I recommend Monkey Grass - Ophiopogan japonicus . I have it growing between bricks in a walkway & it's proven to be very tough. It survives summers of 100 degree weather in the sun, needs only water and is oblivious to insects or disease. There are two "sizes" and two colors: green & black. It's safe for USDA 8-11; Sunset zones 5-9, 14-31, warmer parts of 32 Here is a link that might be useful: monkey grass

You know, I think it was Nil who convinced me to add more pumice/perlite to my Aloe sowing mix. Seeing his results in pure pumice gave me confidence to use a lot more grit in the mix and I've been very happy with that. I can't manage pure pumice or even too gritty of a mix because I like to be able to take a day off sometimes or forget about watering a pot for a few days. I think it's all about finding the balance that works for your conditions/practices. About the "x"... I only put it in quotations to separate it from my sentence. It can just be an x.... (Aloe 'Fang' x). If you knew the other parent, you could add that name after the x. Yes, you should use the x when talking about them. Specifically the x means "crossed with", if you were going to say it out loud. Yes, you should probably do a liquid fert. I don't think the green balls are doing much for you. To get the most bang for my buck, I use a straight 20-20-20 water soluble fert in a 10% dilution. That means I only use 10% of the recommended ratio, making my fert 2-2-2. I have mine mixed up in a spray bottle at 4x strength so that all I have to do is squirt a little into each watering can. 4 squirts = 10%, 5 squirts = 12.5%, 6 squirts = 15%... (all very specific to my equipment) It took some careful math to set it up but I wrote down my formula and now it's very easy. Alright, good luck! PS, my name is Ryan but that's leaked information:)

A petite fern like ebony spleenwort would be attractive and the moss would help it to propagate more easily. Mouse eared coreopsis is a low growing plant as well as the ones that Waplummer mentioned. Alum root (heuchera or coral bells) in addition to the foam flower (tiarella sp.) would be nice.

Have you thought about Synthetic Grass? Just an option i used it and it worked out great for me. It drains great and looks perfect. Contact www.turf-usa.com They will send you samples for free and you might be impressed. I used there Elite Fescue very thick and natural looking, also i looked at other compaines and they had the best price just FYI. Good Luck with it