Creating an aesthetically pleasing garden in a limited space has its inherent challenges. Now, amplify these challenges by demanding drought-tolerance and habitat-friendliness, and you might find yourself momentarily daunted. But take heart, for with careful plant selection, even the tiniest of spaces can become an inviting garden.

In this garden vignette, the conifer's upright habit and blue foliage contrasts with the adjacent rockrose with its silver-grey leaves and a rounded form. This gray-leaved rockrose, occupying the mid-plane, acts as a robust, drought-tolerant anchor and offers an appealing counterpoint to the conifer's vertical growth and silvery-blue foliage.

Introducing more verticality and a burst of seasonal color is the Purple Pillar Rose of Sharon. In mid- to late-summer, its slender form is covered with trumpet-shaped, lavender-blue flowers with a crimson eye. Amongst these, nestle several Color Guard yuccas with their striking sword-shaped leaves edged in golden yellow to create an architecturally interesting display that looks handsome year-round. In summer, the yucca produce ivory towers of flowers that are irresistible to hummingbirds.

The responsibility of providing screening and privacy is deftly handled by specific plants. The tall and upright Juniperus scopulorum 'Blue Arrow', alongside the Hibiscus syriacus 'Gandini Santiago' (aka Purple Pillar Rose of Sharon), are joined by the rounded evergreen Cistus x heterocalyx 'Chelsea Bonnet' which adds its bulk to the mid-plane. While the evergreens, particularly the Cistus and Juniper, dutifully maintain their role year-round, the Hibiscus lends its support when in-leaf from spring through fall.

In the midst of these taller plants, a tapestry of blooming ground-covers sprawls and mingles. The ever-blooming Santa Barbara daisy, bedecked in delicate pink to white blooms from late spring until the first frost, weaves a frothy tapestry of hazy blossoms. In contrast, the larger blooms of the purple-blooming Bountiful seaside daisy inject a dynamic display of floral diversity in both size and color.

In terms of the succession of blooms, the floral spectacle commences early in the season with the initial flush of blooms from the carpet of daisies, coinciding harmoniously with the profusion of white flowers produced by the Cistus. Mid-summer ushers in the dramatic spires of ivory blooms on the Yucca, their nectar proving irresistible to hummingbirds. In high summer, the Hibiscus graces the garden with its splendid blooms. All the while, the carpet of daisies gracefully intermingles and weaves along the ground plane, orchestrating an enchanting rhythm of blooms from spring through to the fall season.

This carefully curated ensemble not only maximizes your confined space but also orchestrates an ever-changing symphony of colors and textures that will delight your senses throughout the seasons. Resilient, water-efficient, and a haven for pollinators—this garden is undeniably a winner!