One of the perennial Salvia's? perhaps?

~Chills

How about "Husker Red" Penstemon? An alternate suggestion is Red Valerian (Centranthus Ruber) - not really red - it won't attract hummingbirds probably, but it will definitely attract hummingbird moths. I think that the colors of either would work in your space and they can both handle sun/dry conditions. Bee balms need moist conditions or they just kind of sulk. The combinations you've chosen sound pretty! Have fun.

Why don't you try a "Lasagna garden" bed there? They are so easy & fast to build, & are made up of wet cardboard, mulch, compost & aged manure (or grass clippings). It will help alleviate the dry problem you are having. Today, my husband & I created a 30' by 6' Lasagna flower bed in about 1 hour! We found a mountain of aged leaves at our water transfer station, & trucked them home. Do a google search on this method, & try it! You won't be dissapointed!
Good luck!
Kathy S

I second the motion for salvias. Butterflies and hummers love them, and they sound like just what you need for your conditions. Many would be similar in size to your monarda, and blues always look great with Moonbeam coreopsis. My favorites are Mystic Spires (blooms ALL summer), and Guaranitica "Black and Blue". Leucantha is wonderful in the fall.

You mentioned you have sandy soil - you could try Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm). It prefers sandy welldrained soil.

It's grown primarily for it's cream colored bracts. I had it growing in my garden for a couple of seasons however, I found it to be short lived in my heavy clay soil. But wow, it was a cool looking plant - it stayed relatively short no taller then 2 feet and it attracted quite a number of Monarch butteflies one year.

It's a native to the Midwest & East coast - also supposed to attract the Karner Blue butterfly.

Another one that does well in dry soil is Agastache. I like the western ones that are salmon colored, but the blue ones would look good with the Coreopsis too. The hummingbirds visited mine every evening last summer.

I planted 'jacob kline' bee balm in a lasgna bed last spring because I have sandy soil. It did very well,but,I planted it in an area that did not get the late afternoon heat and sun.
The other plant that attracted hummingbirds for me was agastache 'blue fortune'. Three tiny plants grew into a huge shrub. What an amazing plant!

I have two patches of the plain old red Bee Balm, Monarda didyma. One spot is drier and sunnier than the other, and that patch isn't doing very well. This Spring I'm going to transplant it to the backyard, where the soil is richer and not so dry. This plant is the #1 Hummingbird plant in my yard right now, although I'm planting a bunch of others they like this year, like Cardinal flower and Cypress vine, so we'll see.

Monarda fistulosa is supposed to do better under drier conditions. I have the cultivar 'Claire Grace', planted last Spring, that is doing well in a dry spot, part sun. It's got lots of little shoots coming up.

I am winter-sowing Agastache rupestris and a couple other Agastaches this year. They supposedly attract hummingbirds like crazy and are very drought-tolerant. I think they actually MUST have well-drained conditions, or there's no chance of them thriving or surviving the winter.

You might want to check out Ipomopsis rubra - a tall native with red tubular flowers that also attracts hummingbirds and grows under very dry, sunny conditions. It's a little weedy in appearance, but pretty flowers -I plan to add it to my wildflower meadow...maybe next year.

Wow--thank you all so much for the fantastic suggestions :)!!

I think I might go with the agastache--that and penstemon were also suggested by one of the local nurseries when I put this question to them. I didn't think about it...I guess b/c I was thinking of flowers with bee balm-like colors, lol. But I agree that would go great with the coreopsis and I have heard good things as well about its popularity with hummers.

I've had my eye on red valerian for a while, and the idea of getting a "Hey, what's that growing in the neighbor's yard?" kind of plant like the spotted bee balm would be cool too.

I need a bigger yard, lol...:)

If you want a Penstemon that would have a similar color to 'Jacob Cline', High Country Gardens has one that comes pretty close. I have the Penstemon pinifolius 'Compactum' from them, which stayed evergreen for me in zone 5, but it's only about 12" tall, so the other one may suit your needs better.

Bonnie

Here is a link that might be useful: Penstemon pinifolius 'Nearly Red'