Maybe you could define - for yourself if for no one else - what "special" means to you. There are so many ways that shrubs can be special, especially from a close-up perspective. Let me give you an example. I know that I am a foliage gardener first, and I am also a plant minutiae gardener who likes to see things changing every day, and always having something to anticipate. For example, my favourite plants next to my front steps are Anemonopsis macrophylla, a perennial that takes months to form these little ball-shaped buds and then another eon to open them. Maybe I'm an easy mark, but I watch and enjoy that plant all spring and summer, same with a fern on the other side that unfurls huge fronds one at a time all summer. So for me, no matter how wonderful a flowering display might be (say, lilacs), the undistinguished foliage and (lack of) form of the plant makes it dull for me, especially because if something like that is next to the deck, by the time you can sit out there, there is nothing more to look forward to with it. It's done for the year. Your preferences may be totally different. You may be focussed on fragrance, or bloom colour (I go plant shopping with a friend who is into pastels. We never fight over a plant. If it's pink and fragrant she buys it, if it's orange and has great leaves, I do). Let me start by asking if your rhododendron diagnosis means no rhodos in that spot again? I fortunately haven't had to learn that. But if not by the deck, then perhaps in the other spot? There is a plethora of Rhodos with fabulous foliage and good form, but you have to hunt them down (such as the legendary Sir Charles Lemon that never blooms but with leaves like that, doesn't have to). I personally avoid the ones that turn into green blobs, have undistinguished foliage, and bloom in trusses (I'll flex on the last point to get the first two right). Now, here's the trick. If you know what you want, you may be able to get it from quite a common shrub. My little laugh at myself is that I have spent probably thousands on special shrubs (not kidding, I'm afraid), but of those that have survived, few have given me the enjoyment that a garden-variety blue hydrangea has - one left behind in a pot by the previous owner; I don't even know what it is. Similarly, because mock orange takes a long time to get its act together each year, I actually really enjoy it (and that might be good for the spot beside the deck but some do get huge... and maybe they can in that spot). I'm not going to check zones for you, but here are a couple of shrubs I have enjoyed that might work by your deck: Disanthus, Loropetalum fire dance, Fothergilla, and unlikely but true, Rose of Sharon/Hibiscus - in my case, Red Heart. Love the branch structure and grey trunk of my hibiscus. On that note, you might also consider one of the smaller special bark trees, like an Acer griseum or Japanese maple with the stripe bark attribute. Yes, the maples are OK in part sun/shade. And you probably can't grow Edgeworthia, but if you can.. Beside the deck too you might consider specialty conifers. Once you get into them, there are some to die for. Tougher to find one that would work in more shade. Of the shrubs mentioned so far, I have to say I was all excited about getting an Itea, but in real life: deadly boring. In particular, in my climate it needs good sun to get its famed fall colour. Kalmia too, I just couldn't get too excited about it. Final word, I promise: by the wall, anything deciduous will lean for the light. I would recommend evergreen for sure there - rhodo if you can. Alternative: put a big focal point container there with something in it that you like. Karin L

Kathleen is a Hybrid Musk famous for shade tolerance. I don't know where in New York yankeesrule (you have no idea how painful it is to type that ;p) lives, but assuming it's somewhere in the metro NYC area I would fear that Darlow's Enigma would come to be too large for the garden spot in mind. Olga (a mainstay on the Antique Rose forum) has posted pictures of hers. She lives in Maryland not too terribly far from DC, and hers reaches the second floor of her house. My impression therefore is that over time Darlow's Enigma becomes a massive beast.

That is a pretty much ideal location for the macs. Most north facing beds DO provide the preferred light conditions :-))

I just had time to check out your "Inferno Strip Garden," and I think you're going to like what you get! I absolutely LOVE Artemisia versicolor 'Seafoam'--it's the only Artemisia I grow right now. I've never seen mine bloom since I keep pinching it to keep it round and bushy, but Artemisia flowers are usually pretty ugly, so you may want to cut it back when it starts to bloom. And I'm absolutely certain you'll love the Callirhoe. Give it as much room as you can. It dies back to the center of the plant over winter, but it will spread out 3 or 4 feet in every direction over the growing season. It's great next to a wall or anywhere you may have for it to drape down over---or just spread out on the ground if not. I'd add some Russian sage (Perovskia) to the area--P. 'Longin' is the most upright one, and my favorite. It would go well with the others and blooms pretty long in mid-late summer. Also, to add a couple bright spots of yellow, consider some Achillea 'Moonshine' (bright yellow), or A. 'Anthea' (soft yellow). They, too, bloom for quite a while and you can leave the flowers dry on the plants for winter interest for as long as they look good. I checked out G. saundersii too, and it looks great. They're kind of pricey, but I just might have to try one! If Alcea rosea 'Nigra' is the hollyhock you're looking at, I'd be glad to send you some seed for a SASE. They're a beautiful dark, dark, dark red, and they're real pretty up close, but since they're so-o-o dark, they really don't show up much from a distance. Last fall I planted some other mixed colors near them for more of a display from the distance. They're getting close to blooming and I am anxiously waiting to see what colors they'll be. (The black ones are blooming already!) Still, in my opinion, they are not especially xeric---certainly not as much as perovskia, agastache, some of the penstemons, and artemisia. I could also send some Aquilegia chrysantha seed (a Colorado native). It's a VERY fragrant yellow columbine that comes true from seed. It will reseed easily in the garden and if you have room to let a large patch grow it will actually scent the whole area. Again, it's not considered especially xeric, but once it's well established I don't think it would need a lot of water. I don't think you'd be happy at all with creeping phlox planted in the cracks in your walk, and I think it would be far more difficult to try to grow in such a situation. If you decide to try some, I recommend putting it out in one of the main garden areas. Also, while it doesn't like to stay wet all the time, I've never know it to be considered xeric. If you do decide to grow some, I recommend you look for Phlox douglasii rather than the more standard P. subulata. It's a much more compact growing plant that requires less care. If you do get P. s., to stay looking good over the years it will need to be cut back severely--1/2 or more--after it blooms each year. Otherwise the individual stems can get long and really ratty looking after a couple years. If you let it grow without cutting it back until it gets ratty, it's very hard to cut it back far enough to get it looking good again without killing it. Salvia 'May Night' ('Mainacht') is a really good choice and I bet you'd love it. If you cut it back promptly when the first flowers start looking "tired," it will easily bloom a second time, and, depending on the summer, might bloom a third time if cut back promptly after the second bloom. Don't worry too much about what's going to look good with what when you're planning your garden! Remember that perennials bloom at different times, so they won't all be blooming at the same time. That's one of the wonderful things about a perennial garden---it's constantly changing. Pick whatever you like best. If you decide you don't like it next to something, you can always move it. That's also part of perennial gardening! Tulips and daffodils (and crocus, hyacinths and any of the other spring blooming bulbs) will be blooming when your perennials are just starting to come up. Also check out the ornamental grasses. They're wonderful for adding movement to the garden and the foliage and seedheads are usually left on all winter for winter interest. One of my favorites is Panicum 'Heavy Metal' (switch grass). It has steel blue foliage with delicate, airy seed heads. I also love the miscanthuses (sp???) (maiden grass) which come in heights from 3' to 6' or more and have beautiful arching foliage with tassel-like seedheads that look Egyptian to me! Just one more thing for you to consider! Happy gardening, Skybird P.S. If you'd like the seed, email me privately via GW and I'll send you my address.