Unfortunately, you can't grow just about anything in Simi, especially in my yard
The soil is VERY hard and doesn't drain well, I've augmented the top 2-3 feet, but once you go past that, it's just clay, and a lot of time, the water from sprinklers just stands there, rotting the roots...
Here's what the area of interest looks like, it's about 44' long about ranges from 5 - 8' wide
[attachment=0:17lgwwe0]WP_20140121_001.jpg[/attachment:17lgwwe0]
The Aloe plants looks like it may work, need to do a bit more reading and ask my local nursery if those do well here...
I've been considering Pygmy Date Palm, Sago Palm, and possibly Cat and/or Bamboo palm... My concern w/ the last 2 is shading and fruit/seed that they may drop. I'm also at a bit of a loss about what to use as filler in between the palms, need cover that dirt w/ something somewhat cost effective... mulch blows into the pool w/ high Santa Ana winds that we get, and rock may be a bit pricey, would need a lot
Pygmy Date Palm
Sago Palm
Cat Palm
Bamboo Palm