Reworking a problem area...

Here's the scene in late February. Less is more. 
Of course the large 'Cha Cha' was still there, time to dispatch it! Those Agave bracteosa pups still needed to be pulled (and potted up to grow on), and that silly looking patch of Scleranthus uniflorus (at the bottom of the photo) also had to go away. The circle/slash on the tall metal pot is noting the fact the mangaves I'd shoe-horned in there a couple of years earlier also needed to be pulled. 
It's also not your imagination that the large pot with a pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana) and Loropetalum 'Jazz Hands' appears to be tipping to one side. That thing drove me crazy!!!

And here is this area now, photo taken just last week... 

The Agave americana var. protoamericana can better show off it's dark leaf margins.
And fabulous spine imprints...
It's so hard to get good photos of this area with contrasting lighting conditions, but I really like this image, kinda moody...
That callistemon seedling popped up a few years ago. Since there are both C. 'Woodlander's Hardy Red' and C. viridiflorus nearby I was hoping maybe it might be an interesting cross. Unfortunately I'm probably going to have to remove it before it gets large enough to bloom. I doubt I'll be able to get enough roots for it to live, but I'll try.
Another agave shot, and you can see some of the calluna I tucked in. 
The one next to the agaves (above) will probably have to be cut back hard every now and then, but hopefully these will be able to meet their full potential.
Another Echium wildpretti went in, because you can never have enough wildpretii. A couple Trachelospermum asiaticum ‘Red Top’ also joined the mix, so they can weave around and add another layer of color and texture.
These pale Sempervivum 'Lilac Time'...
Along with several dark wine-colored NOID sempervivum, add more color—the red picking up the colorful spines on my Agave parryi 'Notorious RBG'.
I can't forget to mention the other Agave parryi in this planting area, this a pup a gift from Bryon Jones at the Pt Defiance Zoo.
The tall pot at the back is looking better with the struggling mangaves removed. Replacing the mealybug infested agave is a new container filled with an agave I had hanging around, one that frankly I've forgotten where it came from. Oh well. Another few containers gather around to complete the ensemble.
One of the containers contains a Microcachrys tetragona, the creeping strawberry pine from Tasmania (yes, it's a conifer). You may also notice the Cordyline 'Cha Cha' is making a return, I didn't dig it out after all, but rather just cut it back for a refresh.
My other (tiny) Microcachrys tetragona is creeping over a rock...
Another perspective...
And thanks to a strong husband with a rock bar it's container is straight again! 
I like the changes and appreciate I no longer wince every time I look at this part of the garden, plus the two sides of the front steps seem to relate to each other a little better.