Cycas revoluta (Sago "palm") is actually native to southern Japan, so a castle-style is quite appropriate architecture (search for some images of Japanese castles). Agaves are excellent and low-maintenance in large urns, something unarmed or nearly so, like A. attenuata or A. 'Blue Flame' would be easy, appropriate, and very attractive. 'Blue Flame' in particular is quite striking.

Do you have a picture of your house you can share? A So Cal castle must be pretty cool.

Pink Muhly grass, Muhlenbergia capillaris is quite attractive, and quite pink.

I don't think the palm is out of place on your property but I would not put it there. Do you do all that maintenance?

Emmarene…what would you put there?

The yard is pretty low maintenance actually. I've been working on landscaping and hardscaping for more than a year now and I've made sure the plant installations are drought tolerant and easy to care for (aside from the fairly small future patch of grass). Nothing a gardener can't keep up with twice a month or so. Plus, I've spent a small fortune on hardscaping in order to replace lawn and plants.

Looks minimal maintenance to me.

I LOVE that house.

I did not have a specific plant in mind. I just think that area should have low growing plants. I only objected to its height. I see you have separated the area with bender board. What will be in front of this bed? Have you planted any Cistus?

Emmarene - That sego palm looks taller than it is because we never actually planted it. We just kind of propped it up on top of an empty container and there it sits, waiting for placement. To place or not to place. That is the question. And if not potted sego, then what? While I love agaves, I just don't see them in this location.

IN FRONT of the bender board will be grass, probably Zoysia, or some variety that will require less water and can be irrigated underground. No more sprinklers. I have given up three x that amount of grass already and replaced with drought resistant plants and hardscaping. Personally, having already made plenty of costly landscaping changes due to the drought, I am opting to keep a smallish patch of green to enjoy.

Behind the bender board, it won't really be a bed, but rather decomposed granite with a new tree (western red bud), a few strategically placed statement rocks, some grasses, the boulder bench, and whatever will ultimately be put in two large pots that will sit behind and slightly to the sides of the boulder bench.

Smoke tree's? They are purple,dark and ominous- sort of. And drought tolerant.

I just had a thought: what about California Hibiscus (Alogyne huegelii)? This could look pretty awesome in a terra-cotta pot that we'll apply a deep grey lime wash to, to make it look like the color zinc.

Dwarf Italian Cypress? Or something that can be pruned into a topiary?

Suzi -- Oooh, that's an interesting idea. One that hadn't occurred to me. Though maintenance of a topiary could be a headache, the fancier you get. But how fun. Instantly, your suggestion make me think of how cool it might be to do a gothic arch over this boulder bench. I don't know how difficult (or how long) it would take to achieve such a thing, but it could be perfect. This merits further research.

Let those creative juices flow and show us what you come up with! Forms can be made from chicken wire. Have fun!

Subsurface irrigation in Laurel Canyon? Lol. Have fun repairing gopher damage and I hope you don't lose your hillside. You are much better off from a maintenance standpoint using mp rotators. They were designed for hillsides.

Nil13 - Nil13 -- Does the picture above look like a hillside to you? Flat as a pancake. We have underground irrigation already for the thyme growing in between large stepping stones. Been there for a year already. No problems.

Suzi - I'm already visualizing it as I type. I never do post finished pix of my projects on GW because I tend to use inspired and heretofore unconsidered suggestions like yours and off I fly. But I should. I watched people post step by step pix of their pools on GW, and I just threw ours together with a few well qualified subs and, with the help of landscaping suggestions from those here at GW and anyone else who happened onto the property, as well as my own creative instincts and preferences, it is completed now and a thing of beauty. Same with whole damn project, really. Step by step, choice by choice, it all seems to come together magnificently in the end.

Sago palm was the main traditional food of the native headhunters in Irian Jaya. They used to chop down the palm, cut it open, and rinse the inside pith with water to extract the starch (a very labor intensive process). They made a paste out of the starch and cooked it wrapped in large leaves (i.e. like banana leaf).

Type "korowai tree house" into an internet search to see a picture of how these people lived.

Parker25mv…who knew? Better sago palms than human heads!