Physocarpus blooms are creamy white and the foliage of some of the new varieties, 'Diablo', 'Summer Wine', is a stunning purple. Of viburnums, probably the most beautiful are the doublefile viburnums,'Shasta' or 'Mariesii'. They get about 6-7 feet tall but twice as wide. If you want berries as well as flowers, try V. dilatatums. Get two of one cultivar, say 'Cardinal Candy' and one of a pollinator, say 'Michael Dodge (yellow berries) or 'Erie'. Another good combo might be two V. 'Allegheny' (semi evergreen) and one 'Mohican'.

You're probably pretty similar if you're only a block off the water. The bottom of my garden is on the Sound. At times we have a 12 degree temperature difference from here to town, which is a 10 minute drive and only a couple miles at most from the water. We're cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter here. That and my east facing sheltered garden with the terrace walls that retain heat are why I estimate my garden to be zone 9.

Kitasei, choice of the particular paniculata or other shrub is as important as the clematis choice, so be sure to choose one with rigid enough branches. I typically plant them both at the same time or sometimes the shrub first, and I typically plant the clematis just about at the expected mature drip line. I give the clematis a short trellis (3’-5’) to start growing up since lower branches don’t need to be pulled lower, and then let the clematis wander over into the shrub. For the clematis suggestions, I try to find one that matches the vigor of the shrub and try to avoid really robust clematis like Betty Corning that would bury most shrubs. If there is a longer internode between sets of leaves so the vine isn’t as dense, that is another plus Right now I have: - Mikelite growing into both a Fothergilla and a wild type elderberry, Sambucus canadensis - Guernsey Cream growing into a nonsuckering type of lilac, Syringa x prestoniae'Donald Wyman'. - Little Bas (an all time favorite) growing into two different kinds of panicled hydrangea, Quickfire and White Diamond. -Romantica is growing into Fothergilla I will rummage around and see what else I have where If I can find ID. Little Bas into Quickfire here and above I can’t remember which this is growing into the elderberries This is some combo of Mikelite and Romantica, which tend to mingle a bit. Sorry it and some others will be sideways. I think that this is Giselle in the Fothergilla.

To be a bit pedantic, the Aralia Sun King is actually a shrub-sized perennial. It will die back to the ground when the growing season ends, but it is a large, dramatic presence during the growing season. I have a friend whose Sun King overtops her 6’ tall husband. To be honest, to make any useful suggestion I would want to see photos of a larger area and how this fits with the rest of the house and yard. You say it is not visible from your back porch, but is it visible from the street, the neighbors, a window in the house, etc? Do you want interest year round or are you Ok with die back perennials so nothing is there late fall, winter, and early spring? Will you be diigging in the bed annually to add or remove hostas? What does z 5 NW mean? z5 tells us your general winter coldest temperatures, but a better location will give us better info on soil pH and moisture and you are likely to get more useful suggestions.