I live in Maine (USDA hardiness zone 5). My lawn has a 5-10' deep mostly-dead area along most of the curb. It stretches maybe 50 or 60 feet. Last year I attempted to get grass to grow there without much success. I'm interested in alternative ideas.

The area gets a lot of salt and sand during the winter as the plows pile snow upon it, and after the snow melts I need to rake the sand back down onto the road (the town eventually sweeps the streets). It's on the south side and is in full sun.

Any suggestions for plants that can take a beating like that and come back happily year after year? I have some hostas around that seem pretty durable. Daylilies? Ideally, something that looks nice that I don't have to put in a lot of work to make it grow (though I don't mind some maintenance.