I have an area in front of my house that is surrounded by driveway, so any plant would be confined no matter how invasive it is. Right now it is full of lilies of the valley, which are certainly invasive but they don't like it there and get ratty looking by mid-summer.
So I'm looking for suggestions. Something different, interesting and bullet-proof, requiring zero maintenance once established. Won't be walked on much by people, but dogs will use the area. It's raised and steeply sloped so not easy to mow.
The area is 20 ft by 10 feet, east facing, partial sun, lots of water off a porch roof. Zone 5 (Eastern Ontario). Sandy, well drained soil.
I saw a type of bamboo grass on a PBS gardening show, which is the kind of thing that might work. It looked quite attractive.
Any ideas?