Possibly Indian Hawthorne (raphiolepis). Pretty much a trouble-free plants; there are different ones. I’ve looked at them at Home Depot. Blooms only once a year. Ours are just finished blooming. Star jasmine would be good, blooming now, but you’d need a trellis for it. My suggestions are very common plants. I hope someone else has some ideas for you. Have fun gardening.

I don’t care for azaleas because they make me itch when I work around them and after they bloom the flowers don’t fall off they just hang on the bush dead. Gardenias have a reputation of being difficult.

Do you know if you have acidic soil? Azaleas and gardenias need acidic soil to thrive. So, if you don't, growing these shrubs will not be low-maintenance. You will have to amend the soil on a regular basis with sulfur, compost, etc. to keep the pH down.

I really like the Tecoma family -- the flowers come in yellow, orange and different shades in between. Blooms like crazy, very low-maintenance. Some get pretty big, but you could get a short variety (like Tecoma "Sparklette" or "Bells of Fire") and plant in a group of three (like a triangle) to form one wide shrub.

I’m in the same zone. Socks’ recommendation of Indian Hawthorne is a great one. A few azaleas will do well here, I have a dark pink one, but only those appropriate for our climate, sorry I don’t know the names. I’ve never had any luck with gardenias, and I’ve tried multiple times. For some people they do well.

the key will be to not plant a monoculture ... if one gets sick.. they all might. and then you start over ...

visit local nurseries.. and local gardens.. snap pix.. the peeps in the NAME THAT PLANT FORUM can name anything ...

and if you can.. get plants that dont all bloom at once ... try to spread the flower show over the season ...

sorry.. i know nothing about CA so i will leave that to others ...

a good place to start.. would be to perk your soil .. see vids .. learn what kind of soil you have.. and how it drains ... if you do such.. you will know how water moves thru your soil.. and be able to plant accordingly ...

the second link is a general primer on planting shrubs ... the key is how to water them. common irrigation can be tricky ,.. but can be done .. the key is .. moisture thru the root mass planted .. and not watering again until the soil is drying down a couple inches ... its not about wetting the surface often ... after a year of your being responsible.. most shrubs should be free range.. and not need watering except in drought ... in other words.. they shouldnt need to be on irrigation ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=garden+perk+test&iax=videos&ia=videos

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https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

I’ve seen Natal plum (Carissa macrocarpa) by the beach in SoCal and it is a beautiful evergreen shrub that is in bloom for a long period with fragrant white flowers. It does have thorns and the foliage is poisonous but I doubt you would be sticking it in your salad!

Speaking from a position of complete ignorance..... what about Ceanothus? They flower here in early May. Presumably they’re earlier in California.

How are your plants currently being watered? If by sprinkler system, please make sure that the water requirements of the new shrub match those of the existing plantings. For example, some of the California natives need much less water -- as in minimal summer irrigation -- than standard nursery plants.

If you can find an ornamental sage that fits your requirements, you'll have hummingbirds visiting.

I'm also in zone 10b, but lack sun -- small lot and neighbors with huge trees -- so I can't recommend anything from direct experience. (Still love their trees.)

Hard to find a ceanothus that will stay only 2-3 feet tall :-) Even the dwarf forms can get 5-6 feet and non-dwarfs 10-12. And since low maintenance was requested, something that would need to be pruned at least annually to keep size in check didn't seem to match the specs very well.

C. thyrsiflorus var. repens???

Here that is much more of a sprawling groundcover than it is an actual shrub.

Tecomas are beautiful but will get much larger than 2 -3 feet tall. Little John bottlebrush is easy care and doesn't require much water. Choose plants that have the same water needs.

Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Skylark'. Has the advantage of being adaptable to garden water. Mine are in the ground 20 years and only about 3' tall.

Thought there must be one.

Does Convolvulus cneorum work in Ca? Or what used to be called Senecio greii and which has gone through goodness knows how many changes. Brachyglottis ‘Sunshine’ now perhaps?

I'm not sure Sara's experience with Skylark is typical. 4-6' tall and 6-8' wide is often quoted. And since it has been determined that Skylark and Victoria are synonymous cultivars (and a suspected hybrid at that), my personal experience leans heavily to the upper end of the scale. A 20+ y.o. one in my previous garden was easily 8' tall and nearly 12' across.

I have about 15 of them. None are over 3'. They have all been in for 20 years or so. They aren't the prettiest Ceanothus in the world - they are sort of meatball shaped - but I chose them specifically because I could have them on the same drip system as other shrubs that needed weekly irrigation. A lot of Ceanothus won't tolerate that much water.

Verbena lilacina ‘de la mina’ (lilac verbena) is a great little shrub that blooms almost all the time for me. I highly recommend it for being pretty, pollinator friendly and low maintenance.

If you have the plumeria and it's doing well, why not try the variety of hibicus?

I am north of you, in Santa Barbara, but expect what thrives here would thrive where you are, so long as you aren't too far inland. I would second hibiscus. We have one that we inherited 25 years ago when we bought our house. It is beautiful, and fairly drought tolerant. I would also suggest rosemary, which looks pretty and is useful to have. Neither our hibiscus or rosemary are irrigated.

I think rosemary is gorgeous, low maintenance and useful. The flowers are not that obvious though so not sure how high a priority that is. Another option is lavender.

For something a little different, try Salvia microphylla 'San Carlos Festival'. We have 3 for several years that are 3-4' tall and at least 5' in diameter. The blooms remind me of large hot-pink/magenta jelly beans covering the shrub most of the year. In fact, I don't know if I've ever seen it out of bloom. We're inland with hot summers and it does well in afternoon sun but prefers morning sun. It's one of my favorites.