The area is too small to try and attempt to make planting "beds" - I'd treat it all as a single planting area. Lawn in this situation is absurd. First, the area is far too small to have anything more than a token lawn, which is pointless, and lawn in an arid, desert environment is environmentally irresponsible. I'd design the area as a xeric garden featuring natives and/or plants that would relish this situation. These can be extremely interesting and visually appealing, offer a great deal of color and texture and most have the attributes of being virtually no maintenance as well. A visit to a local garden center should provide a range of choices but I'd consider cassia, salvias, aloes, agaves, senecio, kalanchoe, euphorbias or any of the many succulents that thrive under these conditions. One or two larger, speciment type plants and a limited selection of smaller ones placed in groupings should suffice - you don't necessarily want to cover the entire area with plants. And keep the gravel mulch. These plants love the reflected heat gravel affords (it is a common occurrence in their native state) and like any mulch, gravel will help to retain any soil mositure and keep weeds at bay. One thing I would consider is changing the topography slightly. The area now is extremely flat and featureless. If you were to bring some additional soil to mound up a portion of the planting area - say an irregularly shaped mound roughly following the 'L' - add a few larger rocks and a flagstone path from the street to the entry, you provide some immediate character and some staging for the plants. The attached link connects to a number of xeric gardens, some well-designed, some not; and not all suited to your climate, or conditions. But take a look at some of the plant choices and how they are combined and notice specifically how many of them treat smaller entry gardens sans lawn. The first (Nelson, Huntington Beach) is partcularly appropriate for your situation. Here is a link that might be useful: xeric garden possibilities

Yes the lighter green is what I am questioning. They are bigger than the penstemon leaves and completely different in color, texture and shape. They are rounder than the penstemon leaves.

I can relate to feeling like I have no business in the garden. More often I realize that I needed a staff. Not just me and mom doing what was left alone to its own for the past 20 or so years. Most of the trees have an emotional connection for my mom; my dad planted them and they used to sell the fruit at our fruit stand or the local swap-meet back in the day (now there is the farmers market but that takes yet more time and energy to join) Finally after 6 years and countless loads out I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. But that just leads me to more things to do better or change. I set goals, and regularly miss them because a new garden misadventure pops up to deal with. For example, we have guarded several peach trees because mom thought they were also good ones. We have half a dozen peach trees, most of them planted themselves I believe. Some of these peaches are now getting ripe-small white ones, mom picked a bunch of peaches and spent a day at the sink peeling and slicing them up and when she was done had 3 quarts canned. She called to tell me she was done with those little peaches. I thought I would try canning a few too, maybe it was more being 89 that made it take so long and get so little. It has nothing to do with age! Those peaches bruise if you look sternly at them, have 1/4" of good flesh and taste...mealy blah. Now we both have a crook in our backs and I have a few more peach trees to make in to fire wood. They are beautiful in the spring, so I may leave them for now, but remove all the fruit once it sets. Funny, even the worms do not like those peaches. I do have a list of a few new trees to replace them with, peaches that do well here and that do not all ripen in the same week. Guessing much like Florida, there is no off season, no time to sit back and think of the next years garden projects or look at how wonderful the past season was. It is warm out, weeds are growing, fruit is waiting to be picked, something needs water and more needs pruning. The more you have in the ground, the more there seems to be to pay attention too. On the other hand, we can add living space to our homes by using the garden area. Places to sit on a hot day or zones to soak up the sun on the cold or the best spots for catching the sun rising or setting. If we were stuck indoors in the snow, we would loose those spaces for months at a time. I am off to re-stack the wood pile, seems I need more room, to reach the roots of an offending peach tree and to fill buckets with small mealy peaches. I might even have time to stop and smell the roses

I've cut plants way back down by the street and they recover very fast so those will probably be fine. I especially like those annual gaillardia along with Desert Marigold, Blackfoot Daisy, Flame Flower, Helianthus annum because these plants are in for the long haul and bloom from spring, through summer heat and into fall without stopping. Its the into summer heat part that makes them especially good. If someone wanted to plant a meadow or prairie garden in the city without creating a mess like people talk about with prairie gardens, I can't see how they would with these growing along with the classic prairie grasses. These are all low growing and well behaved. That little Kansas Four O'clock blooms all summer into fall too. Did your seeds take hold? I've got them coming up here and there all over my property (exploding pods). Its OK since they are only about 3" tall. Plains Penstemon blooms all summer too. I've got two that volunteered last year but they are still small. Lobeleaf copper mallow is another long bloomer, spring to fall. Its tall but I can't imagine anyone calling it thuggish or overwhelming and its no flopper. Lots of stiff stems covered in blue foliage & orange blooms currently. For some reason some stems break at the base especially in spring. Maybe the wind that snaps them? I have 3 seedlings and am hoping to get another red blooming one. The only thing is, the plant takes up a big space which I am always short of but I did plant one down on the H. Strip. I let one Mentzelia decapetata come up last year. Same exact spot as last time. Its growing a tall center stem now and should be blooming in a month or so. Did yours make it? I finally figured out I've got a Pink Yucca that is a different kind than H. 'parviflora'. I I.D.ed as H. campanulata the other night. Its larger in every respect, has a bloom stalk that's practically as tall as me with flowers that are more yellow but not like the yellow blooming Hesperaloe. I got the seeds from a huge cluster growing at Will Rogers Park some years back. I think I sent you some but can't remember. The night blooming type hasn't bloomed for me yet but it did defy the zone limit. I think its hardier than they say. *CORRECTION: That H. campanulata bloom stalk is 8 feet tall, I just measured it. The leaves are almost double the height of H. parviflora. I saw the first hummingbird of the season on it yesterday.