I have some variegated thyme and some purple oxalis/shamrock in the front of one sunny border. They add good foliage texture and color, though you may have to rein in the thyme from time to time. (Did I stumble into a pun?) Alice

Kabby, I love the thread leaf Moonbeam Coreopsis. It stays really low and spreads but is not rampant. There are others besides Moonbeam, but I love the soft yellow of Moonbeam best. I'll post a link to a very good photo and description of it.
Jan

Here is a link that might be useful: Moonbeam coreopsis

Oh yes, just wanted to say, my Moonbeam coreopsis doesn't grow over 8 to 10 inches although the description says 12 to 18. :)
Jan

Alice I had actually thought about wooly thyme, I'll have to look up the variegated.
Jan I think the height issue is what always made me look the other way on the Moonbeam coreopsis. Now that I know it doesn't grow that tall I'll put it on my list. And give it a little room to spread LOL!

My moonbeam has always been in the 6-8 inch range for the last 4 years so yeah, that would be a good choice as others have said. I have mine in front of a mixed yellow and blue colored daylily/perennial bed to soften edges and fill in between plants. I actually love it for it's light airy foliage more than the flowers but they are very lovely in bloom too. Some smaller lambs ear and some mound forming artemesias like 'Powis Castle' might be nice near the front of your bed. My Powis Castle usually never mounds higher than 12" though I have seen pictures of higher in other people's gardens. Plus you can give it a haircut from time to time if you want to keep it shorter.

Danielle

Kabby: Any of the low growing thymes would work. In fact, using clumps of two or three different varieties can be effective. There are two variegated ones that I know of. The silver thyme, which has white edging:

Silver Thyme

And the variegated lemon thyme with a yellow tinge and yellow to white edging:

Danielle I actually stumbled on a pic of Powis Castle today when I was looking for salvia. I like the look! I've had the Silver Mound before but it seemed that when it got larger it fell apart in the middle and didn't have that compact look anymore. I also saw a photo of Oriental Limelight for a variegated look but it needs more shade than the area calls for.
I have a pic of my little mini bed from a month ago, the Tiny Monster geranium definitely needs another space to spread out. The Blue Hills salvia is to the left and if you look closely you can see the blue eyed grass blooming on the right.
And even though it's a mini, it's not planted amongst the others. It's a Little Prince banana, shouldn't get more than 2 ft tall. Even though I hate bringing plants in for the winter, I'm going to make an exception for this one.
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Kabby, I like the cool colors you're using in your mini bed.

As for the Artemesias (artemisias?), in late winter/early spring when the weather is starting to turn the corner I whack my Powis Castle down to the ground. Even if we still get some freezing nights it doesn't seem to phase the new growth at that point. Then within a few weeks it clumps out tight and full just like the pics you've been seeing. I've had it 4 or 5 years now. The first year I didn't cut it back and it did get kinda' bare in the middle so I started doing the early cutback and haven't had a problem since. I was given my Limelight Artemesia at a plant trade and didn't realize it was actually called 'Oriental Limelight'. At least it looks like the same plant. Now I know lol! But just so you know, I have grown mine in bright full sun as well as part shade and it seems to do fine in both locations so long as it gets occassional watering. I've never had to baby it though. If you like its variegated look I personally wouldn't hesitate to plant it in a sunny spot, however it probably wouldn't be good for your front of the border area because it will grow 2-3 feet high unless you are prepared to keep cutting it back.

Danielle