Hi. So I live in Vancouver Washington and I have this area in my front yard that I am removing the grass from because it just cannot seem to grow properly and I end up with a bunch of patches. This was unfortunately just done last year with new soil and sod. But the area is under a purple plum tree that looks like the picture most of the day. So it's dappled son to full shade.

This area is actually going to end up forming a yin yang symbol and that was completely done by accident but I'm super excited about it. Essentially I'm going to be either removing the grass or just covering it with cardboard to kill it. Then I will be putting mulch down to give it a bit of a darker color against the rocks in the front. I will be putting some sort of circle in the middle. Probably a rock formation to go with the theme.

However I would absolutely love to have some sort of flowering but evergreen ground cover that can handle this area. The area is slightly raised so it won't be sitting down in water all of the time. And it is fairly protected from the elements.
Looking at the picture in the direction that I took it I am facing East. So it gets Southern exposure in the winter.

But here's the kicker. This purple plum tree is probably about 24 years old. We planted it in the summer of 2001 when we built the house. It was about 4 ft tall then. As we know the purple plums really shouldn't live past about 20 years ish or so. It is definitely starting to show signs of decline. So I am anticipating having to remove the tree in the next couple of years. This will make the area get more sun however the neighbors evergreen trees do come over into our yard in that area (which I like) and I know that once I remove this tree it will definitely be more exposed. I plan on putting another tree on the other side of the yard however it will be a smaller tree so it won't have has much shade.

Thoughts?

Vinca minor is evergreen with purple flowers in spring. Some find it invasive. I do not. Mine is at foot of mature lilac with East sun.

Creeping raspberry is evergreen as well. I've never had mine bear fruit but it makes a nice low mat.

Kinnikinnik is native in the PNW, pink flowers, red berries, evergreen.

thanks for these suggestions, Deb! I've also been wondering about groundcovers.
My first PNW gardens are blooming now:




One is of part of my back garden, and the other is part of my side garden. Still lots to do, but will need to wait till spring when the ground is soft again. I did find a nice though small local nursery.

Strawberry Begonia (Saxifraga stolonifera)

I'm always a bit hesitant to buy ground covers after reading horror stories. This is nice for a shady area. Easy to pull and most nursery's have it in the spring. I'm up north other wise you could come get some.