I like the idea of a nice shrub to soften the edges. An olive shrub could be a nice color and texture, do they grow too big for this space though? Will you be constantly pruning, or do they have a dwarf variety?

Bougainvillea seems like a great solution. And such beautiful colors available!

MY first thought was bougainvillea . Waht is going on in the rest of the front yard the little brick patio seems odd and IMO the whole front yard needs a plan the spaces by the garage door should be part of the complete plan.

zone alone is a bit vague.. how about a big city name ... or island name????

cant really see the right SOIL area .. unless you are talking about the bed 10 or 15 feet out???

ken

Bougainvillea will respond well with many flowers to fertilizer and extra water in summer. Prune to keep in shape.

What about Azaleas? See the pics below for ideas.

Love bougainvillea! Especially the bright fuschia ones. So pretty and they climb well if you give them a trellis for support. I'd also consider pulling up your brick pavers and line either side of the driveway with drought-resistant plants and succulents.

LOW WATER LANDSCAPE GARDENS · More Info

I'd train the Bougainvillea over the garage, with a trellis.

I would use the opportunity to add some color - Bougainvillea is a great idea. Yellow or chartreuse would also look great with the pink.

Thanks for all the feedback so far! Wow, I never realized bougainvillea was so popular! They are not my favorite because of how spiky they are (and I have little kids). For the commenter who asked about location, this is along the coast in San Diego if that helps. I am planning to redo the front yard with CA drought tolerant natives (i.e. CA fuschia, San Diego sunflowers, lavender, and penstemon heterophyllus). What do folks think about CA natives vs. succulents & rocks?

Here is what the house looked like originally. They had the bougainvillea bushes and a lot of trees which we've since all cut back down. There was also this English ivy on the walls which was a headache to remove. @Susie . While I love your mock-up of the flowing bougainvillea, I have decided that I don't want to have anything growing along the walls.

I think native plants are always a good idea, especially if they're drought tolerant. A local nursery can probably give you the best advice. Sometimes they have a landscape designer on staff who can draw a plan for you for a small fee. Even if you don't implement all the ideas at once, it's great to have a plan to follow.

Here are a few suggestions:

Speaking from personal experience, while bouganvilleas are beautiful, they require A LOT of maintenance. They are incredibly messy & grow like crazy in my coastal climate, requring constant pruning to keep in check. i would NEVER plant them spanning your garage / driveway unless you have tons of time to maintain them. Additionally, it doesn’t appear that you have enough space over your garage door …

Tall square planters with sansevieria on each side of your garage would look great with your house and low care other than occasional watering and a drip line could take care if that.