welcome to GW ....

but i gotta tell you ... here in the hosta forum.. we would suggest you move ...

i mean really.. you want us HARDCORE to suggest something else.. what are you thinking.. lol ...

try the shrub forum.. or the perennial forum ...

or move.. lol

ken

ps: and move where they dont have a HOA ...

pps: if you really want us to brainstorm for you.. because you consider us the 'be all and end all' of garden friends.. i suggest you tell us where you are as a starting point.. soil type.. and how many hours of sun ... except for bed size.. you really havent given us any variables.. and if you could post a picture.. that would really get us going ... [its hard to find an active forum this time of year at GW.. so give us some facts.. and lets see what we can do...]

You don't say where you live. Check with a local nursery to see what grows best, or even just drive around your area taking photos of landscaping you like and then go to the nursery to ID plants.

Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plant) and liriope, tulbaghia (society garlic, stay green all winter w/o freezes.

I keep all my hostas in pots to avoid that bare ground 3 month period.

-Babka

Gardeners can not give any advice when you do not tell them the USDA zone you are gardening in. What you are looking for is dwarf bushes or conifers which can take some shade and do not die down in winter. But how much is your shade? Dwarf conifers need some sun. Dwarf rhododendrons and azaleas are another possibility in my zone.
Bernd

My thought, if you have the zone for it, is
ASPIDISTRA, which comes in variegated form or plain green. It is green all year here and possibly the lower part of zone 7. I love it, and have a good bit of it, but that was before I became enamored of HOSTA.

I also suggest liriope but then it is pretty ho hum once you grow HOSTA.

Good luck.