In my experience Scottish moss cannot stand dry conditions. You say you planted it originally in a place where your native mosses grew but natives may be adapted to the alternating wet/dry conditions you seem to have there. Did you get more rain after you transplanted it? That could account for it's later success. Plus, your sunny areas will not receive as intense light as will those further south from you, therefore it might be ok (as you found out!) to plant shade lovers in sun there.

Gardening in general is a trial and error exercise. I've planted things in sun that are supposed to like shade and shade lovers in sun and had good luck sometimes. Of course, some don't make it even in so-called ideal conditions! The main thing is to have fun, be watchful, and be willing to move/change/dig out when things don't go as expected. It doesn't always work but we almost always learn something from the experience.

Hi Sandy,

Although I emphasized sunny location, I can assure you, that the weather is also quite dry here.
Our annual total precipitation (rain plus snow moisture content) is 332.7mm (13.1 inches).
10% less and we qualify as desert.
See http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?Province=BC%20%20&StationName=&SearchType=&LocateBy=Province&Proximity=25&ProximityFrom=City&StationNumber=&IDType=MSC&CityName=&ParkName=&LatitudeDegrees=&LatitudeMinutes=&LongitudeDegrees=&LongitudeMinutes=&NormalsClass=A&SelNormals=&StnId=1053&; for official data.

Sorry about that god awful URL. I tried to tinyurl it, but that is not permitted on this site.

We live about 30 miles north of the most northern tip of the Sonoran Desert.
If there is any reduced intensity of sunlight, which I doubt, it is compensated by longer daylight hours during summer.

Native vegetation includes such sun lovers as cacti, sagebrush, and even Antelope Brush (Greasewood).
The light intensity is certainly higher than in the Mid Atlantic Region, in which this site is centred.

Of course, in a semi-arid region, such as ours we have automatic sprinkler systems, which keep the soil moisture up,
but do very little to mitigate the dry air, by being active for 15 minutes or less every two days.

Best,
Olaf

I don't think this is the most appropriate forum for your question. We here on the East Coast don't know much about Sonoran desert conditions. Try posting in Perennials.