Well, I ended up buying another magic carpet spirea. It's nice and moundy shaped like I wanted, but the foliage can't substitute for strawberries, so now the bed is kind of out of whack, all the leaves look the same in that area. On the flip side, having more repetition has tied the two beds on the sides of my patio more together. I think I am almost there though. Just ripping out those strawberries with their copious runners did a world of good, making the whole think look neat, tidy and low maintenance, which I think will be a good selling point. Today back at work I noticed a patch of gorgeous sedums growing with beautiful pink flowers. I'd never seen that variety before. They would have made a good subsitute, with larger leaves. I can never find good sedums at the local nurseries though, and I don't have time or inclination to mail order. Someday if I ever get a house of my own again I definately want a little sedum patch! BTW, I think these "what to plant where" posts are an important part of landscaping, expecially in a small yard like mine. Tiny, micro yard landscaping is a bit like landscaping a japanese garden. Every plant has a specific role and function in the unified whole, and it takes a lot of work to balance color, form, leaf shape, bloom times, etc. to acheive a harmonious whole. I even threw in "something edible" as a function for some of my plants. I can't think it out on paper, I have to experiment. Some areas of my garden look just right, others need some work but sadly I'll never get to them. They look good enough for the average joe. I love these plants like thyme that do double duty, or others that are multiple seasons. You really have to select plants that are versatile in this situation. I took some pics and hopefully will be able to post eventually when I have the time to process them.

Radiation from the sun is composed of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light. If you take a rainbow and spread it out. You have all the light spectrum in a row. If you take the outside portions of this rainbow, these will be the harmful rays that are blocked out. The infrared light that is damaging is on the outside's of this rainbow. The good rays that we use for plants and our own personal growth are the middle grouping of rays that are let through. That old Winter sadness we get here in Minnesota from cloudy days are very true. The BLUE spectrum of light we see daily in the sky is the most dominate ray in the spectrum. Since it's the most dominate ray, that's why the sky is blue and the ocean water looks so blue and picturesque. Visible light causes some fading and material degradation. But Low/E coatings can't block visible light and maintain bright interiors and the ability to view artwork. More damage can occur from exposure to the sun's infrared rays. Synthesized materials such as plastic, paper and dyes are especially susceptible to UV damage. These materials are everywhere: in furniture, carpeting, plastic flooring, wood stain, wallpaper, pictures and posters. So the coatings really just try and block the harmful rays not the good ones. I'm sure Oberon will be checking this out and have a better explanation.

The spot is now filled, but my reading is that Erigeron karvinskianus is suppossedly hardy to z5 or 6 (not 15F), but I've never tried to grow it myself. In general things that thrive in CA hate it here, can't grow a thing that likes San Francisco climates (just noting the apparent fact). Also saw recommendation that it prefers cool summers (we don't have that), a comment that it doesn't seem to like summer humidity (we have that), or cold damp winters (we have that), if happy can spread invasively (don't want that). Lol, sounds very iffy and if it really did do well, a nightmare in the making. I appreciate your suggestion, but I think I'll steer clear. No, I have a western wallflower (my own idea...kinda doubtful), blackfoot daisy, and texas craig lily in the hole now. And a purple poppy mallow waiting in the wings in case the something gives up a space.

You're welcome. Those flowers are very small, but cute when viewed close up. Also, that's a tough plant, which seems unfazed by incidental foot traffic.