Thanks for all your replies! Yes, duh, of course that's what it is. I try to avoid planting this, so I'm not all that familiar with it. I guess I had high hopes that it was something more interesting.

Hi Steve, Sorry I missed you but stop by some time and I will give you a tour of the tiny yard. It is amazing how many plants I have managed to squeeze into it. I have even crammed in a number of trees although I have to keep them cut back in the spring or I would have no room for any of the other guys. Speaking of echinacea, I have never had a whole lot of it but it is because I NEVER saw a butterfly on the ones that I had and I didn't want to waste space which I have so little of. But last weekend I went to visit family in Belmont and they had a next-door neighbor who had several hundred of the purple ones all planted together and there were lots of skippers and lady butterflies on them so I guess number counts. Anyway, at the moment what I see most of all is skippers, hairstreaks, ladies, painted and west coast and a monarch or two along with an occasional pipe vine swallowtail. I am a little concerned about not seeing more monarchs by now but I am hoping that will improve. I have a variety of milkweed plants which have tons of seeds you are welcome to and I have started some pipe vine seedlings you can have also though they are not the CA variety. I have not had success getting the native vine seeds to germinate. The ones I have are Aristolochia durior which are native to the east but they grow much more rapidly so I have planted them as well out there. Some of the butterfly species mentioned in other posts aren't native here which is sad because many of them are really beautiful but we do have some great ones that are very rewarding to see in the yard. Murray

Speaking of salvia spathacea,I planted hummingbird sage plants in February and they haven't been doing very well in my yard. They get intense sun for about 2/3 of the day, and in shade for 1/3 of the day. I can never figure out if I'm giving them too much or too little water. Anybody have any suggestions? Are your hummingbird sages in more shade than mine? Thanks!

Suggest you google on fire resistant Australian natives. I know many of these species are available in California. You can also find information on how to landscape your property to increase fire resistance and resilience through accessing Australian sites. There's been a lot of work done there with this in mind. You might also consider your water capture systems, your paving, and escape routes, the actual architecture of your home and what it's made of, plus the types of mulch you use. Australia has had some severe bush fires in the last three years or so. The states of Victoria and New South Wales are regularly affected - and put out useful information for home gardeners as a consequence. For reducing your grass - a weed wacker/weed eater can be very useful for steep berms and slopes. You MUST have footwear with non-slip soles, plus ear and eye protection. And a useful second pair of hands wielding a hay rake to bring the material down to the compost heap. Long term - plant up your slope with your fire resistant species and reduce the amount of work you do.