With morning only sun, you have a great opportunity for a butterfly garden. It doesn't have to be much more effort than maintaining rock and croton. I would save the desert look for a west-facing wall. Where I live, just having the three bush types of blue porterweed, jatropha, and fire bush will bring in the butterflies and sometimes a humming bird. These 3 do not usually drop leaves nor require any more than the usual bush-trimming practices with a scissors or lightweight clipper. Your suggested selection of plants includes those requiring water, so I guess you are ok with that. (It looks like the rain on your roof rolls off onto the sidewalk and then to the planted area?) I would have places to insert small seasonal plants, playing with different color combinations, trying out native plants and maybe herbs. But then, I've never gardened in S. Florida!

http://www.south-florida-plant-guide.com/butterfly-gardening.html

I went the river rock route and I love it for it's low maintenance and weed resistance. Just lay down weed barrier paper before filling with rock. It's loaded with Bromeliads, Palms, Cactus, Jatropha, Firebush and a bunch of of other things I can't remember. I'm in 10B also.

There are some beautiful bromeliads that love sun; neoregelias come to mind. Ferns are a PITA when they start dying, getting sunburned and looking crappy. Dwarf variegated or green rhoeo (moses in the cradle) is easy to grow in poor soil and spreads rapidly. Dwarf ruellia has pink, white or blue flowers and is beautiful when planted in mass. Ornamental sweet potatoes are also a great ground cover that spreads fast and is very pretty. Firebush gets huge, so that won't fit into your 2-3 foot rule, and neither will Jatropha. Personally, I'd go with the sun bromeliads, but other things are good too.

Thank you for all the comments they're much appreciated. In regards to the bromeliads I have not been a fan for whatever reason. They are nice they just attract to many toads as I like on a canal. I definitely am gonna go the river rock route. I think I'm going to line the front edge with boxwood all around to eventually be able to sculpt it low.

I always worry about river rock getting whipped up in a hurricane.

River rock is too close to the ground to get whipped up in a hurricane. Even flooding seems to have little effect on river rock.

Looking at this area again, I would wait until cannabis is legal and then fill the area with pot plants. Vote YES on Amendment 2!

LOL @fawnridge Ricky, I got my sample ballot today and remember that we voted this down last year, and I was reading that even if it gets a referendum, all the counties and the legislature have to approve it, so it will probably never come to pass in this mosty red state.