Stan, you and me seem to think alike in some ways. I've got two of those in a bed that i recently re-designed. I underplanted them with ice plant, and placed Agave Americana in focal points, with some aloes to fill in as well. Can't wait to see the whole mix start filling in this summer. Here's one of those spots. The triple trunked tree (still young) in the background is erythrina Crista-galli. It's already leafing out, just saw that today. Plus, who could resist these blooms all summer long?

It's very interesting to read how everyone's experiences differ. In my garden, daylilies refuse to bloom in the shade, perennial salvias only grow well in full sun, and lantana is an annual here. It dries up and dies if it doesn't get water, and won't grow in the shade anyway. Hakone grass is wonderful but sooooo sloooow if you don't get a big clump to start with. The artemesias as a family grow well in the sunny herb garden, but crap out in the shade. Rosemary isn't hardy for me, I keep mine in a huge pot on the patio. Dianthus is going great guns in the herb garden and rock gardens in the sun, but dies in shade. I have four members of the Solomon's seal family, from the little variegated Japanese fairy bells, the false and true Solomon's seal, and the giant variegated, and they all do well with no supplimental water. There are five varieties of lirope here, and all doing great with the drought. Tho one is an invasive monster that is not allowed in the polite company of other plants and makes a circle in rocky soil under a tree where I can keep it confined. A couple of other plants that do well in dry shade for me are the wild petunia, ruellia, which blooms most of the summer from June on, and a little dwarf goatsbeard that appears to be unfazed by the drought. This one is new for me this year so I'm looking forward to see how it does next year. The hosta beds are packed with early spring ephemerals and bulbs, that are pretty much gone by the time the hostas get going well. I just think with the changing climate I will have to change the way I garden, and with what. I realize I can't depend on the "normal" summers of the past, a lesson I have definitely learned from the past two years! I love reading about everyone's ideas and experiences. There is always something new to learn! Sandy

Blue grama will green up a little earlier in the spring and turn brown a little later in the fall than buffalo grass, but it's still a warm season grass, so it won't be green as long as a cool season grass will. The blue grama is just a small part of my lawn, little patches (not even a foot square) here and there in the hellstrip. I may have more to show next summer if the dormant seeding works, or next fall if I have to reseed and hand water. I water three times a summer, but I do have areas that go dormant. I also overseeded into a KBG/Fescue lawn so a lot of the issues with dormancy are due to those grasses. I'm hoping the natives will spread and take over as time goes on. Actually, I've got some non natives mixed in with natives. Here are the grasses I've planted and some comments on each: Western wheatgrass: difficult to get started. Seems to do best with freeze/thaw cycles. It is a bluish green in color. It stays green longer without water than the other grasses, but I've read that it's more likely to die in dormancy. If you water a few times a year, I don't think it'll be a problem. IT develops very deep roots, so make sure you water as deeply as possible. Large seeds (really almost like wheat kernels). Spreads via rhizomes. Streambank wheatgrass: establishes easier than western wheatgrass. pale green in color, so it's lighter than KBG, but not a bad color for a lawn (IMO, anyway). Very soft and fine bladed. Seeds are about the same size as western wheatgrass. Spreads via rhizomes. Sheep fescue: fine bladed, closer in color to traditional lawn grasses than the other options. Develops an extensive root system and has many defenses against drought. It will stay alive with no additional water, but will need water to stay green. Even with water, it may go dormant in high heat. Much smaller seeds than streambank and western wheatgrass. A bunch grass, but it spreads a little via tillering (new plants right next to the old ones). Blue grama: I've only got a little of this, but if I remember correctly, it germinates fairly quickly in the right conditions. It's light green (a lot like streambank wheatgrass) and has very soft blades. It does an amazing job of staying green with very little water. It sticks out from the others in the heat of the summer, because that's when it takes off. I saw a green patch of native wild grama along the roadside near the end of summer (no rain to speak of and no irrigation in that area, so it had been dry for two months). It's a warm season grass, so it's dormant in the winter, but it greens up faster than buffalo grass. seeds are like dust. A bunch grass, but tillers a bit if mowed. Those are the natives. Now for the non natives. Crested wheatgrass: easy to establish. It's sort of yellow green the first year, but greens up later. seeds are smaller than sheep fescue seeds but not as small as grama. Fine bladed. Most varieties are bunch grasses, but some varieties (roadcrest and Ephraim are two that I remember) will spread slowly via rhizomes. Palestine strawberry clover: Very similar to Dutch white clover in looks, but the flower has a little bit of pink or red tint. It isn't quite as drought tolerant as Dutch white, but does better in alkaline soils. There are other varieties of strawberry clover, but my understanding is that the Palestine is the most drought tolerant. Spreads via stolons and flowers. Seeds are round and about the size of radish seeds. Fairly easy to establish. The flowers can attract bees and if you use weed be gone or other broadleaf weed killers, you'll kill the clover. Low growing. Spreads via seeds and stolons. I thought I had posted pictures, but I can't find them. I'll try to get some posted.

Many spring-flowering bulbs obviously fit the bill, so I'll skip those. AS far as perennials, for early spring foliage and bloom I must recommend Pulmonaria (lungwort). There are various species, of course, but I love those with variegated foliage. And the early flowers are a treat (visually for me and food-wise for early bees)as they turn from blue to pink (or is it the other way round?--no matter--there are always some of each happening at once!). As a sucker for blue-flowering plants, for fall one of my favorites is Plumbago (leadwort), which in my garden began blooming a few weeks ago & is going strong. It would go wonderfully with my yellow fall-blooming crocus located elsewhere in the yard, so I must try to get more & plant them to come up in & among the plumbago. And of course hellebores are a must! I have them blooming sometimes even in February, sometimes under the snow. The foliage is, of course, evergreen, and as it is very sturdy provides nice winter interest. My perennial foxgloves are good too; stay greem a long time and bloom pretty early. Then there is "mystery [or "surprise"] lily"--aka "Naked Ladies" -- Lycoris squamigera. The hardy bulbs put out a lot of robust foliage in the spring (like daffodils on steroids - LOL) and then fade away but the real kicker is the way the fat stems (sans foliage!) come shooting up suddenly in mid- to late August and burst into slow pink fireworks for about a week. I love the silly things; they are ubiquitous here in central Ohio and many of the old farm yards (or older small-town homes)have them. Christmas fern is evergreen, though flattened by snow; ostrich fern sends up edible fiddleheads fairly early and is quite dominant in the shade bed till late (it's still going strong). I have a very large white bleeding heart here when we moved in 3 years ago; I noticed that it keeps self-sowing so have transplanted a number of the young-uns around and these sometimes bloom the first year. It lasts a lot longer in the garden than the wild native in the woods but soon yellows and then disappears when summer arrives (the ostrich fern happily stretches its fronds to fill in the empty space). Sweet woodruff is a wonderful ground cover with a wonderful fragrance & delightful little white flowers in May. I much prefer it to various other alien ground covers like Pachysandra terminalis, periwinkle (vinca vine), English ivy, etc. I do have a bit of our native Pachysandra procumbens (Allegheny spurge), but it spreads much more slowly than the others. That's enough--I'll let others jump in! CK