I am in zone 5 so I can't give you any specific suggestions for plantings, but thought it might be helpful if I gave you an idea of some of the kinds of plants I use on the west side of my home with its morning shade and afternoon sun. It can be tricky - especially in your heat! Trial and error may be necessary. My west facing garden is along a wall of my house. On the south end of my west facing wall I use sun plants. I have a large climbing rose and a clematis growing together, a few small daylilies, one large catmint, some yellow variegated sedums, chocolate eupatorium, a shrub rose, and for later color, a mixed stand of helenium, monarda, black-eyed susans, and Purple Dome asters. The middle section of this west bed is narrower and also gets less sun. On the wall there are 3 vines on 3 spaced trellises. The one towards the south has a clematis, the middle a porcelain vine (grown for variegated foliage and fall berries, the third vine at the north end (the name of which I have forgetten) is for vertical folliage only. These are fronted by orienpet and oriental lilies, which are themselves fronted by some shortish asters that will grow anywhere, and a patch of some yellow self-seeded (culled by me for this bed) echinaceas, cardinal flowers, more BESusan that will grow anywhere, and another patch of Purple Dome aster. All of these grow well in part sun/part shade. As you move to the north end of this west facing bed into more shade (from the folliage vine on) there are Black Beauty lilies that will bloom well in quite a lot of shade and some shorter asiatic lillies that don't mind some shade and get replaced off and on if they do thin out, some of the so-called "ditch" daylilies (tall orange flowered ones that spread - called many names depending on location) that again grow most anywhere here. There are also some gold spiderworts, one variegated sedge that grows best in part shade, and some clumps of an old yellow daylily that I've had forever, another large catmint (flops a bit here but grows big and fast) and some more Purple Dome aster and the ever invading BESusans. This bed then bleeds into a North facing bed with a collection of specialty hostas. As you can probably tell by the plant choices, this is a hot color bed and it is mostly the bright bold scheme of clear yellow and both bright and dark red shades, with cooling patches of blue, that hold the bed together, across the varying conditions of sun and shade, although any carefully controlled color scheme would work (a focal point of sorts, in this case the trellis structures helps, along with foliage variety). BTW the bed also varies greatly in moisture levels being wetter towards the north, except for one area at the south that my neighbor's sprinklers hit. I had to move the shrub rose twice trying to avoid this overhead overdone watering. Good luck and have fun.

i like to think of it being more of a function of heat .... morning sun.. cool .. afternoon sun .... hot ... all plants transpire or sweat ... they give off water ... some plants.. give off more than they can take up in afternoon sun ... e.g. .. i have a few hosta... and they do NOT like afternoon sun ... they wont die.. they just start looking like heck in late summer ... hydrangea.. would fall in that category ... IMHO ... as noted directly above... its all a function of your ability to give them enough water .... good luck ken

I'd love so see the suggestions anyone has for this problem, too. Doesn't everyone have this spot somewhere in their yard? I have a ~5 foot wide planting bed next to the west side of my house, and am grappling with the same problem. Mine does get winter sun. It gets the burning afternoon sun (only, with full shade all morning) all year round (though, of course, the sun's gentler in winter). It seems like every plant I read about that takes "full sun to partial shade" really means "lots of lovely morning to mid-day sun with some shade protection from precisely the nasty afternoon blaze" we're trying to deal with. I love the "yellow wave" phormium, and I'm in San Diego, too, but inland more, and I thought the lighter leaved phormiums need protection from hot afternoon sun? I'd love to be wrong about that! Help! Laura

I have success with Galore, Walenburg, Betty Corning and Little Nell on the northwest facing wall of my two story house. They get no sunlight until afternoon - early afternoon at the height of summer, and late afternoon in mid winter. They grow and flower well, but I live in the south where the sunlight is more intense. Also, they don't have to compete with any tree roots, so if the area you are thinking of is pretty close to the bradford pear tree, the tree root competition may be a problem.