Gardening in the East Bay (near Oakland) of the San Francisco Bay Area is heaven for a gardener! I can plant most succulents outside (I have a "wall" of String of Pearl, Tears, and Banana plants), salvias and other hummingbird plants, and most importantly, a wide range of California natives to keep the watering low and the wildlife happy. I also have been working for the last 20 years to turn my previously hard clay and almost "dead" soil into dark, loamy, and nutrient-rich soil that is a joy to dig and plant. Although it also supports an amazing amount of weeds when the rains start up in the fall, but I'll address strategies for that too.