But even before the cold snap, I was trying to come up with some formula to mix low lying winter flowering plants with others that would bloom in different seasons to cheer up certain parts of a landscape I have to manage.

It hardly ever snows here, but has been known to and otherwise, it is considered a desert type of environment, the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley.

Any suggestions on what I might mix to obtain my goal. The plants would be around the base of some signage and so can not be too tall. I'd like to see something blooming all year round, so that when one species is out of bloom, another is blooming and that they cycle year after year without a lot of maintenance, except maybe weed picking and grooming.