I'm in zone 5 Ottawa,Canada. Zone 4 for you in the US. They used to say you couldn't grow J.maples around here. But for 20 years I always could, and have never lost any, except 2 variegated ones. I have about 25 varieties, a sort of J. maple forest in my back yard & I am running out of room. Good thing they are dwarf trees, unlike our native maples that grow to 50 ft. I wholesale them from (grown in)BC, zone 7-8. They do not loose hardiness by grafting and propagating in a milder climate. The hardiness is built into the plant. I will say that they can sometimes be slow to establish, and this is the important part. Any tree should be planted early and well cared for in the first season, so it is well established going into it's first winter. I don't believe in bare root trees doing well, too slow to establish, or over wintering in a pot. They should always be planted in the ground and well mulched. I do think they prefer a more acidic soil. Ours is neutral approx. 6-7ph, so I spread sulphur everywhere every couple of years to acidify a little.(I don't like pink hydrangeas, prefer blue) I saw a study once, out of U of Michigan I think, where when they tested plants, and they found that plants growing in acidic soil seemed a little hardier than the same plants growing in more alkaline soils. In the past I have used geo-textile fleece as a winter cover for the first few winters, but snow makes a great insulator as well. I get a bit of tip dieback sometimes, but it doesn't matter since they grow back very well, as if they were pruned. There is a sort of wilt going around in J. maples lately, others have noticed as well. It doesn't hurt the tree, it just attacks some of the newest growing tips as they are finished flushing out in summer....sort of self pruning. We regularly get to minus 22 celcius (-10 far.)here most winters, with minimal problems. Even with last winter, the worst in 20 yrs., there were no losses. The only damage I ever notice is the heavy snow pack in spring, will sometimes crack the weeping types as it weighs them down and melts. Variegated types do seem less hardy, possibly due to the fact that variegation is a mutation and therefore weaker. Red and green types are perfectly hardy. They all seem hardier as they get older. thanks, Rich

Three-Flowered Maple is an excellent small to mid-sized tree. Paperbark maple would be beautiful year-round. American Hornbeam is a great small tree with fall color and interesting winter form. The cultivar 'Native Flame' has a nice range of fall color. Magnolias like 'Leonard Messel' or 'Merill' are fantastic performers with outstanding blooms, foliage quality and yellow fall color. If going for the beech be sure there are others growing in your area- 5a is their limit and most cultivars will not make it below -20F. Northwind Maple is a Japanese x Korean cross that would be hardy enough for your area. Really great early leaf color and fall color. Royal Raindrops crabapple would give purple foliage color combined with nice flowers. Grows well even in quite harsh conditions. China Snow Pekin Lilac is another great small tree with flowers, bark, and decent yellow fall color. Would recommend it over regular Japanese Tree Lilac. Depending on the Birch you already have, Royal Frost & Dakota Pinnacle are also excellent selections with year-round interest. Lots of choices! And if you decide to go with a few conifers or even one your options expand greatly.

Well, it's a year and a half later, and we haven't gotten very far. Granted, we gutted and remodeled our kitchen and removed out chimney between July and Dec 2018, and that was all-consuming, including months of planning leading up to July. We have a Fireglow on order to plant in the area I indicated just to the left and forward of the larger bed, but that's it. I can figure out what to do with the larger bed from your input above, but I just cannot figure out what to do in the small space to the right of the steps. The space is about 4' wide 8' deep, and I know I want something in the back that grows to about 4-6 feet tall and likes partial sun, and it has to be a bold color to stand out from the gray. Unfortunately, I am not fond of most evergreens, so the most appropriate options (such as the dwarf alberta spruce) for this space don't work for me. After reading and looking at countless pictures and not finding anything that I like and is workable, I am now wondering about either doing a trellis with something trained on it or planting something that reaches ~2' in a tall urn. What do you think? any other ideas?

Thanks, Sherry. It was in the front garden of a neighbor. I had to look up "penta" as I'venot heard of it. We are in Zone 5a New England. She might have a tropical plant (Penta) that she put outside for the summer, although any of the Penta plants shown online don't look familiar to me. There are deciduous trees and some evergreens. Around that garden area she grows TB iris, dianthus, peonies, bee balm (Monarda), saponaria, creeping phlox, morning glory, clematis, Russian comfrey, hosta, butterfly weed, rose of Sharon, rhododendron and azalea, dahlias. What are their native host plants. Don't bother, I will look it up. Thanks you very much. Yes, there is a critter (name) in the pupa. It moves. Yesterday afternoon, while raking our lawn, I spotted an interesting large hairy catarpillar a second interesting moth catarpillar. Dark brown-black hair, like a fat wooly bear cat, and when it curled up, I could see dark red (like red rubber) bands between each hairy segment. I have seen that type of cat before, but cannot recall its name. It was right on the grass where it could easily have been stepped on or eaten. I'll see if I can find a photo. ETA: Found it: http://www.pbase.com/image/29783694 Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar. ETA#2: Lots of info and photos at link below: http://www.animalspot.net/giant-leopard-moth.html What a strikingly beautiful moth!