yard. It got extremely cold here this winter and those things kept blooming with hot pink and cream flowers. They also loved it when temps got up to 110 during the summer. The hummingbirds love them. Is the area behind the fence yours too?

Thanks again for all the options.
Bahia, I have several you mentioned on my list. The Euryops
look dead now cuz of the deep freeze, but I know they will be fine. I think they are boring also but do give some color in winter. They can stay for this year I guess.

Mamamia, yes beyond the second fence way up over the ridge is all mine, but I really can't do much as I pay high tax dollars to have it maintained...although they don't do it.
It is very steep, but I might decide to take Slaves suggestion with the wildflowers.

I think the wildflower selection is probably the best option. The native California Muhlenbergia Rigens might look nice too amongst the wildflowers and stuff.