Forget the clethra!!! It needs loose moist soil to really thrive & having gardened in the Denver area...you'd have to work hard to get enough compost worked in your soil plus you'd have to provide extra water, probably weekly, to get clethra anifolia to flurish. The red twig dogwood or the variegated one are both good choices. There's also a yellow twig that is beautiful in the winter against the snow. The stems are bright yellow and stand out quite dramatically. They are also inexpensive, readily available, and require little to no maintenance other than annual thinning of 1/3 of the oldest stems to keep the shrub growing new colorful shoots. The stems begin to darken and loose their bright red or yellow coloring as they age...hence, the need to prune annually. Just cut out, at ground level, 1/3 of the stems taking the oldest first. Very good choice for your area. A 3 plant grouping of one of each type would be stunning in the winter & attractive all summer. I find the yellow twig blooms heavier than the red or variegated. Mine blooms in June and sets nice dark berries that the birds love.

I am very new at this so I am probably the blind trying to lead you. I have about 60 Encore Azaleas that I planted in 2008. The first thing that happened was that I did not know how to plant them and I told Garrisons in Shreveport where I bought them. I built a bed with the dirt above the ground level about 6" so they would drain well. I planted them in June, I think, another problem, it was late in the year. The soil that I used to build up the bed was mostly Red River sand, but after about a month they looked like they were dying. I went back to Garrisons and asked why they were dying and did not get much help. They continued to look bad so I went back and finally got a little late advise. They told me to dig one up and see if the root ball was dry or wet. They should have been more helpful when I first planted them at about $22.00 each, on sale because it was late in the year, that was over $1300.00. I had been watering them with a soaker hose and a garden hose. The root balls were dry as a bone. What had happened was that the dirt was plenty moist, but the water was not transferring form the surrounding dirt to the root ball. I started watering them right on top of the root ball and most of them came out of it and lived. I lost about 4 out of the 60. They would not replace the dead ones. So be sure that they get water right down into the root ball and that they are well drained. The next year I bought another 15 that were smaller ones and planted around the base of two big Oak trees. After about a year they were dying, it seems that they just could not get enough plant food competing with the Oak trees. I lost 4 of them and now have the rest in pots till I replant them this Spring. I wished that I had found the forum earlier or made my purchases from a nursery that was more helpful. I really like the Encore Azaleas because some of them always seem to be blooming. I am still having trouble with them, they just don't seem healthy, but I am learning. I have a link to some pictures of them. I hope this helps a little, but some one on here will give you the answers that you need. Here is a link that might be useful: Encore Azaleas

meslgh......... You have gotten advice from people local to you, so my two cents is of less value than what they have told you, but it may add a dimension you can use in your decision making. I live in a latitude further north than you and I live at a higher elevation, so even though we both live in zone 8a, the light is different up here than where you live. That's why the local advice is much better. Also, since I live in the mountains, my night temps cool off by 40 to 50 degrees and that gives the plants a chance to rehydrate themselves during the night ... pull moisture up from the root zone to the top growth. I don't know if that is true where you live. What I have learned about growing roses in an area of high heat (Heat zone 8), is that roses with thicker petal substance can handle more light and heat. Since I don't have any disease pressure once the day temps hit 85 degrees and stay there or higher, I prune for foliage. That means I don't take out anything that might produce foliage. The rose will abandon what it cannot use. I have found that the roses need as much foliage as possible to stimulate the plant to pull moisture up from the root zone. Once my roses have been in the ground for 3 to 4 years, they are much better at handling the light and the heat. I have some roses that only look wonderful in spring and fall and pretty lousy during the summer months. That's fine with me because I love the roses and I have enough other roses that do well in the summer months. My goal is not to strive for perfect blooms, but for a healthy plant. A healthy plant provides enough blooms to keep me happy. I hope this helps. Smiles, Lyn

Doesn't it depend on the type of hydrangea (paniculata vs macrophylla vs aborescens, etc.)? Have to say I'm fairly new to hydrangeas with only a couple of years of experience but I have 2 different panicle hydrangeas which seem to need a lot of sun to bloom well. I just purchased a macrophylla, which needs protection in my climate but is meant to do well in shade. I'll have to see what happens next year. I am guessing that lady in red is a macrophylla so that makes me a bit nervous for my chances of blooms as the spot I chose is very shady!