Astilbe comes to mind. I can't find their optimum pH but they do like moisture and woodland soil. I can't grow them because I don't have that much water. I used to have them on the side of a building where they got extra rain from the roof runoff. Now the azaleas have taken up that whole space.
edit: did you mean low growing like creeping phlox? If so astilbes are too tall for you. Ajuga might do well in front of azaleas.

This post was edited by helenh on Sun, Apr 21, 13 at 0:30

I only have one azalea plant and it has hosta in front of it. I didn't know they were friends, but they seem to do fine together.

We're 7b so maybe everything here wouldn't work for you, but I grow woodland phlox, hostas and Husker Red penstemon in front of my azaleas. The phlox and penstemon will each reseed some, but not invasively, so they fill in nicely. People seem to like my combination, but down here any azelea gets noticed.

Loretta

I also have hostas in my azalea beds along with some native sword ferns and a few daffodills. Tete a tete is a small yellow one. I once had astilbe but it died out for lack of water. The small hostas do the best for me and they do stay low.

Loretta, You must be a great gardener to grow both lavender and azaleas where you live. Azaleas grow easily in our part of the State, but lavender is hard for me. I would think both would be hard in your climate.

There are more azaleas in this area than you would imagine. We are right on the edge of the Cross Timbers. I had a friend who grew a fairly long hedge on the east side of their house in full morning sun and they looked great. I have mine under oak trees and they do well with a little soil sulphur. As for the lavender, we live on a bit of a hill so the drainage isn't much of a problem. The 113 degree days of the past two years have hurt them some. I have lost some and some are not growing as well as usual. A lot of my problems come from the fact that I change my gardens around so much. The plants never have a chance to get rooted well.

Loretta

Some Heucheras would also look nice, especially the ones with gold or yellow foliage.

Susan

I love heucheras. Mine are in pots. At the end of the season, Lowe's had nice ones on sale in this area. I bought several last year for $3 but they were usually $14. The older names are cheaper. They are easily divided and bugs don't like them so far in my yard. The heucherellas which are similar are not as tough for me.

Thanks for the suggestions. Carol, i have hostas lining my steps front and back so i see them every day and i cant believe i didnt think of them. So, thank you!

Im going to go with the hostas and plant just one creeping phlox to see how it does in the acidic soil and all the water it will get. Im guessing it wont like the moisture, even though it is very well draining soil, bit i will report back! Im only going to do one because they are so expensive, i hate to throw money away.

Thanks everyone.

Creeping phlox can be propagated. I have pushed pieces broken off accidentally from weeding into pots of summer annuals and the phlox has grown there. It is funny about where it wants to live. In the right place it is tough but dies out in other spots. You could make a little mound for it to improve drainage. I think you would like the heucheras. Mine went through two bad summers in pots. I do water them in summer but they are pretty sturdy.

Helen, thanks for the tip pn the phlox. I will research the heucheras. My issue will be that whatever i plant there will have to tolerate eatering every day or at least every other. In the oklahoma heat i have to water my azaelas every day, and i have a sprinkler system that is automatic, so whatever is in front of the azaelas will be getting a lot of water...

Thanks

Em

If it's that wet you may need to sprinkle a little SluggoPlus to halp eliminate the snails and pill bugs.