Choice of Plants for Zone 9 Border

I am pretty new to gardening though I do really love watching my plants grow! I am looking for some plants, preferably perennials, that will do well in USA zone 9, I live in Bakersfield California, USA, full sun, quite hot summers and plants that don't require a large amount of maintainence (beyond watering) once established. I like things that flower and have a spot about 5 feet deep by 50 feet long to work with. It has Italian Cypress at the back of the space if that helps. Any suggestions or ideas you might have would be greatly appreciated! I love the quality of the seeds I have purchased from Richters in the past.

Our catalogue lists the zones in which the plant in question will survive if planted out of doors. The range is given opposite the Latin name right beside the code for its duration. For example for Lion's Tail, Leonotus leonurus, it is a perennial (P) and hardy in zones 9 to 10 (Z9-10). It by the way would be lovely in your garden. Many of the plants that have attractive flowers are also pictured in our catalogue helping you to choose.
Try to have taller plants in the back and really short ones in the front, but don't regiment it too much. Try to use plants as neighbours that have contrasting leaf shape or texture and are a little different in height. To find the expected heights of plants go to our web-site www.richters.com under the "Richters InfoCentre" heading in the "News & Info" section of the site. Click on "Richters Herb Growing Infobase" and once there type in the name of the plant you are interested in and scroll down to the height and width of the plant.
Since most of our herbs should do well in your climate, I won't give you any lists. Using the "Richters Herb Growing Infobase" you can choose plants that like full sun, but again most will do that anyway! A large portion of herbs originate from the Mediterranean region and will feel right at home with you.