Lily of the valley?

Evergreen huckleberry is probably too dark green for your, althought the new foliage is lighter. It takes denser shade than almost anything I've encountered.

Wood sorrel maybe.

Golden wood rush- Luzula sylvatica 'Aurea' is a tough, evergreen (ever chartreuse) grass for shade. Or Carex Evergold, another evergreen grass with yellow stripes. If these are too bold, maybe something like the Korean rock fern- Polystichum tsu-tsimie (sp) might work.

Perhaps some of the carex evergold with a rainbow leuthcoe for year around interest. Add some dwarf yellow green hosta for spring/summer. If you are interested I have excess carex evergold and dwarf yellowgreen hosta you can have. I'm in SW portland.

How about Soleirolia soleirolii 'Aurea' golden baby tears as a spot of ground cover, this one is very well behaved for me and Carex 'The Beatles' or one of the other evergreen grasses.

A......

Most of these would need good moist soil. Hemlocks tend to be unfriendly to other plants, although I have had various weedy types like holly pop up beneath one in Edmonds over a period of decades. Maybe you are asking this question in the first place because it is a tough spot? Dumping a minimal amount of some well-aerated soil on top of the hemlock roots (but not against the trunk) in the small area where you want greenery might make it possible to get something started without bothering the tree.

Part of the basis for it being a dead area there is that hemlocks do not have rot-resistance in their wood (unlike, say, cedars (Thuja)). If their thin bark is breached they are likely to be done for. Their branches deflect water away from their bases, the area beneath tends to be dry and rooty - an tree that needs moist climate conditions but also needs a dry area right around its crown.

And it is also typical for the low, dense crowns of comparatively small and young specimens of many evergreen conifers to make conditions unsuitable for smaller plants to grow. In local forests extensive bare areas with little but needles and fallen trunks and branches are a typical part of the scene.

Mountain Laurel

i just picked up a few helleborus foetidus 'Gold Bullion'. they are really bright lime green and, according to the label, are evergreen. they do well in shade, but need moisture. i wonder if this would work if you cared for it well.

I have a Lonicera nitida 'Lemon Beauty' in 3/4 day shade well inside the drip line of a large Douglas fir. It is evergreen and the very small slightly waxy varigated yellow and dark green leaves really brighten the spot. Lonicera nitida responds well to shearing and stays smaller in the shade. jwww

Wow, many great suggestions here. I'm getting lots of ideas. Thank you all so much. Muddysocks I would love to have some of your carex & hosta! My gardening budget is getting pretty strained. There is no email on your member page, can you send me an email from mine?

Bboy thanks for all the info. The hemlock was planted last fall in a spot that was not working well. I saw that the trunk was bowing out as if it wanted more sun, so I moved it two weeks ago to a sunnier place, and it was then that I saw that the person I hired to help me had not removed the burlap from around the trunk, which just about gave me a heart attack. Now that you've told me about the lack of rot resistance in the wood, I'm worried. The good thing is that it has lots of low branches that probably deflected the rain. It looks healthy enough.

So just to be clear, I wouldn't actually be planting right under the tree, but in front of it. Do you think summer watering will bother it there if I'm careful not to soak the trunk? As you can imagine a 7' mountain hemlock was quite expensive, & I want it to thrive.

Another question: I did a search on tolmiea on this forum & didn't find anything. Is anyone growing this? Someone told me that it's nearly evergreen here. Is that true?

Thanks,
Miss Lemon

Tolmiea is evergreen native of moist places like river terraces. Mountain hemlock not a large dominating forest conifer in lowland gardens, unlike western hemlock which is what I was talking about. Grows at snail's pace, can be used with other plants nearby for years. Only looks natural with alpine plants and other small-growing kinds.

Oh Jeez. I'm sorry. I just looked up there & I did say western hemlock, instead of mountain hemlock, which is what I have. That's pretty different. My entire life needs an editor. My dog is really tired of me saying here kitty, kitty. I think my husbands name is name Honey, but it might be Dear. I'm going to have to peek at his drivers license to be sure.

The Tolmiea, I know it's a native here. Have people found it to be a useful goundcover in urban gardens? I never see in my neighborhood walks.