Coincidentally, I just happened to be in this same parking lot yesterday morning. It has not improved.
What a waste of space! What a waste of water! What a waste of time for the mow-blow-and-go ‘gardener’ who charges money to mow and edge it, but are too inept to suggest planting something that might actually be pretty, or shade the parking lot. There are a few of these between parking spaces marked for ‘compact’ cars, because it is cool to discriminate against full size cars that can not pull far enough forward to get out of the way.
Even between a Buick and a Chrysler, it is nothing to look at. It looks like something went seriously wrong with a grave site that was supposed to get a slab ‘over’ it (not ‘around’ it). It could be a Chia Pet litter box. There are much better spots to picnic at the park down the road. Whatever it is, it is not much better than the swales that…
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Tony Tomeo 
I’ve really enjoyed your articles for the past few months, Tony. I live in Seattle. About parking lot islands, I like it when they’re planted with billowy, sometimes taller ornamental grasses that are very drought tolerant, though I’m not sure how well that’d play in your climate versus the Pacific Northwest (although our summers are turning increasingly hot mediterannean, though not this summer so far) though it’s not completely clear to me what the differences in our zones are based on my readings of your various essays, so far. We have our share of turf grass in parking areas but it seems like more and more stewards of such properties are turning to more sensible plant choices
Your comment about paving these over made me chuckle a little, years ago I rented a jackhammer and got rid of the concrete that filled a forty foot parking strip (got permission from the landowner, an absentee landlord). As a placeholder we put in turf 😉 The turf’s gone. Now there’s drought tolerant plants and a beautiful tree.
-Jason
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Billowy grasses are quite practical for some of these situations, if installed sufficiently back from the curb to avoid hanging over. They are too soft to be too obstructive to those who bump into them. Several species, including a few that are likely common there, are available here. New Zealand flax works well also. Selection of appropriate species should not be complicated.
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