Best ground cover for west spokane, wa area.?

Question

have a new home going in on 35 acres, with about a 200 yard driveway, which winds it's way to the house. the soil is a uhlig or cheney silt loam. (very powdery when dry and disturbed, but settles and firms quite a bit with moisture).

I'm looking for something to plant on about 1/5 acres of bermed up area along the driveway... not a lawn necessarily, but something drought and cold resistant.

We get about 20'ish inches of rain a year, and winter lows below zero, tho not for extended times.

The summers can be hot (100) typically in the 80's to mid 90's.

Don't want to water this stuff every other day, and would rather have something growing un-checked than a mowed carpet.

Any recommendations for something hardy, unique and functional would be great!

P.S.
Bunch grasses are common to the area.

Answer 1

If you're looking for true groundcover, you might try Chameleon Plant ... an interesting foliage plant:
http://henryfields.com/product.asp?pn=11050

If you're looking for something in the flower family ... a bit taller than groundcover, daylilies are quite hardy and come in a variety of colors and flower shapes:
http://www.gardening-quick-n-easy.com/daylily_flower_types.html

Or you might want to try any of the variety of Echinacea now available, maybe even mix 'n match some:
http://www.waysidegardens.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&SearchText=echinacea&mainPage=textsearchresults&RequestType=NewRequest&go.x=13&go.y=10

*~ Good luck 'n Enjoy ~*

Answer 2

My first thought was ferns. Maybe not what you want.

Carpet bugle is nice. Stays low and has nice spikes of blue flowers.

Prostrate rosmary needs almost no care. And you can use it in the kitchen. Makes a nice lumpy looking sea of green.

Bunch grasses can be a pain. Becareful which ones you use if you go that way.
Red fescus covers nicely, and isn't a bunch grass tho. It only grows about 8-12 inches tall and has a soft fine visual texture.

Hostas might work for you, if you have tree cover.

Be sure to break it up into many different parts. A long stretch of the same plant gets old really fast.
Some low shrubs like huckleberries or snowberry or ferns. some verticle interest. Then blogs of color like varigated sages, or lavendar, maybe other herbs.

Its like impossible to give good ideas with out seeing the place. Have fun experimenting. Move things around. Set them out in post for a while and see how it looks.

Maybe some vinca? It does get expansive though. Other vines might work too. But don'tlant Hedera (English Ivy) its invasive and ....I think ugly.