Here are some photos:

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I'm not familiar with your zone but some trailing over the edge of the walls would be cool. Between that and whatever you plant that is taller you may not even notice the walls as much. Sounds like a cool project.

You might also try posting this on the California forum. It does seem a little strange to want to cover all your planting areas with gravel and then grow everything in pots! Why not consider planting things in the ground instead, along with some pots? You could easily hide those walls with plants to drape over them, and rosemary, Cistus salvifolius, Erigeron, Oxalis spiralis v. volcanicola, Lampranthus, Delospermum, Scaevola, Lantana montivendensis would all be good choices. If your ground is really that saturated and heavy clay, you will get better results if you add lots of organic amendments to improve drainage.

Few Agaves are not sharp and pointed, but Agave attenuata and A. bracteosa are two that are soft. Beschornerias are agave look alikes that would get large and are attractive in bloom, and would like the north slope exposure.

If you are determined to lay down gravel or decomposed granite as your primary ground cover, I would suggest that air and water permeable weed fabric first will save you alot of grief later on.

Container plants are never low maintenance. In hot SF weather you will water at least every other day. Does that sound low maintenenance? I suggest putting them in the ground.

Hi Gardeners- thanks for the feedback!

Bahia- a a HUGE thanks for your plant suggestions. I will put out my Western Garden book and look them up!

I know it probably sounds weird to not want to put the plants in the ground, and putting gravel/decomposed granite down first. My reasoning is that I want to keep as much air and light flowing around there as possible: it's dark and damp now and our main living area inside the house looks back there. I compare it sometimes to being in the bottom of a well as I look out from our kitchen.

I have been thinking about lightening the walls up w/ tinted whitewash -and not putting (many) in trailing-over-the-wall plants- to get more reflective light bouncing around. The east side of our property line abutts the wall of our neighbor's house, which until recently was covered with an enormous creeping fig which made a pretty green screen. I thought it was lovely and didn't want to take it down, but we had to since it was beginning to wreck their wall. We have since primed the wall white and we are astonished at how much brighter the space is back there (not to mention our house.) Anyway, I'm thinking about carrying that through the rest of the yard- no/minimal green plants on the walls and instead focus people's eyes on the hardscape and interesting containers. It will be a harder/harsher design for sure than, say, a cottage garden, but I'm thinking it can be interesting anyway.

Also, about 70% of our yard is that terrace; I want to integrate some seating/human circulation up there.

gottagarden- I only *WISH* SF was hot! That was my expectation when I moved out here from the midwest 15 years ago. :) Alas, we only get a couple of hot days every year. And we have a watering system already in place to help w/ the watering... there's still feeding/pruning/repotting to deal w/ but that can be done more infrequently. (Another reason I'm into fewer flowers; in another garden I learned all about how much work deadheading can become.)

If I interpreted your post correctly--the reason you don't want to plant directly in the ground is:

The hillside itself is very wet- lots of natural springs there. The soil in our garden is heavy clay and doesn't drain well. (There was water in a puddle back there for 5 days after a recent rain!)

Am I parsing your post correctly? It is true that the type of conditions you describe would be antithetical to mediteranean style plantings...at least in MY zone. Is it wet year-round--or just during the SF rainy season? If year-round--perhaps you should look at plants that will handle the actual conditions. If you REALLY want to do the container thing (and it can be stunning) look into drip irrigation for pots.

If I were you...I'd consider hiring a designer. There are myriad choices in your area...but I know of one who uses decomposed granite in her designs. Her name is Michelle Dervis--out of Novato CA. I've linked to a Sunset Magazine blurb that includes some contact info (scroll down the page a bit.)

melanie

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunset Article