Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Here is a link to that previous answer you mentioned. Your situation is different in that the original questioner was trying to establish vines growing up high over a pavilion over the fountain. This was causing problems in sun scald because the leaves were always wet and the area was always in full sun. The splash from the fountain you are referring to shouldn't be as difficult for the plants to deal with, although we will certainly not recommend any desert plants that might rot with too much moisture. 

Something else we will not recommend is any of the plants you are thinking of planting. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center we are committed to recommending not only plants native to North America but to the area in which they are being grown. Native plants, already habituated to a climate and its moisture by eons of experience will do better without excess water, fertilizer and maintenance. Olea europaea, dwarf olive, is from coastal areas of the eastern Meditteranean. Buxus sempervirens, boxwood, is from southern Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. The Lavandula genus consists of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, native to th Mediterranean region south to tropical Africa. Bougainville glabra originates in Brazil. While there are some native roses, you are more likely thinking of a hybrid tea. Just the fact that they are hybrids excludes them from being considered native, because we have no way of knowing what the parentage of the plant is nor how it will react to conditions. Most roses in commerce today originated in China, and over many centuries were carried to Europe, England and the United States. We would particularly discourage using any rose, including native roses, in the situation you are describing. Roses are very susceptible to black spot, a fungal disease depending on wet conditions to survive. It will weaken the plant so that fewer and fewer blooms are formed.

We understand your selections because you are planning a Mediterranean courtyard, and we certainly don't require anyone to take our recommendations and use only native plants. But that is all we recommend, because that's where our experience and expertise lies, and only native plants are in our (surprise!) Native Plant Database. We are going to go to our Recommended Species section, click on northern California, and then NARROW YOUR SEARCH by selecting first Herbs (herbaceous flowering plants) and then Shrubs under "Habit." We will also select for sun (more than 6 hours a day of sun) and moist soil. We will give you a list of those plants and you can follow the plant links to the individual page on each plant, and decide if it's appropriate for your use. If you have any difficulty finding plants you select from our recommendations, go to our Native Plant Suppliers section, type the name of your town and state into the "Enter Search Location" box and you will get a list of native plant nurseries, seed suppliers and landscape and environmental consultants in your general area. 

HERBACEOUS PLANTS

Iris missouriensis (Rocky Mountain iris)

Linnaea borealis (twinflower)

Aruncus dioicus (bride's feathers)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

Equisetum hyemale (scouringrush horsetail)

Hesperochiron pumilus (dwarf hesperochiron)

SHRUBS

Hibiscus moscheutos (crimsoneyed rosemallow)

Spiraea splendens var. splendens (rose meadowsweet)

Iris missouriensis

Linnaea borealis

Aruncus dioicus

Equisetum arvense

Equisetum hyemale

Hesperochiron pumilus

Hibiscus moscheutos

Spiraea splendens var. splendens