Hey. We are in 10A. Aside from Grevillea which I love as well (firesprite and robyn gordon) I like using the larger sages (Allen Chickering, Celestial), Santa Cruz island buckwheat (medium), and St. Catherine's lace buckwheat (large). I think that the Santa Cruz Island buckwheat would do much better in your sunset zone than mine!

You might find something you like here.

http://www.monrovia.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Branded&utm_term=monrovia%20nursery&utm_content=Monrovia%20Nursery

Have you visited Green Acres Nursery? They seem to have a very large selection of shrubs to choose from. Some that strike me right off the bat that would be suitable for your hot, sunny conditions are pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana), rockrose (Cistus spp.), Californian lilac/Ceanothus and manzanita. And any of the larger shrubby salvias would be an excellent choice. Even in my much cooler climate they have a very long bloom period!

Gardenias can be difficult, but if you get one going, it would be great. (Years ago there was a very funny thread here about growing a gardenia.)

These plants are somewhat overused in So. CA landscaping, but it’s because they are “tried and true.” Raphiolepis, star jasmine.

Yes, I've spent many hours looking through the Monrovia site.

Yes, I've spent many hours at Green Acres, as well as a couple of small local places.

I was just curious what all of you had for favorites in case it's something I hadn't seen yet.

Off to see what Buckwheat looks like.

I'm in suburban LA interior valleys. Two smaller non-native shrubs that I still like even though they are as common as dirt (which makes them cheap as well) 'Little John' dwarf bottle brush and 'Gulf Stream' nandina or heavenly bamboo. Little John has gray green foliage and deep red flowers, unlike most bottle brushes it stays under 4 feet in height. It's almost always in bloom and needs little water. Gulf Stream is smaller than species nandina, about 4 feet. It doesn't bloom much so it has few berries but it avoids the thin, scraggly look of the common cultivar, it has full foliage from the ground up. Nandinas can take sun but seem to do better with some afternoon shade.

Two larger native shrubs, first, the one native that every person who visits my garden comments on, island bush poppy, dendromecon harfordii. Tough, needs no supplemental water, nice blue/gray foliage, beautiful yellow flowers. It will get 10-15 feet tall and wide but I've had success trimming it down to around 6-8 feet. Second, one that I find myself coming back to again and again, lemonade berry, rhus integrifolia. It's not a spectacular plant but it's tough as nails, needs no supplemental water, grows in full sun or shade, always looks fresh, even in the hottest months of summer, can be trimmed into a hedge, a medium shrub or just let grow into a large sprawling bush. For me it's a perfect background plant for the drier margins of my garden, its only drawback is it's a slow grower.

As for gardenias, I think I'm a pretty good gardener but I've never had any luck with them. Every few years I try again, I've tried various conditions, various cultivars, never any success.