Hi daysquid. You are not far from me and we also have clay and poor drainage in lots of places. Elsewhere where drainage is good, it gets hard and dry. Terrible. Anyway, I just put in some Nepeta which is a beautiful blue (Walker's Low) and so far so good. Anemones are not fussy either and you can get pretty pinks. I have Honorine Joubert which is white and they are just showing buds now. Very pretty in bloom. Aquilegia and Iris are good choices. Also, ajuga has wonderful blue flowers in spring and is a good ground cover, too. Echinacea attracts goldfinches and it is fun to watch them perch on the seed heads. Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) is pretty, too. I love phlox but you may get powdery mildew, so if that bothers you or if it is a spot that everyone will see up close, that might not be the best. Perfect from a distance though. If you want a large shrub or small tree, try Vitex Agnus (Chaste Tree). It has beautiful blue flowers. I have two and just started to limb them up to more of a tree form this year. Of course, crape myrtles come in just about any shade of pink or purple you could want. I do use annuals for color and one of my favorite blues is Plumbago. So pretty in the ground or in containers. For a spot that is easy to water (I have the best luck near the bird baths where I dump and change water daily), Astilbe comes in many pink shades and is beautiful with hosta which can be your chartreuse color. Hosta will do fine with sun as long as you water, so putting the astilbe, hosta and plumbago together would be spectacular, IMHO. Limelight hydrangea also likes some sun and would give you the green which then fades to a pinkish shade. Clematis has all those colors, so if you have a support for them to climb, those would be great. I don't have so much luck with them, but I know many here have spectacular examples. Camellias are evergreen and come in pinks and whites, too. Not sure if you are looking for big plants or small, but maybe this will give you a start. Others will chime in with even better ideas, I am sure! Just visit your local nursery and see what appeals to you. This time of year, I also buy some pansies which overwinter wonderfully and start me out with purples and blues in the spring (until they get leggy and have to come out). I have even had blooms poking through snow. Fun.

If you are referring to Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon', it's not the slightest bit evergreen in my zone 8 climate. And considering how widespread its appearance is after a period of winter dormancy, I'm about convinced someone manually digs up and intentionally spreads this thug around. I can't believe it travels that far. I would never legitimately consider planting this in the ground without significant controls. The roots of this plant penetrate quite deeply. I'd opt for some sort of edging that would also penetrate deeper than standard lawn edging......something like metal flashing. Good luck.......I wouldn't try it :-))

Most of your Salvias will need a good cutting back to look their best. I've been growing Mystic Spires for 2 yrs now and it has never gotten over 3ft. Indigo Spires I think is well worth the extra effort to keep it in bounds if you're inclined. There are nice microphyllas that will bloom all summer and grow tall but I don't know specific cultivar names. S. Regla seems like a good fit for your space and light requirements but it only blooms in late summer/fall and then goes decidious. S. elegans might fit your needs. Mine started blooming late last summer and is just finishing up now. Another of my favorites, although I'm sure many would disagree with this suggestion, is S. uliginosa. It can get crazy if you over water it. If you keep it on the dry side it tends not to get so crazy. Good Luck.

Very Nice NHBabs - very nice! Our droughts can last weeks in the Atlanta area but at least we can water, on our watering days up to 10 AM (wet years no one pays attention to these rules). Been here 38 years and have had two summers where we had a total water ban - talk about brutal. We often get sued by AL and FL over the Chattahoochee River so we get a total water ban while AL folks continue watering like its nobody's business (but then they also have the TN River running through the upper end of the state) - not quite fair but what can you do? Use grey water collected in the tub, washing machine, and sinks; AC condensate and hope everything ekes by until the fall rains come in.