Wide view — fence sits on top of the wall; the thin planting strip right behind it is the redo target (~10 in deep).Down the corridor — house walkway / wall on one side, fence on the wall on the other; planting depth is tight.Upper gravel / courtyard accents — keep useful agaves & stones if they still read well.Street / sidewalk side — secondary strip (Indian Hawthorn / lantana / jasmine under consideration).
Goals
Behind the fence
Direct-replace the shrubs in the strip between the house walkway and the fence. The fence sits on top of the wall. Soil depth front-to-back is only about 10 inches — not a deep raised bed, and not wide enough for boxed planters. Full sun + reflected heat. Height: at or below fence top (~3.5–4 ft). Prefer narrow uprights and trailers that can cascade through the fence.
Water: deep & infrequent after establishment — not daily sprinkles.
Stick to heat-proven perennials that tolerate a skinny root run.
Behind the fence — plant cards
Picks for a ~10 in-deep strip (fence on the wall). Favor narrow uprights and trailers. Skip anything that wants a wide clump or a deep raised bed. Keep existing accents only if they still fit the trench.
Each card has a Read more link (Southern Nevada Water Authority Water Smart pages first, when they exist) so you can dig into care, size, and pitfalls before locking a multi-year choice. A short Watch link appears when a solid variety-specific video turned up.
Three options under consideration — honest LV grades
Strong for LV
White / trailing lantana On the list
White Also lavender
Color
Long bloom — spring through fall (mild winters nearly nonstop)
Height
~1–2 ft tall; trails/spreads — stays under fence easily
Width fit
Excellent for ~10 in — plant in the trench and let it cascade through the pickets
Sun / heat
Loves full sun + reflected heat off sidewalks / gravel
Water
Low once established; UNR Extension favorite for southern NV
Notes
Best of the three for this skinny strip and the sidewalk. All parts toxic if eaten — fine as ornamental, keep away from pets that chew.
Keep only what still fits single-file. Remove overcrowded woody mass. Don’t add large agaves or wide clumps here — those belong in wider gravel pockets, not this fence strip.
Compare
Phone: stacked cards by factor — chips jump to each section and highlight as you scroll. Wider screens: side-by-side table.
Fit in ~10 in trench (fence on wall)
Trailing lantana
Best
Plant in trench; cascade through pickets toward the street.
Ice plant / trailing rosemary
Best
Low trailers made for skinny soil + fence face.
Damianita / Angelita / marigold
Good
Small mounds work single-file.
Autumn Sage
Good if slim
One upright at a time; tip-prune so it doesn’t fatten.
Red Yucca
Skip here
Mature clumps want 2–3+ ft width.
Fairy duster / Texas Sage
Skip here
Shrub volume needs a wider pocket.
Indian Hawthorn / star jasmine
Skip
Wrong heat story and wrong volume for this trench.
Height vs fence (~3.5–4 ft)
Trailing lantana
Easy under
Low & spreading — no height fight.
Autumn Sage
Easy under
2–3 ft mound.
Damianita / Angelita / marigold
Easy under
Knee-high fillers.
Red Yucca
N/A for strip
Height OK elsewhere; too wide for this trench.
Baja fairy duster / Texas Sage
N/A for strip
Skip the fence trench; use in wider yard pockets only.
Afternoon shade preferred; full west LV sun often scorches.
Care load
Damianita / Angelita / marigold / agave
Set & mostly forget
Occasional tidy-up.
Lantana / rosemary
Light prune
Shape after frost / to control spread.
Autumn Sage / globe mallow
Seasonal cutback
Keeps bloom dense.
Texas Sage / fairy duster
Height policing
Annual prune required for this fence limit.
Indian Hawthorn / star jasmine
Higher support
Water + heat stress management — more fuss for less reward here.
Factor
Trailing lantana
Autumn Sage
Red Yucca
Damianita
Indian Hawthorn
Star jasmine
Height
Under easily
2–3 ft
Foliage under; spikes taller
12–18 in
Fits if it lives
Trainable
Water
Low
Low–mod
Very low
Very low
Moderate
Moderate+
Color
Long white bloom
Many colors, long
Coral spikes
Yellow carpet
Spring flush
Scented white
Heat
Excellent
Very good
Excellent
Excellent
Risky west sun
Often burns
Care
Light prune
Cut after flush
Minimal
Minimal
More water/stress
High support
Why
Best of the three for LV hardscape heat
Color workhorse under 4 ft
Too wide for ~10 in trench
Cheap yellow filler
Pretty but heat-fragile here
Skip this exposure
Recommendation
Geometry first: ~10 in between house walkway and fence-on-wall. Direct shrub swaps in a single-file trench. No raised planter boxes. No deep layered bed.
Simple mix for that strip: trailing white lantana (hero) · compact Autumn Sage uprights · Damianita / Angelita / desert marigold dots · ice plant or trailing rosemary to cascade through pickets. Skip Red Yucca, fairy duster, and Texas Sage here — too wide.
Edit what you have
Pull overcrowded woody shrubs from the trench. Keep only accents that still fit single-file. Leave the walkway clear. Same planting holes / same skinny soil — don’t build a raised box on the wall.
Uprights in a row
Plant compact Autumn Sage as narrow uprights spaced down the strip (tip-prune so they don’t fatten into a hedge). Optional: a few Damianita / Angelita / desert marigold between them for yellow.
Trailers (the color that shows from the street)
Trailing white lantana is the workhorse — plant in the trench and let it spill through the fence pickets. Add ice plant or trailing rosemary for low evergreen cascade. This is how the strip reads from the sidewalk without needing bed depth.
Do not force into 10 in
Red Yucca, Baja fairy duster, fat Texas Sage, and big agaves want wider soil. Use those only in other yard pockets — not this fence strip.
Verdict on the three
White lantana — yes (both zones).
Indian Hawthorn — weak for hottest LV; skip behind fence.
Star jasmine — no for this full-sun strip.
Planting practicals
Plant fall or early spring when possible.
Amend planting holes lightly; don’t create a water bowl in clay.
Deep water to establish 1–2 seasons, then back off.
Keep gravel mulch; leave a clear collar at stems.
Imagine looks
Three “after” directions. The first is a restrained refresh. The second matches the recommend plant mix for the ~10 in trench. The third is a louder what-if.
First set
1 · Conservative color
The first set shows a restrained refresh: xeriscape gravel and fence-on-wall stay, with bloom added in the skinny strip and curb pockets — not a full flower-bed makeover. Closer to a realistic direct shrub swap.
Varieties in these frames: trailing white bloom (lantana family), yellow daisy mounds (Damianita / Angelita / desert marigold look). Curb shrubs stay tidy.
Street view — trailing white + yellow color on the wall/fence strip; curb stays neat.
Second set · recommend mix
2 · Trailing lantana + Autumn Sage + yellow dots
Closest to the plant shortlist for the skinny strip: white trailing lantana cascading the wall/fence, slim pink uprights, and yellow daisy mounds. No Red Yucca in this frame. Use with the Recommend tab plant list.
Varieties in these frames: trailing white lantana, yellow daisy mounds (Damianita / Angelita / desert marigold look), slim pink uprights in the Autumn Sage family (frames can lean a bit snapdragon-like).
Street view — white cascade + yellow dots + pink uprights on the fence-on-wall strip (recommend mix).
Third set · what if
3 · All-in on flowers
The third set shows going all-in on flowers: a big departure from the current rock garden, denser color and layers, and more maintenance (water, deadheading, denser planting). Worth seeing as a what-if — not the default recommendation.
Varieties in these frames: Red Yucca / coral flower spikes, yellow daisy mounds, magenta ice plant or trailing color, purple and mixed bloom layers, plus agave accents in some shots.
Reality check: These frames often invent deeper beds or spill color onto the slope/sidewalk. Use them for vibe, not as a planting plan for the real ~10 in trench.
Long view — max bloom along the wall/fence line.Wider bed fantasy — colorful layers (deeper than the real strip).Corridor — flower carpet between house and fence.Skinny edge packed with bloom — “what if we go loud.”
