we are in Houston Tx. my favorites are Plumbago (blue flowers) and Lantana (yellow, orange or red flowers) both are very hearty. i hope this helps :)

I am in the Dallas area. For flowers I have been very pleased with Skullcap and Scabiosa. The scabiosa actually blooms a bit in the winter. The Skullcap makes a low hedge so I have it in the front of my bed. I prune it back in the early spring and it blooms all summer long. For shrubs, nothing kills my nandina. They come in all sizes and many colors--very dependable but they can spread. I just pull the runners up when they appear. All of these take the intense heat, lack of water, the winter cold and are extremely low maintenance.

dwarf nandina and the oval leaf holly shrubs~ not sure what the name is. Cleyera are awesome, but grow taller. They are easy to trim, though and have shiny leaves.

Dwarf azaleas, mop heads, dwarf gardenias...

I'm in Duluth and have Yucca's and they overwinter very well! Also, Blue Fescue ( a decorative clump of grass, not more than 6" in a beautiful blue color), Knockout Roses (these will lose leaves from Dec. to Mar. but have blooms the rest of the year), Rug Junipers, Golden Cypress Mop (yellow/green), Vinca's for annual color, Honeysuckle Vine, Hummingbird Vine, Loropetalume (beautiful teal/maroon little tea leaves that get pink flowers in the spring, and turn bright red in the fall) Crepe ...»

I like Jan C's idea of the Knockout roses because they are drought tolerent, repel pests, need no special food and look great. We have some in my neighborhood that are over 4' high.

Carol, this Yucca has been in the ground for 3 years here in front of our nursery. All of the plants in this particular bed get very little attention and no irrigation. Daylilies are always a welcome addition for a hot dry Georgia clay area. The other plants in the bed include a beautiful Rosemary, Butterfly Bush, Cunninghamia (Chinese Monkey Puzzle), Verbena, Veronica, Lavender and Coneflower.

Try contacting your local cooperative extension service office. They should have plenty of information on plants appropriate for your area and should have some folks available to help you with any questions. Your local water office may also have information on good plants for the area, that require little water, as well as planting tips that save water.

You might consider Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa) as a companion plant for the yuccas.

Take some photos when you finish the planting so we can see what you decided on.