I've been planning a small-space garden makeover for an area I have out back above a retaining wall. There are two tiers, both 25 ft long, one 3 ft wide and the other 2 ft. wide. The area is unirrigated and gets partial sun- how much depends on what time of year. For my purposes, I've decided to use a lot of CA native plants, and there might be some things there to interest you as well.

The sages are fragrant, have flowers attractive to butterflies, generally like sun, don't need a lot of water, and would soften things a bit. There is a yucca that might work out front, too. They would fit into a quasi-mediterranean garden plan that seems to be the way you are leaning. I like the kangaroo paws and the redhot pokers, too.

I found the websites for the Theodore Payne Foundation, the California Native Plant Society, and Las Pilitas nursery to be helpful. There are a number of native plant sales coming up locally, and some of these plants are available at regular nurseries.

Maybe something like this?

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plants are
bird of paradise
euphorbia polychroma
phorium
jade plants (in the pots)
dracaena
salvia greggii

Davissue that's very striking against the color of your building. Was any by accident or did you go for bright colors or you like the brights? It's just beautiful...

lilafter was thinking about using these colors on her house, so I changed them to what she was considering so she could see the final effect.

I didn't want to sound stupid I was going to ask if that was a computer drawing, so what is a picture of your place then? That's an excellent use of plants in a small place. :o) Leslie

I'd suggest sorting out what will do well in the winter shade right against the building first. Kangaroo Paws will grow just fine there, but really bloom best with full sun. Most of the Kniphofia/Poker Plant cultivars will also bloom best with full sun.

You also have an Angel's Trumpet/Brugmansia at the left side of the unit, and this can get quite big over time, but can easily be trained to be a multi-trunk tree, and will be bloom well in these light conditions. The cultivar 'Charles Grimaldi' is my personal favorite, and has a warm orange shade of bloom.

I'd also suggest that some really big ceramic pots at the walls flanking the steps, with a colorful foliage plant such as Phormium 'Yellow Wave' or 'Cream Delight' could give you year round color, as well as foliage texture. Alternatively, you could also use specimens of Strelitzia reginae or Euphorbia cotinifolia in pots, perhaps with trailing Euphorbia myrsinites, or succulents such as the lavender tinged Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' or Echeveria imbricata.

If you wanted another larger growing shrub with nearly year round bloom that could be kept relatively narrow, the Princess Flower/Tibouchina urvilleana does really well in southern California, but does need regular watering to bloom well.

The Mexican Lobelia is also nearly year round blooming and grows well in shade and with little water, and can be sheared into a hedge and treated like boxwood. You might also consider using a bold foliage plant like Giant Walking Iris/Neomarica caerulea, having a similar form to a Phormium, but with waves of deep purple blue flowers on 5 foot tall stems all summer into fall.

Another really cool shrub with purplish tinged foliage and blue flowers in late winter/spring is the uncommon Ageratum corymbosa, which also does well in light shade. Kalanchoe carnea modoc is another sculptural succulent that is winter blooming, takes shade, and would do well at the front of your building.

With the formality of the building facade, I would suggest that treating it as a formal symmetrical planting and massing foliage plants with some color would give it a more integrated look in the front. You might also consider Reed Stem Orchids, Epidendrons, for a narrow yet tall and everblooming airy plant. Some narrow growing palms such as Chamaedorea tepelejote or C. plumosa could also look cool in front of the building, and will do well in shade, without getting too big.

If you want to do the Gingers, they typically do want more regular summer water to do well, but things like H. greenei, H. gardnerianum, Alpinia zerumbet variegata could combine well with the Brugmansia and Tibouchina water wise.

I wouldn't recommend planting the Horsetail/Equisetum unless it is contained at the roots, as this is a rampant spreader and will choke other plants out over time. You could plant the similar appearing South African restio, Elegia capensis for a similar look, which is very lacey and ferny foliage. Asparagus retrofractus is another tall ferny/lacey looking plant that would like these conditions.

Good luck with the project, and post some photos of what you decide to do!

wow, thanks for the suggestions.

davissue, how did you change the colors of my building and add the landscaping? i'd love to be able to play around with more color combo's... is it done with a special program? PLEASE let me know!

and bahia, thanks for your advice, especially the alternatives.

do you think i should be able to grow the sun loving plants in the bottomless planter boxes out front by the sidewalk?- you can see a little bit of it in the photos. my concern is that it is only 16-18 inches at its widest. i plan to fill it with great organic soil someone is giving away. i read a post lamenting about plants dying in narrow planter.

thinking about putting red flax or fushia trained as a small tree in large planters on both side of the gate.

thanks again!

I can't quite visualize what you mean by the narrow planters by the sidewalk, as the angle of your photo doesn't really show what is planting area versus paving...

However, plants like Kangaroo Paw are fairly narrow and tight growing clumpers, so can easily be shoehorned into tight spaces, as long as they get full sun and some regular water, they should do well.

It isn't clear whether parked cars drive across the central walk to enter and exit, but if they don't need to, I would suggest that edging the walk with more planting area instead of the concrete grass cell blocks would also help to put the house and garden in more balance. You could plant small narrow palms/trees at the very front near public sidewalk to frame the entry, or use large shrubs like Tibouchina or Brugmansia here, as well. Anything that would give you another layer to look at from the front windows, as well as partially screen the street will make the front garden look less like a parking lot and more like a garden.

If you can spare the money, I would also suggest that adding an irrigation system of the drip type would make getting all these plantings to establish and thrive all the easier.

Great suggestions you've gotten -- I would be careful with the Bird of Paradise plant, though. They seem to get really big and crowd out the other plants. Like Dietes (fortnight lily) they can get away from you when you're not looking.

How about the done-to-death but still beautiful Tibouchina urvilleana for a mini-tree. Those purple blooms might look great with the proposed warm house colors.

bahia, i've added additional photos to show the layout better. hopefully this sheds some light on my problems.

unfortunately, the cars go over the central walkway and park onto the grasscrete cement. my original plan was to create a trellised vining screen along the length of the front to hide the parking pads but then the passenger doors don't open well....its a work in progress still.

i do like the idea of planting something in the front of the entrance on both sides to frame the entry. but what could fit in the tiny edge?

thanks.

One more plant you might like is hummingbird fuschia, zauschneria californica. It's a native of this area and will tolerate quite a lot of shade, and it's easy and doesn't need much water. And has the bright colors you mentioned liking! I have a bunch of them in my shady-all-winter north front yard and they bloom from august to january and get visited by hummingbirds all day.

You can get them at Theodore Payne nursery, or if you have the patience, you can grow them from cuttings from my bushes if you want to stop by west LA. They're easy to grow that way.

Here is a link that might be useful: a description of a hummingbird fuschia

Some of the taller skinny palms such as King Palm/Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, or Chamaedorea plumosa, or Rhaphis excelsa could all be used as a narrow accent for tight spaces to frame vistas. Or you could try Cordyline fruticosa cultivars or Cussonia paniculata.

I used Photoshop to play with your pictures, unfortunately it's not a beginner's program, it took me a year of classes to get proficient. Sorry! Sue