You're welcome, Anne.
After taking the opportunity to read a bit more about your climate, I had a question relating to your moisture control issue; what time of year did you plant? It looks to me like early autumn would probably be the best time to get natural plantings of new perennials established, and late spring might be the most difficult since it's coupled with rising temperatures and far less rainfall.
Vancouver sounds like a wonderful place to be, and an average of 218 growing-season days sounds divine! Ours levels out at a mere 144.
If you have any pictures of the area from last year, we'd love to see them. Perhaps we could add a bit more advantageous info once we see the space.
