I tried no mow grass. Died too. Then I seeded with California poppy, red poppies, corn flowers, honey wort and Shasta daisies. They are reseeders and bloom in sequence in my Ca 8a/8b zone. Also mint. It will take over.
Be careful with the mint, but you already know that. I have a bunch of CA poppies in my yard, which I only discovered by letting everything grow after we bought the house. Imagine my surprise and delight when the "wild carrots" turned out to be beautiful poppies! They continue to spread and make the yard a wonderful place in the spring.
