possibly nandina domestica for zone 6. they do well for me in dry shade; very tough plants for sun or shade producing red berries that hang around all winter in my area (birds do not seem to prefer them over other foods). they can be pruned into forms of either tall canes or low and full.

I've seen a soldier garden. It is about to come down. At a local trailer court in town, somebody planted a row of fir trees behind each row of trailers back in the 60's. They are quite large and lovely now. They are in front of the majestic canyon view now. Yellowstone Club bought up the trailer court, booted out the tenants. They got paid three-fourths of the commercial value of their trailers or less. The alternative was nothing. There was almost nowhere for these trailers to go. These doggone trees are in the way of the mansions and the view. There are so many of these rows of trees that when they go, I suspect it will change the climate of the town. My favorite soldier garden is a wheat field. "How I love to listen to the wind in the wheat." Like the little Prince, I've got a little rose in a pot, Madame Isaac Perriere. I never liked the color in the picture, but she came very well recommended. So I got one. She is the lady of roses, I think. She sits on the porch, looking at the ash-leaf spirea sticks, wondering. My ten hydrangeas which are supposed to live through the winter and bloom on old and new wood which are an Endless Summer clone for three bucks apiece (David or Donald Wyman, I think they're called) are coming in the mail today. They are going to be a border along the path which runs by the front of the house after I get it fixed up with my fossil stones. What I'd love is Austrian Copper to make the purple, and white hydrangeas pop but it would never bloom at the same time. I I am pretty sure they will be purple because the PH of my soil is neutral. I hope I can get it done before I get sick from the smoke. Takes about two weeks to get sick from the smoke. The smoke is not as bad as it can get. You cannot see the mountains at all, but the streetlights are not coming on in the middle of the day. The Forest Service is in desperate straits. The local editor pointed out that they cut this year's budget to pay for last year's fires. Last year, fires consumed 45% of their budget. They end up letting it burn until somebody in D.C. is convinced that no rain is coming. Some fires are being "Event-managed." That means rain. If you have a big pickup and nothing to do, you can get $25 per hour, plus mileage, plus a rental fee for your truck ferrying supplies to the Wicked Creek firefighters. If you have fire-fighting experience and can prove it, you can get $50 per hour. Yeah, the possibilities of chaos. I like the ring of that, too.

I planted three 'Little Henry' Sweetspires in a dry shade area, last year, and this year they've come up quite well. It's more of a dappled shade under a River birch, and I watered them deeply when they were planted, but this year I've just let nature take its course. They flower in unique catepiller-like blooms that smell very nice, and in the fall they take on the red hues of a burning bush. The flowering and fall foliage may be more dramatic if given more light, however... I was also recommended a small shrub with the variety name 'Monet' by some nursery workers, but I don't recall what plant it was specifically. It had unique cream and blush-colored variegated foliage.

Loropetalum is a beautiful shrub that has fringe-like flowers that appear during the spring and summer. Loropetalum commonly have purple/green foliage with pink fringe-like flowers (visually interesting), but some species are more green than purple and some have white flowers. It just depends on what you are looking for! Very cold hardy (I think most are tolerant to temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit) and heat tolerant. You would have to keep it trimmed for sure, but it would look beautiful :)