Liz, I looked through all of my March photos back to 2006, and here are the things that looked good enough to capture on film:
Lots of bulbs: daffodils, tulips, ixias, sparaxis, freesias, ranunculus, anemones, hyacinths, scilla, etc.
Some flowering shrubs and trees: tulip magnolia, star magnolia, wedding veil spiraea, quince, camellias, and azaleas.
Vines: Akebia and a few early Clematis varieties.
Lots of early-blooming roses.
Wild flowers: poppies, violas, sweet alyssum, and forget-me-nots.
Miscellaneous stuff: hellebores, primulas, lewisias, gentianas, pansies, clivias, and some irises, particularly the Pacific Coast hybrids and natives
I'm in 9a, but I'm sure 9b isn't that different when it comes to blooms in March. If I were you, I'd buy as many of these plants as my budget allows. I'd keep most of them in pots, so that I could take them with me, and set the pots in empty-looking spaces in the landscape (or even bury the pots in those spaces). If you scatter the seeds of the wildflowers all over the place now, they should be blooming by March.
