Golden Japanese forest grass, Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'

But it is not evergreen. If you want evergreen, try Japanese sedge, Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'

Pretty, but I'm reading that neither are for full sun?

https://www.monrovia.com/golden-japanese-forest-grass.html

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/carex-evergold?variant=39522962669630

Neither are particularly cheap, I'd hate to spend that much just to kill them :-O

I grow both in full sun without issue. If it concerns you, try Sedum Angelina.

I was literally JUST looking at that!

https://www.monrovia.com/angelina-stonecrop.html

I wish it had a little more height, though, so I dunno. The color is nice and it fits all of the other conditions, I'm just not sure how well the height complements the other plants.

If you are edging the walkway with them, I'm not sure how height factors into the equation. The taller plants would be behind, yes?

Next to the hostas are Purple Heart setcreasea and coral bells, and right behind them is Autumn Joy sedum. So right now the hostas are about the same height as the setcreasea, and are only a little shorter than the sedum behind them so the colors all go together.

This stonecrop that's only 3-6" tall would be a lot different, and would probably get overwhelmed by the setcreasea.

Gardengal that Hakone Aureola is stunning! Is that in your garden? I've planted this is several gardens for other people but have never gotten around to planting it in mine, and I don't know why lol!

:)

Dee

No, not in my garden :-) I have one similar ('Albostriata') but it is not as well developed a clump at this stage of the season.

How long since the trees were cut back? Do you know for certain the Hostas won’t cope? They look fine in the photos.

That picture was actually taken last year, just before the voles tore them up. I just started cutting back trees this February (it was supposed to be done by March 31, but shocker! They're still working).

One of the hostas are up and pretty, the others are pretty wimpy looking. I don't know if it's from damaged bulbs or the sun, but either way I'd probably do best to replace them. I have tons of other shady areas that I can move them, anyway.

The Hakonechloa most certainly won't take full sun. But a new Carex, C. 'Feather Falls' is evergreen, with green and white striped leaves and will apparently handle both full sun and shade and both damp and dry soil. I just planted one.

"The Hakonechloa most certainly won't take full sun."

I beg to differ!! It takes full sun easily here and in fact, the best plantings with the best coloring are those grown in sun.

Heuchera is good at tolerating full sun in my Zone 6b garden, in-fact they flower much better.

Another (unusual) favorite is generic garden mums. Very low maintenance, keep the compact rounded bush shape of about 18” height for months if you are good with pinching. Create glorious fall display without needing to buy mums every year. Mine are in the garden bed for 5 years now. Some get only 4 hrs direct sun and still bloom profusely.

Reblooming compact day lilies could be another low maintenance choice. But needs protection from deer.

I edge my perennial sun garden with chrysanthemums. They have very tidy nice foliage. Heuchera are OK in sun, not great but OK and they come in many lovely foliage variations. Another option is Lady's Mantle, Alchemilla mollis, It does better in partial shade but can tolerate sun. If that doesn't ring your bell, a plant with similar flowers, Golden Alexander, Zizia aurea does fab. in sun. It's a little hard to come by, but very hardy and spreads. It's foliage is nice and tidy but not particularly showy.

https://www.prairienursery.com/golden-alexanders-zizia-aurea.html

I planted burgundy bunny grass, Pennisetum alopecuroides and loved it. Meh in the spring and summer but gorgeous in the late summer in bloom, and in fall. Not a hosta look alike though . . .

https://www.bluestoneperennials.com/PEBU.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwvqeUBhCBARIsAOdt45bqTje0e-vgK7KpZpe1jaowj7aUaGyFzc8VrkK_tYAC8DZ2ZYKwsC0aAgeZEALw_wcB

Another off-the-wall pic would be some flowering thymes. They have all kinds of color variations in foliage (silver, yellow tinges, blueish green, etc,) so a mix would add interest when not in bloom. They don't fit your leaf shape criteria though. Coneflowers have oval leaves but are boring when not in bloom. Same with daisies, etc.

I find that sun is not the determining factor in how my Hakone do- they either take off and become nearly invasive or they just kind of sit there and do nothing. I have some that do well in sun, some in shade, some moist, some dry, and for the life of me I can't predict how it is going to do in any given location- I just have to try it. But when they take off look out- they can cover some ground.

That is my experience exactly here in zone 7, outside Philadelphia. I have them planted all over, in everything from full sun to mostly shade. Most of the ones in the sun are huge, with wonderful color. I've had to dig some up and put them elsewhere (and wow are they heavy) because they were taking up too much space which I wanted for other plants. Carex 'Evergold' is also a beauty.

Variegated solomons seal. it xsn hanfke dry shade to lots if sun (with some watering).

Gardengal, it most certainly won't take full sun here. And we're probably a zone 7 now with far too many summer days near or in the 90s. It just burns up.

I think that heuchera actually do best in partial shade, like a bit of morning sun. I've seen them in full sun but usually in newly planted gardens, I don't know how they last overall. I've also seen them kind of peter out in deep shade. I have two in my present garden, it gets a mix of sun and shade. They are hanging in there, add nice leaf color and shape to the mix. Many of the colorful ones have "meh" flowers but so do many hostas . . .

Edited to add that while I was reading another post about stone mulch, I remembered that my Dad (who has stone mulch on the south side of his house), actually has a hosta and red heuchera that are surviving there surrounded by rocks and getting full hot afternoon sun! So I would check maybe you can find a sun-tolerant hosta and give some of the common heucheras a try, they are variable I think.

Thanks for all of the suggestions! It seems like my options are somewhat limited... I already have a ton of grasses, hostas, heuchera, and stonecrop everywhere and I was hoping for something new, but I guess it's really gonna have to be more of the same.

Did you explore silver mound artemisias?
I love this plant. Likes full sun, foliage interest, compact (should perfectly fit your size and bloom requirements), grayish green and velvet soft. Added bonus is these are totally deer resistant.

No, but that's pretty awesome!

https://www.gardenia.net/plant/artemisia-schmidtiana-silver-mound

I wish it had a brighter color, but otherwise that might be the way to go. It checks all of the boxes :-)

Does it die back in the winter in your area? I can't find definitive information on that. The hostas do, too, so it's not a tragedy if it does, I just hope that it doesn't.

I would just water your hostas regularly. You might be surprised, they can take a fair amount of sun.

How about Daisy gardenia? Theoretically grows to 3-4 ft tall, mine are 4 years old and just now 2.5 feet tall and wide. https://www.gardenia.net/plant/gardenia-jasminoides-daisy Smaller variety is gardenia radicans. Or sweet flag for grass look.

Autumn Joy sedum? That's a contrast and blooms at another time from most of the other things you mentioned . . .

@l pinkmountain, I actually have Autumn Joy all over the place! I love that plant, it's seriously indestructible :-) But it's already in the garden, a little behind the hostas and in front of the irises.

Same goes for the chrysanthemums you mentioned, I have them in every garden, too :-/

@Jean, I didn't know that gardenias came that small! That's interesting, and evergreen! I'll have to consider that.

I'm going to the nursery tomorrow, so I'll see if I can find and compare Silver Mounds and Dwarf Radicans. It's getting kinda late in the season, though, so I might just stick with the hostas like @cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA) said, and just see what happens... but with voles coming after my bulbs so hard, I really don't think it's a good long term idea regardless of how well they handle the increased sun.

Jason - another helpful suggestion - for the voles, use Permatill. One time treatment around the roots of your plants and voles leave them alone. They used to destroy everything in our yard until I tried it. Works great. Can only find usually at the garden centers.

Jason, how about Helen Von Stein stachys or lamb's ears? I love mine! I never know how much it will die back. And it grows after the bunnies seem to slow down, at least here. It does look rather tacky in the winter but I sure enjoy its uniqueness in the warm weather!! Mine gets about 8-10 inches wide and 6-7 inches tall of silver fuzzy leaves

Thanks for the tip, @Jean! I've been avoiding chemicals because I have a senior dog that roams freely in this enclosed area, but none of the natural stuff has worked at all!

@rginnie, I love Lamb's Ear! I didn't even think about that, they're pretty expensive in my area. But I see them online for much cheaper, and apparently you can plant them any time! That's definitely gotta be on my list, for real.

Someone gave me a Rose Campion a few years ago, thinking it was a Lamb's Ear. Now I have those little sumnoguns everywhere!!