Hi Bill, You da man! It is indeed Thevetia thevetoides. I was only aware of Thevetia peruviana, and I knew it was not that. Thanks everyone for the input. I have been trying to figure this out for a couple of weeks. Do you know if it is easy to propagate? A couple of twigs have migrated to my house. I cut off most of the leaves, and halved the ones I left. I dipped the cuttings into rooting hormone and have them in a pot. One article I read, suggested covering the cuttings with a plastic bag to increase humidity. Do you think that this step is necessary or will it lead to fungus growth?

Here's someone growing them in zone 9, even though Brent and Becky's says to zone 8 on their website. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1379567/question-about-colchicums You may find other links as well if you do a search of garden web.

Great choice on the solandra, Lars. We have a 2-year-old one climbing our chimney right now and we love it. Only problem for the fence is that they want to get a bit taller than we have space for back there. In two years, it's already halfway up our chimney I think we've decided on the fruit-scented sage as a rough hedge, with a lower border of salvia arizonica. Or at least until I change my mind again

I agree with the advice to hire a local designer. The yard is too chopped up to make meaningful suggestions from the pictures. Based on the "like succulents" comment, I would remove any shrubs that are in the "green meatball" stage which is overly sheared because it was in appropriately planted to begin with and replace with shrubs that are more casual to compliment the tropical palm look. A proper irrigation set up would also be advised when doing the renovation or as a first phase. Also consider using synthetic turf in areas where the old grass died but not as much square footage to save on overall costs. Maintenance should also be a consideration when developing a new design. Homeowners who are not willing to spend time in their gardens should have primarily plants that are diehard and tolerate neglect. Container plants need to be properly watered on their own irrigation station separate from the plants in the ground. The best bang for your buck would be to hire a local APLD certified designer to do at least these three things: 1) Recommend what to keep and what to remove (may or may not need to create a sketch, but could use the aerial photo to create zones or spaces to refer to 2) Develop a plant palette / list of plants 3) Hire them back to perform the placement after demo and irrigation is set up (This assumes no hardscape will be added or modified) Laypersons and contractors who are simply the installers who simply follow a plan of a planting plan don't realize that if the designer were digging the holes for the plants, they would invariably move them to appropriate spots regardless of where they appear on the plan. Field placement is far better than relying on a 2 dimensional plan. But not all designers get to be present during installation. That is one drawback of a design only unless you are willing to do it yourself and hire them back for the install process. If you do hire a designer, make sure the preliminary design is sent to a few licensed contractors who can give pricing and make sure the preliminary design is sufficiently detailed so as to provide meaningful pricing rather than ballpark figures.