Hi everyone, karinl, the groundcover is zoysia, also known as Korean bunch grass or Korean grass. I have the old-fashioned mounding variety. It is like bermuda grass in habit, but MUUUUUCH slower-growing. It goes dormant in the winter in cold climates and it creeps through stolons. The main problem is that it is very expensive. I bought a flat yesterday: fifteen bucks! It has lower water needs than a regular grass and you never need to mow. Here are a few photos from last week: This grass makes everything look lush, even in Southern California. You can see how it has crept over the rocks on the right there, and I have to chop it out of the beds once every two years. Littlefatcat, it's so funny that you would post photos of the spirea! I just did a search on chartreuse plants and saved a photo of that plant to check out. I have not been able to grow hydrangeas because of their high water requirements, but that is one gorgeous plant. Have you considered a lorapetalum for your center island? I don't know how much sun they can take, but they have purple foliage and are easy to shape naturally by taking out whole branches. There's also a redbud called "forest pansy" that might work... finally, the dwarf breath of heaven might not grow as big in your yard as it gets in mine. For small chartreuse foliage, I love acorus. I grow it in full sun and in full shade. Yin, thanks for the tip! I will look it up. I agree with you. I don't like shrubs that have been shaped into little balls, the natural look is so much prettier. I am hoping my breath of heaven recovers from my hack job at the bottom. I wonder where landscapedesignchina went? Renee

Deer resistant shrubs that might work for you include Kalmias (mature sizes vary, but these shrubs are not cheap), spireas (the smaller ones), Iteas, 'Palibin' lilacs, Lespedeza 'Spring Grove' and 'Little Buddy', Nanho Buddleias, junipers and others that I can't think of right now, including some of the smaller viburnums. Some of these plants need more sun than others. Also deer resistant are ornamental grasses. If I were planting the area you describe, I would mix plants, grouping the smaller ones, like the spireas, into plantings of 5-7. Try to avoid planting in a straight line. Also, keep in mind that deer resistant is NOT deer proof. If deer have the run of a property, they will taste anything new and are bound to develop a taste for something that ordinarily they would have little interest in. Keep new plants sprayed and make a real effort to get deer to avoid your property. It can be done.

Just some thoughts on your plant choices... Loropetalum and Lavandula stoechas are at opposite ends of the water requirement spectrum, and Loropetalum wants to get 5 feet tall by across or more at maturity, you'll be pruning this a lot and losing the natural form to keep it in check. I never use Loropetalum chinense rubrum selections unless they have at least 6 feet of space to grow. Purple Fountain Grass is really more of a warm season annual than a reliable year round good appearance perennial in SF Bay Area conditions, and I only use it in my designs as an annual to be yanked when it starts looking bad by late December/early January. It seems to take forever to look good after winter is over, while it arrives early in the season from southern California greenhouses each spring, it may be mid June before one in the ground looks full again. I'd suggest sticking with plants that are more water compatible if it is all on the same valve. My personal bias would be to lose the Pennisetum rubrum and substitute with more of the Lavender or maybe some Tulbaghia violaceae 'Silver Lace' for a similar grassy foliage look and long bloom season/deer resistance. Adding something like a spilling Erigeron x moerheimerii would also relate to the Lavender. If you like purple foliage, I might suggest seeking out Eucomis comosa 'Sparkling Burgundy' as an accent,(but this isn't a Home Depot type of plant), or maybe Sea Lavender/Limonium perezii for the long spring to fall deep purple blooms and low water needs. If you wouldn't mind adding some magenta/fuchsia flower color to the mix, Salvia chiapensis is another one that spills and drapes and has a nearly year round bloom period, or the newer hybrid Salvia 'Wendy's Wish' is quite nice as well. Some bulbs such as Scilla peruviana could also be an interesting addition to the mix, with bold color in March/April, and survives on rainfall alone.

Coming up with salt tolerant plants is easy, but salt tolerant tropicalesque plants would require a little research. You might be able to get a quick answer from people in the Tropicalesque Gardens Forum if no one speaks up here. I've never bought any sod. Here is a link that might be useful: See list at bottom of this page.