I might be tempted to incorporate more purples and oranges in the mix, along with some bronzy reddish foliaged things. If your were to remove the Phormiums, you could substitute with Dianella intermedia, which has narrow grassy green foliage to 2 feet tall with pea sized deep blue berries all summer long. Heliotrope with the deep purplish green foliage and deep purple flowers would also love your conditions. As a foreground planting of bromeliads, you might consider using the bronzy reddish foliaged Aechmea pineliana var minuta and/or Aechmea gamosepala with lavender spikes and blue petals, both of which are blooming for me right now. I would also highly recommend the Billbergia 'Diana' for the coppery colored foliage and softly orange bloom spike reminiscent of B.nutans. Some softly opalescent succulents such as Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' could also look nice in this border. I also saw some great purple foliaged Dahlias with bright yellow blooms at the local Home Depot today, and these could look good with those orange foliaged bromeliads you already have. More orange foliage color could also be achieved with Carex testaceae or Stipa arundinacea, although this last one can get pretty big. You might also consider some summer blooming South African bulbous things like Eucomis bicolor, or E. comosa 'Sparkling Burgundy'. These are so easy to grow in coastal locations and seem to stay in bloom for at least 5 months once they start.

I know you said you didn't necessarily want to change the depth of this planting bed, but it could be so much more dramatic if you had at least 4 to 5 feet of depth to give a more layered arrangement a chance! Another purplish foliaged shrub with lavender blooms over a long season to consider is Ageratum corymbosa, which I first saw in southern California, and now use it in almost all gardens I plant here in the SF Bay Area. You might also consider using some real tropical looking things that are surprisingly hardy, such as Thunbergia erecta and Strobilanthes dyerana.

I'd suggest more of the Orange Reed Stem Orchids, or more frequent fertilizing of the ones you already have to get more massive blooms and presence. I wish these could grow as well here in Berkeley, I have to baby them through the winter by keeping them out of the rain, and always forget how much more them bloom if I remember to regularly fertilize them.

Ha, well you never know until you ask... I mentioned to DH how the bed was sooo narrow, and he replied he had designed it to be 44" but the installer unilaterally made it much shallower (32"), and he has offered to help me move it out another foot -- yay! (You have no idea how huge this is, DH does not garden.) The deeper bed will make things so much easier.

David, thanks for your wealth of suggestions; several of the plants mentioned are hiding out in the back forty just waiting for their chance to show off, others I must investigate as they are new to me.

The epidendrums would take over if planted in the ground, so I have their pots stuffed behind other plants, and unfortunately they haven't gotten the attention they deserve. Some are just now forming flower spikes; the show will go on.

Bed expansion and planting is scheduled for September, plenty of time for others to chime in. Come on, now, don't be shy.

A couple more photos to give you some context:

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You have many tropical looking plants and frankly to me they don't look quite right with grass. I don't have any idea how you might work around this; I only throw this out as an observation. It's something you see with so many homes, landscaping that doesn't really have a theme that flows throughout the whole design scheme. However, it's your home and has to please only you.

Ingrid

Nice yard catkim. I would imagine you won't get many responses as the bulk of your plants are houseplants to most of us! I'm sure bahia's suggestions are good ones, I would stay away from anything else spiky in front as between the phormiums and bromeliads you have a lot of that going on. I think it might be nice to have something viney and strong colored and tropical like purple heart, setcreasea pallida running around the base of your phormiums.

Although most of the plants I'm familiar with are desert lovers and inappropriate for your yard I could see the rounded spready shape, bronzy foliage, and red flowers of rasberry fuzzies, acalypha monstachya picking up the bronzy tones of your bromeliads. Just don't know if it could stand wet conditions unless you have excellent drainage. Pic of it here behind beavertail cactus.
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Maria

Maria,
I like your raspberry fuzzies! You have good color sense. And you're right, I don't need any more spiky plants - I seem to be attracted to that form, but enough is enough. Thanks for your comments.

Ingrid -- grass and tropicals, what was I thinking. ; ) I'm not alone, though. There is grass with the tropicals at Huntington, Ho'omaluhia, Foster, Allerton, Limahuli, Fairchild, Nong Nooch. Mine could be greener and thicker, and far grander with a few more acres, I'll give you that. It's nice for throwing down a towel and stretching out with a book and some lemonade on a summer's day. Also makes a nice playing field for bocce ball when friends are over for barbecue, or space for additional tables when we invite a crowd. I can't think what else would be so versatile.