Just to avoid any confusion going forward, if you live in Napa, CA. your USDA growing zone is 9b and your Sunset zone is 14. Not sure where the zone 3 came from :-)

And any of those should do well provided enough light and moisture. There are several tall fan palms in my garden and anything under the sun seems to grow there perfectly well. Currently it seems to be mostly rhododendrons (an inherited garden), which really grate on me for being so different in character from the palms. If I had my druthers, the palms would go but the other gardener that lives on the property has a different opinion. Very messy plants!!

The acanthus family is full of great plants that, paired with fan palms, create an instant Mediterranean look. To me, the aralia and philodendron would not be a natural fit.

Think of your "look" first. Mediterranean? Tropical? Tuscany? Provence? Modern/urban? Xeriscape? Go with "what grows together, goes together" to achieve a cohesive look, as well as make sure your plants like each other and have similar requirements. Fortunately, you have tons of options in Napa!

Gardengal48, thanks for you info! I don't know how I typed zone 3b instead of 9b, must have not proof-read my post. Yes, the fan palms really are messy plants, and I totally understand the intention of your druthers.

Jojo, thanks for the suggestion. The concept behind grouping acanthus, Japanese aralia, and split-leaf philodendron is basically "plants with big, pretty green leaves, that stay green all year long". If I had to choose a desired look, it would be Mediterranean/Urban. The pics you posted are beautiful :)

M, your combo may still work in a smaller setting, especially if it's a courtyard/patio/small yard situation. You would be just grouping a few plants together, as opposed to landscaping a larger area, where consistency has more of an impact.

My concern is that aralia, like other Japanese evergreens, (probably?) likes moist soil and a bit of shade, whereas palms like to dry out between watering. And the philodendron is a tropical rainforest plant that doesn't like direct sun... So that complicates things...

Fatsia japonica is extremely tolerant of and actually recommended for dry shade. So no worries there :-)

Too cold for Monstera. Maybe under a roof overhang in Napa..but I still have doubts as Napa gets 20's every winter. Monstera is very slow to recover if it does.

Also Acanthus likes shade in that part of the world. San Francisco? fine in full sun..but not Napa. Or,it will look yellowed from too much sun.

Bird of paradise would look great for under the palms. Too many plants to suggest...even cacti..and the whole succulent world.

Interesting about the monstera, but not surprising. I'm in 9A and it's a popular plant here but people grow it in total shade in covered, courtyard-style doorways. It's almost like growing it indoors, really...

It sort of came to me..do you mean Monstera the vine or maybe it's really Philodendron bipinnatifidum aka P. selloum? THAT is hardy and up to near full sun all day. Would fit right in with palms and Bird of Paradise and maybe a nice columnar Cereus cactus to resemble the wet dry forests of Mexico and Central America.

Stanofh, thanks for the bird of paradise suggestion. That is a good idea that I think I had thought of, but then discounted it, but it's now time to re-visit it. I know what you mean about Monstera, and yes it does indeed sometimes go down into the mid 20s in Napa. My place is located near the bottom of the upwards slope of a valley, and our neighbor has a Monstera in the same location that I was thinking of planting one in that is well, just, monstrous. It is growing on the side of their shed, though, so maybe that's why.

If you see Monstera growing there under certain conditions..then it can be done. But under palms and out in the open is probably no bueno. If houzz had emoji's I would put a smiler in there...

JoJo - one more question, in the second picture you posted, there is what looks like a bunch of dracaenas with purplish leaves. Do you know the name of that? I think I've seen it as Red Star in some local nurseries, but I've never seed Red Star get as big as in the picture that you posted.

Red Star is a cordyline, not a dracaena (although they look close enough alike to be confusing). And it can get quite tall!! I have 20'+ cordylines in my garden. Red Star typically stays a bit shorter than the straight green varieties, however 10-12' is not uncommon.

Red Star is tricky to keep that color. Mine is old for one of them..I think not many years after it showed up in the trade I bought one. I can tell you that in summer in full hot sun it loses that red and becomes more bronze,sort of like a flax. Even as new shoots near the base are red as the day you bought it.

Now,I've seen them very tall on the north side of multi story buildings and darned if they weren't in great color,red.

Someplace I have a photo of them...

Btw,I would almost give my left pinkie to get a Cordyline that comes in purple..oof,what a look. I've seen that in a garden..never for sale.

Thanks, gyr_falcon, for pointing that out about acanthus. I didn't know that it was difficult to eradicate. The area in which it would be planted is bounded by two fences, so I wouldn't want it to jump the fence and pop up in our neighbors' yards.

I should have been more clear in my post. It isn't so much that it spreads, because it is more a clump grower in form. But if you dig it up, every tiny piece of root not removed can decide it is their turn to thrive. Some people have had to fight with it for years with new sprouts returning.