Thanks, Michael, for your suggestions. I'm replying to the list because I thought that anyone who grows Ixia viridiflora would like to see this astonishing picture of what it looks like at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens: http://flickr.com/photos/nuytsia_pix/… I agree with Jane that Asphodelus albus is at least unkempt if not "messy" -- but here, as with Alberto, it goes dormant in early summer. The leaves are drying off now, even as it is still flowering (meanwhile, some of the earlier seed pods are already falling off). Probably not for a formal border. Best, Max Oakland CA