I have never succeeded growing anything under a privet. The privet roots are far to aggressive for anything I tried. Al

You could put common bedding begonias and impatiens in pots if the soil is solid roots. In Venice they'll last a long, long time since it is close to the ocean. In other parts of the country those are annuals but here by the ocean they may keep going for a couple of years, then when they start reseeding themselves you can save the best seedlings and get rid of the old plants. I bought one six pack of impatiens about 10 years ago and I still have impatiens, descendents of the originals. They are common but reliable. Pick one color and stick with that. Multi-colors look rather chaotic. White is the most elegant.

Fuchsias would be lovely and do well near the Ocean, and they attract hummingbirds.

If you trim your Privets correctly you can get them to dense up at the bottom. make sure they are trimmed narrower at the top than at the bottom, so sunlight is not blocked by the top of the plant. This helps the bottom dense up.

Hostas are not going to do well for you in Venice California. They like winter chill.

Wow! Thanks for saving me money on buying things like Alstibe and hostas (which I was thinking of resorting to even if I don't like them) for under my privets.

I didn't know that about begonias and impatiens. I'm going to look into them.

Thank you

You can also get color with leaves rather than flowers, or in addition to flowers. Hoovb is right about both the impatiens and the potential to get your privets to leaf out down below, but you might also consider supplementing the impatiens or begonias with coleus, which come in any number of color variations. Like the impatiens, however, they will look more lush in warmer weather.

Kay

And if it's not too shady, if the sun is dappled or there is some morning sun, Echeverias, Graptoverias and Sedums are wonderful foliage plants with color and beauty year round.

Here is a link that might be useful: colorful succulent tapestries