If we're talking about Hakuro as the above poster mentioned, it IS hardy to z4/5. I had one in Denver and have 3 now in MA. FAST growing, huge shrub! Early to leaf out here sometime in April. Not sure why she's bringing this in, lol. You have to give this room and keep it away from a house foundation....I bought three 2' high ones 3 yrs ago and finally pruned them down from over 9' tall this spring. To keep the variegation strong, it should be taken down late winter to about 2'.....regrowth is unbelievably fast. Also, severe pruning keeps it full and compact.

Excessive heat and/or sun can reduce the amount of variegation this shrub produces. As will pruning back during the growing season. A cooler, shadier location might encourage more intense new growth color and limit pruning to late winter or very early spring. FWIW, the heavy pink or white variegation doesn't last very long regardless. As the foliage matures during the growing season, it will become pretty much a solid green. It is only the newest growth that displays the most variegation.

green velvet boxwood evergreen, stay small patriot hosta will need to be kept well watered to look good in your amount of sun. peach drift rose Roses have issues with Japanese beetles and may have disease problems, so if you want low care, choose something else IME little henry sweetspire will stay around 2.5’, spring flowers and red fall color golden mop cyprus will eventually get to 5’ in all directions and IMO pruning doesn’t look good with these, so unless you want to widen the space you will need to replace eventually. pee wee oak leaf hydrangea 4’ in all directions, so too wide for a 3’ bed, spring flowers and great fall color panicled hydrangea this is just the species name, and this particular species has cultivars that range from about 4’ in all directions (Bobo) to over 15’. What cultivar is the nursery recommending? You would need to plant the smallest kind and have a slightly wider bed. Some have fall color, and bloom lasts for months, starting in summer. This area has sun from early morning until midday, and then bright light after that since it is only shaded by the house, so plants that will be happiest will be sun to part sun plants to, not shade plants. You really want to make your bed at least 2 feet deeper front to back as both GG48 and I have recommended It will be easier to choose plants and maintain the garden and will look far better than the current 3’ strip which only has room for a few shrub selections due to the narrowness. The shrubs won’t need frequent pruning and they won’t be growing against the porch and over the lawn, and the garden will look better balanced against the size of the house.

The same shrub you thought was weigela? You don't have to do anything to it if you don't want :-) The bottom growth will grow up and hide the bare 'legs' if you wish, eventualy making it more shrub-like than the tree form it is now. Or you can remove if you prefer for a tidier look.....it won't really affect the topgrowth much one way or the other. Personally, I'd allow the bottom to fill in, as that seems to have the best coloring/most intense variegation, which is what this shrub is known for. And I would encourage you to remove any plastic or landscape fabric surrounding these plants. The plastic will interfer with water penetration and oxygen exchange and can damage the soil and the plants it surrounds. And landscape fabric does not effectively stop weed growth and just creates more problems than it solves. Just use a good layer of mulch.