Flowering Shrubs and Trees for Compacted Soil ?

Greetings everyone:

I'm slowly developing a plan for planting around our house, I guess I'm in
no hurry since we've been here four years already. Some of it is pretty
clear already, but one area of the lot has me quite perplexed. Our lot is
generally very steep, more than a 20 degree incline in spots, nevertheless,
on these steep areas, where there is soil it's mostly really quite good -
friable, dark and deep. However, beyond the southwest end of the house is a
terrace of sorts very roughly 40 feet x 30 feet, completely flat; an
extension of the flat area on which the house is built.

This would be wonderful except that the soil is evidently still compacted.
We bought the house used; it was built around 1970 or so; therefore I'm not
sure what was done when it was built. I do know that well after the winter
rains ended, a 2 foot deep hole last spring held water for 2 days. I've been
trying to dig a 10 foot diameter koi pond (by hand - how stupid) and I know
that the soil seems to be some jumbled compacted mess even 4 feet down.

I know most plants don't like compacted soil. The previous owners had
planted two Eucalyptus (I think sp. = camaldulensis) which have grown like
mad but these devils keep shedding rather large limbs onto unhandy places
such as my electrical power service lines and my duck pen. I think they'll
have to go.

For small plants under constant irrigation, of course, simply removing the
compacted stuff and provding some sort of drainage would work, but for
larger shrubs or a small tree, the thing will eventually have to put roots
down into that stuff. Does anyone have any ideas as to which would thrive in
such conditions and which definitely won't. I'd like flowering or otherwise
colorful, fragrant california natives but just about anything nice would do.
I know already that Idesia, Vitex, and Fatsia don't much like the site,
though they are all still alive, barely. Carissa macrocarpa is doing quite
well.

---------------------------------
Karl Hoover
Berryessa Foothills
San Jose, California, USA
USDA Zone approximately 9b
UC/Sunset Zone 16
Minimum temp winter 1999  -3 C
Minimum temp winter 2000  +3 C
Dry Summers, usually wet winters.
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