I also thought of creeping phlox, and also creeping sedum, but as jackied164 mentioned, I'm not sure either of bloom time or length of bloom in relation to lisianthus or the swan river daisy. I like the ideas of cranesbill, which can have rebloom, or the petunias or alyssum should give a long bloom period also. One other thought. I grew some dwarf balloon flowers from seed. They were blue, but I'm trying some pink ones this year. They are perennial, and I can't remember the exact bloom time off the top of my head, but I do recall being very pleasantly surprised at how long they bloomed for. Dee P.S. The statue in the photo is only 6 to 8 inches tall, for reference. Here is a link that might be useful: astra blue dwarf balloon flower

Need to brush up on my HTML. But here's a link you can cut and paste into your browser. http://kaweahoaks.com/html/filaree.html

To my surprise several very nice selections to take a look at. Thanks for all the suggestions. . Sedum certainly is a contender as I have Vera Jaemeson that I could divide. Apparently this sit took my pic from a couple years ago? Its not even a nice pic, lol http://claycord.com/?attachment_id=43434 gazania, very nice pics! Certainly two attractive choices I haven't considered. Karmina has always been a plant I wanted to use, would have never pegged it for droughty conditions though. nhbabs, I was thinking about using Cat's Meow actually. Do any of the Veronica, like Veronica umbrosa 'Georgia Blue' have mildew issues? I've always had issues with the foliage of Veronica going crappy on me. Any suggestions on epimediums cultivars? Thiis is going to be a small bed with an Autumn Fantasy Freeman Maple (needed reliable red fall color) then there would be a dwarf winter gold mugo pine. The ground cover is just added interest to maintain the shape of the bed. I don't want to be mulching every year anymore. The ground cover will be subjected to south and west sun. Grass has a hard time staying green during the summer its so dry. I guess the groundcover needs to be able to grow on shallow soils because of the root competition of the maple.

The flower is 7/8*' to 1". Also the leaves are rough and pinnate each pair an inch or more apart. The stem is round and purpulish pink.