My new garden bed.
The old plants had not fared well under the drought conditions. 1 died in 2008 and the other became so spindly it was no longer attractive. When I dug it I found the core was infested with ants and the root system was just blow the surface which meant it was not getting any of the local subsurface water.
I have replaced the trees with 4 ground cover and 4 'supposedly' small pregnable shrubs which are all native so should not have a problem finding the ground water.
Time will tell.