Hello,

And congrats on wanting to do something nice with your property. Even though I am in Virginia and the plants that I believe are pictured here are probably not the exact same plants that you would use in California to achieve this effect, I can still coach you a bit on how to use this photo as inspiration.

First, notice the design and the flowing lines of the bed around the trees and how the multiple layers of the landscape set off the house in the background.  I am going to try to convey to you why what you are looking at is so beautiful.

First. Notice the '3s'.   Three trees.  Three dormers.  Three rows of plantings in the beds. Three round shrubs in foreground.

Notice the wonderful lush health of the plantings.  Water. Water. Right plant Right place. Choose plants that will grow well in your conditions.

Notice the transition and flow of the landscape from front of the house to the front of the yard.  There is smooth line that your eye moves along that follows the edge of the hardscape to the edge of the lawn.

Notice the transition of the layering from low perennials to shrubs to small trees to large trees and back down again at the house.

Notice the colors.   Blues and cool pinks are soothing and calm inducing. There are no hot orange or red or other jarring accents that take away from the overall effect.

Finally, notice the shape of the plantings.  The trees arch up and over leading the eye back to the perennials the point upward in front of the soothing rounded shapes of the shrubs.   There are many choices of plants that would create these effects of color, shape and form.  If I was told that the photo was of plants growing here, in the foreground you have Nepeta sp.   Catmint.  It also could be dwarf Russian Sage or even one of the Salvia species.   The roses are ubiquitous and while I would not choose the knockout rose another disease resistant variety would be nice.  Abelias would also provide similar flowering mounded shape as would many others.

Shrubs might be Japanese hollies, or boxwoods.   Small tree looks like it could be a magnolia, with a flowering cherry to the right of house and large trees could be pecans, oaks, or a host of other large shade trees.

Does this help?

Have fun.