germander

This includes Mediterranean sub-shrubs such as germander, rosemary and lavender, as well as West Coast native evergreen huckleberry, ceanothus and mock orange, all of which furnish the garden with structure, blooms and fragrance.

You can also mulch heavily and establish living ground cover using plants such as white clover, creeping thyme, creeping germander or bugleweed, which fill niches and retain moisture, Kiers says.

On the parking strip, she planted white sage, rock purslane, germander sage, ice plants and scattered Theodore Payne’s roadside wildflower mix, which was a magnet for bees before the gophers went after the plants.

The latter group includes hardy cactuses and succulents as well as other plants that you might not expect in a rock garden setting, including species of dianthus, penstemon, germander and daphnes.

From the patio, the framed view is of meandering flagstone paths laced with thyme, romantic dwarf olive trees, purple wall germander and hardy fan palms.