If you have a lot of sun, you could look at daylillies, lavender cotton, or mondo grass. For shade, try periwinkle, creeping liriope, or wild ginger.

Make sure if they have rot to take them off the property or burn them. Check to see if an thing else has rot before you plant new. Azaleas are nice this time of year. They are easy maintenance and need acidic soil. Some hostas are low like the junipers but are perennials, Generally your going to need to access the soil, amount of sun and how much you want to spend. NC Sate puts out some great info, http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/...