Looks like we may be seeing Siberian iris in these pictures and not bearded iris. (And if you're interested the conifers are pretty sure to be Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd'). Anyway ferns are one of the best groups for furnishing the bases of evergreen hedges, independent garden centers these days stock large assortments including some pretty interesting kinds.

If you click on the names of the ferns in this locally generated list of recommended kinds profiles of them with photos open.

http://www.greatplantpicks.org/plantlists/saved_searches/141945

Thank you! It's great to know what that hedge is. I took a look at the ferns but I'm not quite sold, gonna need to mull it over. You are right there are siberian iris in there too, well spotted!

I'd like to plant a bush in front of the rotating compost bins, would an azalea or boxwood do well in these conditions?

Are there any other plants that would work well as a ground cover without choking out the bulbs ie, NO ivy. Perhaps pansies? Thank you all for your help. This is my first question on here and you've been super helpful.

Boxwood blight is in the PNW so I would not rely on box. Something that combines features of box and azaleas is evergreen huckleberry, you might want to look into that.

If the only bulbs you are talking about are the iris those don't like to have anything right over the top of them.

I've got an azalea thriving at the base of a pair of evergreen trees, so it can be done. Anything that survived the 20 years of neglect before we bought this house has to be pretty happy in its current position.

Why not a mix of Rhododendrons and Evergreen Azaleas, mix in some ferns, and maybe some Hosta? You could easily use some beautiful pots, some with evergreen plants and things like dwarf hydrangea, to help add variety and get around the competing roots problem. I'd hang some containers from the fence in the summer...maybe some fuchsias?

Hosta will need extra watering, they don't compete well with arborvitae roots. I've been battling here for twenty years. Ferns do well.

Hostas do great in pots.

I love shade gardening -- you could make this area very pretty. I have a mix of azalea, rhodo, jack frost brunnera, maidenhair fern (very pretty), hosta, lily of the valley, hydrangea, you could also try some ajuga as groundcover - it's evergreen - but will need extra water. Evergreen huckleberry is nice, too, but mine has been VERY slow growing and they do seem to prefer a bit more sun. Vancouveria hexandra is a nice groundcover, but not evergreen, as is epimedium, which can handle more dryness. Deer and swordferns have done well for me in some very tough spots and can handle more dryness once established. Daylillies might work, but won't bloom as well.