Charlie, There is also a cold hardy cactus forum on another list exchange that cannot be named here. If you're interested, contact me privately, and I'll direct you to it. Also note that the problem for us in wetter climates (Kentucky is similar, but not identical to my climate in Pennsylvania) is not just the cold tolerance, but the winter wetness tolerance. Some of the most cold tolerant cacti and succulents cannot survive wet winters. So you have to be careful what you pick out to try to grow.

We also live in Oakland. I didn't have any luck with agastache and Autumn Joy sedums. The agastache didn't like our cold wet winters, and the Autumn Joy looked horrible. I think it needs more heat than we get. The flowerheads barely turned pink for two weeks, then started going brown, then went black and the stems yellowed. They all looked awful. I yanked out all but two which are in out of the way corners. Osteospermums do well and should be on your list. Don't plant ANYTHING until you have spent sufficient time killing off the Bermudagrass. It took us 3 successive sprayings with Round-up over a period of 8 months, with watering in-between to make sure we got all of it. Bermudagrass is incredibly aggressive and will send underground runners 6' away under concrete to infest surrounding areas. No plant can compete with weeds; in our frost-free zone they must either be pulled or sprayed. Don't forget to mulch, it will make weeding in the future much easier. Trailing lantana is more rust-resistant than shrub lantanas, BTW. I have both, and the shrub lantanas look pretty bad from December-March. They'll do well with either exposure. Hellebores will do well with the eastern exposure. What is plecanthrus neochilus? Do you mean Plectranthus? I have Plectranthus argentatus but that certainly isn't drought-tolerant. Helichrysums are very drought resistant and pest-free. Give them plenty of room because they'll take off enthusiastically. But they're easy to cut back since the long stems don't root. Beautiful foliage, particularly the variety "Limelight". Aucuba, of course, for a eastern exposure. Gives fast verticality, never has any problems, and 'Gold Dust' or similar variegated types are eye-catching. New Zealand flax (phormiums) will do very well with a western exposure and varieties like "Yellow Wave" or "Dazzler" or "Maori Princess" are colorful and carefree. Keep them dry and avoid overhead watering, BTW. The trailing verbenas seem to need a lot more sun and warmth than they get from me. But there's a rare shrub verbena, V. lilacina 'De La Mina', which is a 2' tall, 2' wide, bloom powerhouse. Lacy foliage and spikes of little purple flowers -- it has never stopped blooming since I put it in over a year ago with a western exposure. And of course, the standard Erysimums -- 'Bowles Mauve' and the 'Variegata' are regularly available at the HDepot garden centers. They are short lived but dependable, fast growing, and although they look better with an annual deadheading, they don't really need it. Downside is that the flower spikes are pokey rather than soft, so site it where you're not brushing against it. They will lean towards the sun. 'Bowles' gets 3' tall and around, 'Variegata' is a 1' tall trailer. Both have lavendar blooms year round. Good luck! Kudos to you for being a concerned property owner, too.

Despite conventional wisdom, I have success with hostas, trollius, bleeding heart, Northern Lights azaleas, white baneberry, ostrich ferns under old spruce. On the outer edges, I have some extra Stella d'Oros I couldn't see composting, Asitic lilies, nepeta, feverfew, and sedums. And there's a spring under story of squill, puschkinia, and muscari. Probably a couple of things I'm forgetting. It's an area that gets only rain, no supplemental watering. And it's been there for a long time and so far so good. My gardens all seem to be fairly drought tolerant; I have only had to water annuals and some newly installed shrubs and conifers. We're about 4" below normal rainfall, having gotten a fair amount in August, but little if any since.

I would not recommend the Mexican Feather Grass, it's pretty but has been found to be very invasive. They will end up taking over the area and are not super drought tolerant anyway. What you should be really after is "Low water use" plants, not drought tolerant. Gry_falcon is right, many of those don't look very good especially if they don't get much water. "Drought tolerant" can mean just that; it tolerates drought. It means they will live through a drought but it doesn't mean they look good doing it. Many will lose leaves or turn brown if they don't get enough water, they green up when rains return. Good trait in the wild, not so good in a commercial landscape. And if you try and keep them green and lush with more water they often die outright or are very short lived. Most natives fall in this category. And Babka is also correct in that you will get your water savings in a few years, not in the first couple as they all need normal watering to become established. Some I can recommend that are low water use and look good are; Lantana Rosemary Aloes and yucca (be sure to check the cold tolerance of what you get, some are frost sensitive) Salvia leucantha "Mexican bush sage" Dymondia Euryops (get leggy in 5-7 years but grow fast and are cheap to replace) Many dwarf pittosporums such as Pittosporum tobira "Creme de Mint" Senecio cineraria "Dusty miller" Erysimum "Bowel's Mauve" Festuca gauca "Blue Fescue" Limonium perezii "Sea Lavender" Nepeta "Cat Mint" Scaevola "Mauve Clusters" Carissa spp. "Natal Plum" Grevillea spp. (some newer ones are quite compact) Punica granatum "nana" "Dwarf Pomegranate" Rhaphiolepis indica "Indian Hawthorn" Mugo pine Many of the dwarf and shorter Phormiums, but beware some "revert" to the larger species when older, but the dark bronze "Jack Spratt" seems to stay small. A lot of these plants are very common. They also may seem boring and are in many commercial plantings. But that's for a good reason, they work, they look good almost all year, and are easy to find.