It sounds like you wouldn't have room for another tree, but one of the interesting gardens on the local garden tour a few years ago had a gingko and a Dawn Redwood in a setting with lots of big ferns and other wild and primitive looking things. It was particularly interesting because both the gingko and the Dawn Redwood were quite large. It made us wonder who originally planted them because the trees had to be at least 50 years old or so and they wouldn't have been very commonly available trees then. From the sounds of it, you are on your way to providing a unique setting for the gingko too. I don't have any real suggestions for you other than to say I think unique trees like that one look great with other interesting and unusual companions.

What does this area look like in winter? What you have listed are all deciduous or herbaceous plants - have you considered adding some evergreens to prolong interest into the winter months?

In keeping with your Asian inspired plantings, there are many evergreens that originate from Asia that would offer textural interest and year round appeal. Conifers like the many varieties of Chamaecyparis (lots of dwarf and colored foliage selections) or Cryptomeria, Viburnum davidii, nandinas (most will fit right in with your color scheme and offer an airy, lacy texture), mahonias that offer bright yellow winter flowers and often burnished winter foliage color. If enough shade, aucuba, skimmia, leucothoe (OK, not exactly Asian in origin but with a similar aesthetic), Japanese pieris that produce firey salmon-red new growth. Evergreen azaleas that offer flowers in your color range as well as producing reddish, burnished foliage color. Epimediums for underplanting. And lots of other fern choices.

Do you have the Houttuynia in the ground? You are a brave soul if you do!!

FWIW, the Vancouver, WA area is USDA hardiness zone 8 - not sure if what you listed is the Sunset zone, but if so, it has little relevence except as a cross reference for plants for our area as few, if any, are labeled with this zone system in nurseries and it confuses forum members who might be able to offer additional suggestions.

Zip code zone finders never work for me. Plantings not fleshed out with evergreen plants go bare in the winter, unless plenty of shrubs with colored twigs are used the aspect can be drab during our dull winters. Something with bluish foliage would look well with the ginkgo when it has turned yellow during the autumn.

Thanks, I agree.

The colour of my house is a soft grey/green/blue, like a lichen, and we have trim which is a rust or brick colour. In my other border, which is on the other side of the driveway, I have gone with golds, and salmon red colours in the plantings and planned to go with these colours again to maintain continuity.

Because we get so much rain in the spring here I haven't really designed for a spring showing but more for a summer/autumn appeal. Hadn't thought of winter appeal before as we spend so much time indoors then.

I'm not that familiar with dwarf conifers and would appreciate suggestions on any which would lend interest to the design. In the meantime I'll start doing a search on Google. Thanks again.

Popular choices for bluish foliage among conifers that have produced dwarf and slow-growing cultivars are blue Colorado spruce and white fir. However, in our mild winter region the spruce is liable to need pesticide applications for mites or aphids at some point in order to maintain a full covering of leaves.