Re: the bamboo - we put one in a large pot which was also lifted by building blocks. The roots came out the bottom and were snaking their way across the area to a water supply - Bad idea! Penny

I have 2 pots with Japanese Maples in them. Yes, they are deciduous, but the form of the trunk and branches in the wintertime is very attractive. If you go this route, make sure it is a small-growing variety. One of ours has been in a pot for 20 years and is about 8 feet tall. We hang suet feeders on its branches in the wintertime and attract lots of birds.

There are some nice Catalpa trees in the Portland metro area as well as Milwaukie. they are pretty, but you do have to re shape them every few years or the limbs sort of self prune from the weight of the leaves. They are really nice old trees and you can shape them to some extent. Be prepared to have to prune extensively every other year or so. The "Hazelnut" or Filbert, to this 3rd generation Oregonian has some draw backs as well. It is not a tree that makes a long standard trunk, then branches out, rather the crotch of the tree is naturally about 3 ft off the grond frequently. You may find some that are more to a taller standard, but they tend to limb out wide and low. this makes them good for a kids fort, or an orchard, but not tall and narrow, unless you can train up a "sucker" which will shoot up tall and straight off the base of the trunk. These are usually not seen as desirable, and removed, how ever, if one does "get away from you" they tend to be taller than the parent tree. these trees must be trimed, suckers cut, sprayed for bugs, unless you never intend to eat the nuts, but leave them all for the birds, and I am not sure if you can find anything in an organic for this. It is a beautifull tree, but I doubt its what you want. Elderberry trees that are nice, but so far the crab apple seems like it might be your best bet. you can get a dwarf, and that will help some.

I live in zone 5, Maine. I'm focusing on flowering native shrubs: Kalmia (Mt. Laurel), native evergreen rhodos, and blueberries. Possibles on my list are a dwarf redbud or a dogwood, clethra Ruby spice and Baptisia. The garden that came with the house has a bunch of lilacs and hydrangeas, a magnificent magnolia and a lovely crabapple. Many of those should work for Colorado and many Maine natives will also be native in CO. You want to check your soil type. When I moved, it wasn't a huge difference of climate, but the soil changed from damp, alkaline clay to acidic soil that is very fast draining. That's one reason for choosing natives --- they are probably going to like your soil. I had to change some of my gardening practices, too. If you make a big move (mine was from a different continent) you discover that many gardening "facts" are actually rules of thumb that work for the climate and soil where they originated and often explanations are based on that. I tried to grow spinach, always called a cool weather crop that bolts in summer heat, outside of Moscow, where the summers were cool. It barely grew and then bolted overnight. It turns out that it bolts when the days get long and so far north, the days got long too quickly.