Although this is totally out of my zone and, as I've confessed elsewhere, not my favourite activity (so take for what it's worth!) I'll give you a couple of pieces of feedback.

First, I think you have a selection of shrubs that doesn't quite match your conditions. Seems to me you were looking in the "shrubs for sun" part of the nursery. East is a good exposure, you can grow a lot there and it can be pretty sunny, but when you start veering north and want a black-leaved sambucus and weigelas that will actually bloom... you're not going to get the results you want. The hydrangea will probably work in the north exposure.

Second, even in a wider bed, deciduous shrubs may tend to grow leaning away from the house. I know this is an issue I've mentioned before, and that's based on years of aggravating experience. Physocarpus diabolo won't be too bad, as it grows so vigorously in every direction (I used to have it up against the house, south facing, and it did grow up but also quite rapidly out). That said, 7 feet is a lot more room than I had for it, and I would have been fine with 7 feet. It can be pruned, and even if it does outgrow the spot, you'll have the fun of replacing it. No planting has an eternal lifespan.

Third, you're OK with mostly sticks in winter, perhaps as they'll be covered with snow?

Fourth, dogwood, weigela, boxwood, roses, viburnum... not a lot of foliage variety. The coloured shrubs will be needed for punch, and hopefully these plants will have some shape to make up for their dull foliage (*that's an opinion... ). Have you considered Japanese maples, if they will grow in your zone? Many of the coloured varieties will perform well even with an eastern exposure.

Finally, why dwarf varieties? How big is your house; how long is this bed? Regular varieties don't get that impossibly big, especially if you prune them, and if you have a big house you may need the normal scale.

KarinL
PS thanks for your nice comment in the other thread :-)

A picture or two of the house and bed would be useful for context...

I assume the hydrangeas would be for the north side and the other stuff for the sunny/east side? I have Little Lamb and like it. It turns quite pink by October - the first year it was a sort of muddy pink and I didn't like it but last year it was a more intense clearer pink and quite nice. I'm not sure if the difference was due to age or weather conditions - last year was quite damp but the previous year was dry. So we'll see what it's like this fall with our cool, fairly moist summer this year. I have it planted with White Dome and White Moth hydrangeas and I like the combination of the three together. They are all 'new wood' bloomers so winterkill is not an issue. They are all long blooming too so there is flowers from July into October.

I tried Black Lace once - for me it was a floppy mess and got yanked the following year after planting.

I'm not as bothered as Karin by the lack of foliage variety - if you organize it. I tend to like strongly monochrome type plantings so I could see organizing things by having the north side a white-flowering hydrangea bed (I have that on the north side of my garage!) with the east side dominated by the purple-leafed shrubs and compatable companions.

As for winter interest, I'm assuming that the boxwood is meant to provide a bit of relief for anyone bothered by the bare sticks :-)

Is the emphasis on dwarf due to a concern about the 'normal' sized ones getting too big? I can understand that because at our previous house the dwarf mugo pine that came with the house certainly ended up getting way too big - even with pruning the candles - by the time we moved on. But that was 13 years later so I guess that is to be expected - 'dwarf' is always a relative term! Mockorange is cetainly a fairly big monster (ask me how I know! :- ) if you get the regular one.

Barberries aren't evergreen around here... I've avoided them because of the thorns but I've certainly seen some nice ones, especially the dark-leafed ones so I could see fitting barberries into a purple shrub collection.

Viburnums are nice and lots of choices with fall color and winter color with fruit etc. Are viburnum beetles a problem there?

It sounds like you're putting a lot of thought into it. That's always good.

Thanks for the feedback!

I think I may be thinking too much about this. After all, I can always rip a shrub out and replace, right?

Obviously, Im new to all of this. My gardening experience is limited to an 18- by 18-foot cottagey-style mixed bed that is in its third summer.

Yes, I was looking at the "shrubs for sun" selection. I will have to check the exact timing, but I would guess that the eastern portion gets sun from sunrise to about 1 p.m. and the northern side from sunrise to about 10 a.m. Also, the sun is intense here because weÂre at 6,000 feet or so. Perhaps I should look more into the shade-tolerant choices though.

I will keep in mind the tendency to grow away from the house. Although it makes perfect sense, I hadnÂt thought about it much before.

I am mostly OK with mostly sticks in winter. I am willing to forego winter interest for spring and summer flowering in the case of the hydrangeas and weigela. I was hoping that viburnum might offer some fall interest and possibly berries for early winter. I just donÂt care that much for evergreens I guess. Ideally IÂd love a layered look with evergreens at the back of a bed, but I donÂt think weÂve got the space for that. Plus, there's no unsightly foundation that I need to cover up. I love the look of dogwood in the winter, so IÂm willing to have a plain old green blob the rest of the year.

I was hoping that perhaps I could get three to four seasons of interest: Virburnum and weigela for spring flowers, hydrangea and roses for summer flowers, color-changing leaves and hydrangea blooms for winter, red dogwood twigs and boxwood for winter. Berries in winter or fall would be a plus to the viburnums. I decided I disike the thorns of barberries as well. I dislike holly for the same unfriendliness.

Hmmm. I never thought about the foliage not being varied. I LOVE Japanese maples. I tried to plant one two years ago and it did not last. IÂm not sure if it was due to my inexperience or not. However, we do get pretty nasty winds that IÂve heard can be difficult on them, especially in the winter. I guess my desire for the Black Lace Elderberry is because it is as close as I thought I could get to a Japanese maple.

Finally, I guess I was focused on dwarf varieties because
1. IÂm terribly afraid of planting anything that will outgrow the space and require tons of work. Also terrified that anything I plant could hurt the house.
2. I guess I thought if I used smaller shrubs, I could use more of them and get a more layered effect. I really know very little about foundation planting design, so I may be way off base.

As a little more background, the house is a two-story stucco house, about 2,000 square feet. The eastern-facing portion of the bed is about 14 feet or so long and 5 feet deep. ItÂs also mostly stuck between the house and a paver patio. The northern-facing space is also about 14 feet long and varies in width from 4 feet to 7 1/5 feet.
IÂll try to get a photo or two on here. Maybe that would help. IÂd like to try to photoshop things in to see what they look like, but I havenÂt gotten around to it.

Are there any good websites out there that discuss foundation planting styles?

Thanks! And sorry again for being so long-winded. I'm really interested in design and gardening though, so I'm having fun learning!