A couple years ago, I tore the Bermuda grass out of this area and laid down cardboard and mulch near my driveway and curb in a mostly shaded area below crepe myrtles. I'm pretty pleased with it but I'm trying to make it more lush, beneficial for wildlife, more attractive. I'm happy to be patient and wait for stuff to spread and reseed, but I also am happy to put more plants in the ground if it Will take years to fill in naturally.

Around the border where there's a fair amount of sun, I planted (clockwise from the back-right) scarlett sage (1), mealy blue sage (2), Indian blanket (3), and lantana (4). The sages catch the most afternoon stage and are doing fair. The Indian blanket gets the most sun and is thriving. The lantana is doing well. 

Behind that I've planted rosemary (5) which is doing ok but I want it to get real bushy, and purple heart (6) in the very back that's surviving but not growing much.

I was happy that some purslane (7) began growing near the lantana, a shoot coralberry (8) sprang up, and so did a zizotes milkweed (8)

I was thinking about

\- trimming the shoots and some bottom branches off from the crepe myrtles to let some more sun in for the rest of the plants

\- trying to move the rosemary to one or the other side front of the Indian blanket since I think might do better with more sun but I'm worried about killing it.

\- either planting more sage or letting it fill in over time by reseeding, though I'm unsure how long it'd take to fill in the bare area.

\- letting the parslane, coralberry and zizotes milkweed spread and reseed, or maybe plant some more to fill out the area faster

What do y'all think of those ideas? What would y'all do here?

How would y'all plant this garden?