Any chance of a pic of the area? Also, this forum is a bit slow and you may get more suggestions from the Perennial Forum.

tj

I agree - photos would be very helpful.

I think heucheras or heucherellas (or a mix) could work very nicely. I like the idea of accenting with the hakone grass and I'd even consider adding Euphorbia x martinii as part of the planting plan. These are compact plants to about 15", sterile (no seeding) and offer colorful, almost evergreen foliage (fully evergreen in my climate) and bright lemony green flowers in early spring. I'd consider the cultivars 'Rudolph', 'Red Martin' or 'Blackbird' to compliment the dark leaved heucheras or 'Ascot Rainbow' to contrast.

One thing about a mass planting of heucheras or heucherellas - they are very prone to developing rust in this situation so make sure there is some decent air circulation available to slow the spread, should it occur. Not much you can do for heuch rust other than to remove and destroy the plants.

I'd also consider reducing the amount of irrigation. Even in the hottest and driest of PNW summers, twice a week at 30 minutes per should be sufficient for these perennials. They don't require the same amount of moisture as do annuals.

And I'm not sure about the need for special ordering. I was for a time a sales rep for a large PNW perennial grower/wholesaler and eastern WA was my regular sales territory and all the above plants were standard offerings at Spokane area nurseries. However, if you decide on specific cultivars rather than choosing from what's available, special requests may be appropriate.

I would select the colours carefully if the area gets full sun. I have found that the light green need a lot of shade. The darker colours - reds and purples - seem to do the best in full sun in my garden.

Autumn Bride is a lighter green heuchera that does well with the sun in my yard. It blooms small white flowers in the fall. it would probably do well in your situation.

Sherry