Natives and Exotics

I've been planting the front yard, getting it cleaned up after several
years of not even touching it. The recent killing cold snap in
January, sort of finished off some of the things which were weakened,
so I thought it was time to do a little cleanup and figure out the
direction of the garden. So, I thought about it and decided to go with
a mixed California natives and drought tolerant exotics garden.

I did leave some things, such as the Strelitzia reginae, Prunus
cerasifera 'Thundercloud', Salvia leucantha (see? not a whole lot).
There is also a huge Rosemary which is flowering right now and was
grown by my neighbor from a cutting from a 100 year old plant.

I've added some new plants: Ribes aureum 'Gracillimum', Ribes
anguineum 'King Edward VII', Dendromecon harfordii, and Cotinus
coggygria.  The Ribes get shaded in the afternoon because the front
garden is an east facing garden.

As I do not want a garden entirely full of tall shrubs, I'm looking to
add lower growing plants. I've already ordered Galvezia speciosa and
Zauschneria californica, but what else would you suggest that isn't
ceanothus or Baccharis :) ? Any particularly spectacular low growing
and summer or fall flowering plants?

The soil is sand. I sit on top of old sand dunes, and amending is out
of the question. There was some mulch, but it's not like there's a 12
inch deep layer of humus rich soil before you hit the sand. We can
also get lots of fog in summer, so if it needs heat to perform, it
probably won't grow well here. Zone wise, I would be considered
probably 9a (and yes, I know, I'm probably risking the Galvezia) for
USDA, and Sunset I'm probably 16 (I appear to be inland just enought
he sea doesn't protect us as well as it does a mile closer to the
sea).

Thank you.

Barry Garcia.
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