Natural understory beneath Olives

I have a grove of young olives in my garden, and by
next year they should be tall enough to walk beneath
(they've grown fast!).  The understory is now mostly
Cistus ladanifer and Lavandula stoechas 'Otto Quast'. 
But, as the trees are now casting some shade, the
Cistus are beginning to get loose, and the lavenders
are looking odd, out of place in the partial shade.
What grows beneath wild olives, or beneath an
abandoned olive orchard,  in southern Europe?
As I live in southern California, I'm leaning toward
natives as an understory: Ceanothus 'Frosty Blue' has
been an ok background shrub, though not as floriferous
as in sun, and this past fall I've planted some
Arctostaphylos 'Bert Johnson' and Carpenteria
californica, so we'll see how they do.
Is a more herbaceous groundcover more appropriate? 
Maybe Fragaria chiloensis and Heuchera maxima
cultivars?
Thanks for any advice!
-Ben Wiswall
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index