I don't think pachysandra looks silly in large patches..quite the opposite! You could do a large bed of it with a nice curvy line and break it up with some shade liking flowering shrubs(rhodos, azaleas?)

{{gwi:41284}}

This thread has a couple of photos of large pachysandra beds (photos 3 and 4), to show you what a whole swath of it looks like:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/design/msg0622070519667.html?20

Rather than make a long hedge of hydrangeas, I'd use various shrubs: seven hydrangeas here, five viburnums farther long the fence, three mountain laurel, then five hydrangeas, etc. Every so often, I'd add a shorter shrub (or one of the same kind) in front of the row along the fence. That way it would look more natural and less like a hedge. YMMV.

I'm not a hosta fan, but I inherited 30+ from the previous owner: a long row running around two sides of the house. I was able to give most of them away, but the three remaining keep having babies.... Anyway, if you want inexpensive hostas, you might try Craigslist, Freecycle, local garden club sales, your County Extension people, the GW Hosta forum, and your local GW forum. Or buy a few, let them set seed, and after two or three years you'll have plenty -- at least, that's been my experience, and I'm not even trying to grow more.

I made a quick photoshop, it's not supposed to be any kind of professional design(LOL!) but maybe gives some idea?

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii194/temes1/hhhhhhhh.jpg

Hardy ferns. Autumn, Japanese Painted, Christmas, Cinnamon, Lady Fern, Marginal Wood Fern, Tassel Fern- all should be hardy in your zone, and some are evergreen.

If going with ferns, I would HIGHLY recommend ostrich ferns. They have the potential to reach 4/5' tall, reproduce themselves copiously, and generally do well in NEOhio. They require a little water in the hottest parts of the day, but nonetheless. They will provide a cool, breezy feeling anywhere.

Pachysandra would look lovely. Nothing wrong with a big patch of pachysandra as long as you keep it in bounds. It will want to take over, but as long as you keep it in the beds you make for it, it can look very nice.

I have found that coral bells do nicely in somewhat dry shade. You could try a few of those in the bed. Some nice variations (lime green, dark red) exist and combined would look great.

Wow--temes that is impressive! Very cool to see what the pach. would look like.... I like it! Thanks again everyone for the ideas

If you need more sun, just prune the magnolias up a bit.