Cathy asked about groundcover on a slope, and from her postings I assume it is a steep one. Once you have got rid of the ivy -- a horrible task that I'm glad I never had to face, though blackberries are probably worse -- there are some useful groundcovers around bulbs. Obviously they would be different in S. California, but I would try thyme, prostrate rosemary, helianthemums, the low-growing Hypericums (NOT the parking-lot one called "Rose-of-Sharon"), sedums (especially western American natives) and prostrate Arctostaphylos species (e.g. A. uva-ursi), and Dracocephalum species (low ones). I don't know how the prostrate brooms from e.g. Turkey behave in your area, but you could investigate. Some fine-textured clump-forming grasses are always attractive around bulbs, but you need to be sure they don't run or seed aggressively in your climate. I use the smaller New Zealand sedges, which are often killed here in hard winters but might be too seedy for you, and Deschampsia caespitosa, which would probably not like a warm climate. Jane McGary NW Oregon