They may not be gopher food, but I have not been able to keep either anemone blanda or Anemone 'De Caen' going past 2 years. I think they want more winter chill than we get in zone 9.

scilla hispanica (blue bells) will easily perennialize, does not seem to be gopher food, and makes a pretty blue stream :)

Chad

Chad, thanks! I just sent in my bulb order for this year (getting some tazetta daffodils) but I will keep your suggestion in mind for the future.

Is Scilla hispanica happy without summer water? This is an area I do not plan to irrigate.

Rosefolly

I think so. I have them in all sorts of places... They form a strong clump which will out-compete any weeds, yet they don't really spread without some help. There is a lot of name confusion with these scilla - the one which is the most perennial has wider leaves (up to 1") that some of the others. I am trying the pink version again, the white and the pink ones dwindled away for me.

Scilla peruviana is also a purple - going towards blue and even pale lavendar; but has very large flowers; it is happiest when completely dry in summer.

Another idea was muscari, I don't care for the leaves, but they do look OK under a small tree etc.

Chad

I inherited some Scilla peruviana from the previous owners. They had it planted under a redwood tree in the back yard. It goes completely dormant in the summer. I moved some into the front garden, watered weekly, and it did okay, but I thought it looked messy in that setting. A lot of bulbs do better when they are planted at middle distance, close enough attract admiration when in bloom, and distant enough to ignore when the foliage is fading.

Rosefolly