Previous house owners installed beds all along the sides of our house. They're neatly layed out with edging. The catch is that the roof overhangs the beds and the ones on the north west side of the house get minimal amounts of rain. When we moved in last May, the beds were empty except for a mulch of pine-needles (which we have in abundance).

The occasional runner of grass has crept in, and should be easy enough to pull out, but I'm wondering what I can plant in place. I'd prefer not to do supplementary watering if at all possible, so I need something that'll withstand dry conditions and northern shade.

Our soil is sandy (we're close to the beach)and does have a tendency to dry out quickly although the water table seems quite high given the presence of a drainage ditch next to the house that hasn't completely dried up since we moved in - including during the 6 weeks of nearly no rain last June/July.

Any suggestions as to what I can plant in this area?