Need some ideas from the pros

[Jamie Calloway]

So I am in need of some help. I have an area in front of the house that is about 6 feet front to back and about 20 feet long. Its basically two large beds in front of the house that butts up against the brick and splits the front door steps (it's a pretty big area). So when we moved here there were about 6 different kinds of hedges (holly, box wood etc) and they just didn't look good because they were all so diferent and were HUGE. So I cut them down and got rid of them. Now I am left with a big bare spot in front of the house that needs help desperatley. I thought about replanting some more hedges but my wife would like to have something with flowers on them. I recently bought 5 hydrangeas but they fried in the sun. This area gets a ton of sun at least 8 hours a day. I am in zone 8 and it is very hot here and we are known to go several weeks at a time with no rain.
I need a bushy plant that will have some flowers and green foilage. Also something that is very drought resistant and fairly easy to maintaine. I happend across the peony flower and it looks to be a contender. Anyone have any other ideas? I can post some pictures of needed.
Thanks

 

[Tech]

I prefer daylilies, has good bushy textures, comes in a verity of flower colors and can get cultivars that can bloom at almost any time of the year. pics would help. Just a heads up Peonies don't bloom long and often fall over making a mess unless you go with a tree variety.

 

[Becky]

Berberis or buddleja might do well there

 

[Jamie Calloway]

Here are some pictures of both side of the house. Getting rid of these previous hedges has turned out to be quite the chore. Somehow I have to get those stumps out of the ground.

 

[Becky]

When we were getting rid of laurel bushes in our garden we got a tool that really helped - it's basically a long, heavy metal pole with a sharp end, and you use it to cut off the roots. Takes a lot of elbow grease but worked really well and we haven't had any regrowth