Let me urge you to order a native evergreen Georgia plant from Plant Delights that I know you will love and is perfect for your situation. It is the Georgia Savory (Clinopodium georgianum coll.) It was new to me two years ago and the little rooted cutting I planted in hot sun and drought is now a circular 24" clump of dense growth that inhibits weeds. The foliage resembles Rosemary and the fall/winter light lavender blossoms also look like Rosemary blooms. It grows about 8"-12" high and then the outer branches lie down and new growth comes from the middle of the plant. So, as it matures it really is only about 7" tall. I would guess that in time it self roots and continues spreading although it would be easy to control. I cannot rave enough about this savory for heat, blinding sun and adverse conditions. Anyone trying to hold a sunny slope should plant this one. I found cuttings easy to root just tucked in a pot of soil, left in the sun and kept moist. Hopefully you will order one. It's a winner!

Aloha, Got it,,Not being in Colorado I am not sure if I should make distinct plant suggestions.My bloom times and such run behind you guys.LOL, maybe some more suggestions for you to consider,, the four season impact,,is important,so try not to limit yourself as much,,in that length you can add more variation for this reason alone.Unless your looking for a more continuity through out the property with the shrub plantings.You also may want to look at the heat that comes from the concrete with some of your considerations,, Personally if I was hitting this type of job I would be suggesting Xeriscape in a cottage based design.with several focals,, such as large stone that match the patio and retaining wall.They could be flat to hold a large pot, statuary or taller to stand on their on.To break up the planting a bit but also to add details for 4 season interest.. With the plants you have listed I am going to assume that is not a go,, Now we know your garden needs the visual on both sides that also brings in another aspect,,The gardens at the Happy House are designed this way since our decks and roof are our outside living space,,Our drive by "tourists" get a beautiful mixed view this way and the house views are great,,You can intertwine the taller and shorter plants to achieve a great relaxed look,, not to forget bulbs mixed in as well,Lily's are wonderful in these types of gardens..but spring color under the shrubs before leaf out brings spring into the picture,,Same with autumn crocus..In the 4 foot width this can soften that straight look dramatically,,Even if you choose to use just the plants you have listed if you interweave them you can accomplish this easily,,, Carpet roses are yes prickly but they also stay with in your height limits, some offer scent all offer nice continuous summer color.The light pinks look beautiful with the salvia and more so the cat mints.If those are your preference. Climbing vines like clematis make cool ground covers intermixed with shrubs,,We have honeysuckle splayed out here as well that brings in smell and just intermingles with the other plants,some people do not care for the look others love it,,,,Would that drop off area be a nice area for a vine to cascade down? Year round visuals are always important in this type of scale,, what about adding in some ground cover based evergreens or miniatures that would bring in color in the winter and spring??? This is where the grasses add so much dimension as well.They look wonderful brought forward as a specimen for fall, winter and spring interest. Water and mulching have not came up either,, assuming drip system under the mulch to address the individual plant needs..Since I do not live in Colorado, I am not sure about the full water usage during drought.. Not much help am I ,, Just keep tossing out more thoughts,, Skybird, LOL the Potentilla you see that up here in MT as well,,I have had some clients who pick it out of the commercial plantings where it was highly over used..When it gets that odd die out I have went in a few times and turned them into bonsai..They look nice that way in the right circumstances..Most of the time they get yanked..Spirea gets used a lot up here these days too and people forget to trim it back so it gets a ratty appearance they they want ti fixed ,, and have heart failure when I have went in and cut it down to 6 inches tall.. Steve your not out there with the annuals, I have had some clients whom enjoy the yearly process..Myself when I had my show gardens I put in a 4'x100' row of tall mixed Dahlias, cosmos,tapered down to dusty miller,, around my cul de sac for the summer visual, also made it okay to plow in the winter with out concerns of damaging anything.Annual impact and convenience if your raising your own is great,, My greenhouse is home to thousands of starts from seed and propagation ..I have to admit to raising quite a few for my containers.. But who can live with out annuals in their vege and herb gardens? We may have a few going out,,LOL,,Teaching the alternative gardening it is always a challenge for me to get men, especially ,to realize they need annual flowers in their gardens for many reasons,,They think they are all about fluff and don't look at the beneficial benefits,,So it is nice to see a man who can appreciate them Aloha, I am sure that which ever way you decide to go your gardens are going to be beautiful,, Mary

If you decide you're interested in the Trollius, many of the ones you'll find are yellow, but there are a few varieties that are a wonderful golden orange. 'Golden Queen' is one of them and I found a pretty good picture of it--but in real life I think it's a little bit orangier than this. Mine are just starting to bud now, and I can't wait to see them again! The flowers on Trollius are on thin stems that stand well above the foliage, but need no support. And here's a (cut/paste) link to a pretty good page of Bergenia pictures too. It has large, leathery leaves that are evergreen to semi-evergreen and often (depending on weather) turn a beautiful dark red in fall. Some people on GW seem to have trouble with them, but I kept mine wet all winter and they looked great all winter and are just finishing blooming. I do cut off any ratty (older) leaves every now and then to keep them looking their best. http://images.google.com/images?q=bergenia&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=20&sa=N I thought of a couple more too! Anemone sylvestris has 2" white anemone flowers that are also well above the foliage. It does well in sun or shade---mine are in shade. They will reseed all over, but they're easy to pull out or move if you want to. And they're great, long-lasting cut flowers. If deadheaded promptly (which helps prevent reseeding) they will usually re-bloom. And saxifrage (Saxifraga) is another good shade perennial and it will give you a thick mat of small (usually pink--comes in white to red) spring flowers. It's also evergreen. Also, the dark-leaved Heuchera's need to be in shade. They come in an amazing variety of leaf colors, but most of them have very small to insignificant flowers, so if that matters to you, be sure you check out what the flowers will be like before you decide on any of them. Heuchera sanguinea (regular green leaves and "real" coral bells flowers!) will also do well in quite a bit of shade. I have 'Firefly' which is one of the reddest ones and it's in sun now, but our Colorado sun is too hot and it's burning the leaves so I have to move it. If I think of any more, I'll be back! Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: Trollius 'Golden Queen'

Hi there- No worries Joan, I have sent it again ;*)- I am sending through your GW page- I do hope that is the right address?!? Have you checked your spam filter? Will it allow you to receive mail through GW? If you do not receive it this time I suggest you send an email to me through my GW page and I will reply back to you. Your email should accept a reply back from itself.... Sorry this info is not getting to you! I have received another envelope from Shadyside today! I have been a bit busy with seeds this morning... Probably will be an all day thing... I guess the chores will have to wait a bit (longer)!! We have a little something for everyone already- you guys are doing a great job with finding treasures for each other! Later- Julie