I need your opinion in Studio City

I live in Studio City, SF Valley and I am new to gardening in California.I am from Canada and have had fabulous gardens there but this is a whole new world. I am lost and overwhelmed by the challenge of gardening here. I am even having difficulty buying potting soil as it looks so different, more like peat than soil. I am trying to fix up back yard and plant 6 containers measuring 24" tall by 14" across at the top. Three are on pool edge and get lots of full sun, three are closer to house and get a bit more shade than sun. I have completely emptied and cleaned the containers so I can start from scratch. I would greatly appreciate and thank you for any advice you can offer.

Kinewah, I agree that California is a whole new world than Canada, culturally and environmentally. You have moved to an arid region. Studio City is in zone 10b and normally gets about 18 inches of rainfall per year, which is a little more than California’s Sonoran Desert. Furthermore, California is experiencing a 3-year drought.

You have an attractive pool site so I doubt you will want to irrigate it with unsightly tubes that cannot be hidden by nearby plants. Since the weather is so hot, it will be time-consuming to water the plants frequently and it’s often difficult to know how much water potted plants need. You could transform them into self-watering pots with one of the numerous plastic things they sell on the Internet. Gardener’s Supply Company has highly-rated self-watering container mix (I’ve tried it) and they also have the equipment to put in the pot but since your urn pots are so tall you might have to build one yourself.

http://www.gardeners.com/Self-Watering-Container-Soil-Mix/33-819,default,pd.html?start=6&q=self-watering

Personally, I prefer clay irrigation. For a large pot it’s best to get an olla and put a rock on the top to keep out the bugs and keep in the water.

My mother lives in zone 10 Greece so I have some knowledge of plants that will do well in your zone from helping her with her large garden. The Million Kisses Begonia’s provide months of color, but they do drop flowers which have to be swept and can redden the floor. I grew some on my front porch and they might brighten the shade area in your yard.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/195380/#b

Umbrella trees do will in pots and are very drought tolerant and love full sun:

http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/shrub_fact_sheets/scharba.pdf

Or maybe you would prefer a smaller plant such as an agave. Good luck with your garden!

DoGooder

Ditto DoGooder:
Get a soil with the water holding additive. It is a gel sort of material.
Then select some plants that are OK in the summer heat, reflected heat from the concrete, and low water.
There are some really nice ornamental grasses, a lot of succulents (but not all!) and several annual flowers that could work in a setting like this.

Could you get larger containers? The small containers you have are going to dry out SO fast, the roots will heat up and it will be hard to keep plants alive.

Annuals:
Petunia
Million Bells
Cathranthus

Grasses and grass-like plants:
Juncus patens
Phormium dwarfs (good in part shade, too)