Cistus/Rockrose

Do some google image searches. It is very different to roses but a nice plant on its own. I had one I loved yet killed from over pruning it. :(

Yes! Rockrose! Emma you say you killed it from overpruning; can you somewhat limit the width? The space is only 42" from the garage wall to the concrete walkway and anything too intrusive would be, well, intrusive...

Mine got to about three feet tall. Look for the short kind. I hope someone else will offer info about keeping it trimmed. Mine had never been trimmed prior to the assault I gave it. It was around fifteen years old.
There is a related plant, Helianthemum/Rockrose. It is a perennial instead of a shrub. I cannot recommend it because I have never grown it but it sounds good. Are you right on the coast or more inland?

We're about 7 miles inland, and are right on the edge of coastal/inland climate. Usually a little warmer and sunnier than the coast, but not true inland heat.

Some Aloes bloom almost all year round and require very little water and even less care. Aloe sinkatana, Aloe 'Cynthia Gitty', Aloe 'Crosby's Prolific' are some. And they attract and feed hummingbirds, so you have the added entertainment of hummingbirds in your yard. They also get colorful foliage at certain times of the year, so you have color in the foliage as well as in the flowers.

I like Catharanthus roseus, sold locally as vinca. It's a showy plant that has a wide range of colors and is fairly drought tolerant. It grows as a perennial here and reseeds nicely. It does well in full sun or various degrees of shade. I like it in borders or in multi-plantings, such as with day-lilies:

That variety of Vinca is invasive and is on the "do not plant" list in socal.

gobluedjm, I'm neither proud nor ashamed to say that I grow a number of plants that have been identified as invasive. This includes but is not limited to my lawn, grapevine, lantana, nasturtiums, star jasmine, lettuce, and the mango seed that I sprouted on a lark.

Here is a link that might be useful: WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States

clint, you completely misinterpreted me. I was only making nika aware of something he/she may not know.

But I do prefer to use a CA site for identifying invasive plants since it is updated twice yearly not 2009 on your link.

Here is a link that might be useful: ca ipc

gobluedjm, "do not plant" is pretty strong wording that I've never seen attributed to this plant, it deserved some follow up, clarification and context. cal-ipc.org doesn't list Catharanthus roseus as invasive, while other lists do.

It's reasonable to assume that easy, drought tolerant plants would make such a list. Things like fennel, radish, olive and sweet alyssum are also considered invasive. Invasive isn't the same as "do not plant".

I am happy growing Cistus salviifolius or 'sageleaf rockrose' as a long blooming, drought tolerant, evergreen ground cover, to about 2 feet high. Al