They grow wild around our coasts and thrive on shingle beaches in very particular conditions. They are to be seen at the back of the beach where they have very fast drainage, they rarely get covered by the sea but are always at the mercy of salt spray. Were you hoping to grow it in your garden? I'm amazed to see it growing away from the sea.

Dcrosby, You may be right at the edge of zone 5/6. Check the map here. If you are still zone 5, you just need to do some winter protection. It should be fine. Climate affects disease susceptibility. In dryer, more arid climate like AZ or CA, they don't have to deal with fungal disease like we do here in humid East Coast. When you read people's recommendations, you want to see where they live. Different climate gives different results to the same rose variety. Spraying for roses every week or every two weeks is not my kind of fun (anymore). I didn't even want to smell the blooms after I sprayed the bushes. Now I don't spray, most of my roses esp. Austins look naked by mid summer. Here is a link that might be useful: MA new plant hardiness zone map

lol, this is not part of an assignment... and even if it was, I have compiled enough on my own to have more than enough ideas. This is a no-credit, online class that I am taking to learn new things. Just wondering what you've all had success with, I know many of you here are zone 5ers. Some of my ideas are: baptisia, ligularia, goatsbeard, turtlehead, japanese forest grass, angelina sedum, jack frost brunnera, phlox jeanna, new england aster, shade clematis, serviceberry, variegated dogwood, [more variegated foliage ideas?], willows, smokebush, [more dark purple shrub ideas?], evergreens with yellow shades in the fall, flowering small trees, hydrangea (lacecap variety), ninebark... I have MANY other plants I could add to this list but these are the ones that I have a particular fondness of that I do not yet have in my landscape. And I'm well aware not all of these will work together, really all I'm trying to do is get a list of plants I like, then go from there. camp - I appreciate your comments, I don't plan to use everyone's suggestions, this is really just a way for me to get more plant ideas on paper, I will do my own research and see if they would work in my landscape. If they will, I may use them, I may not - depends on how the whole thing looks together in my head. But here's this if it helps: I have 3/4 of an acre with sun/shade all over the map - dark shade, light shade, bright sun, part sun, etc... soil for the most part is clay but I have amended many planting areas with compost and will continue to amend and time goes on... I like a full look, cottage style I guess, informal. I am always in the garden so I don't mind having to trim things, deadhead, water, whatever. I realize my style is a little high maintenance but I am OK with that for now.

"The frost line here is 39", so it is unlikely that most of the plants are freezing that wouldn't otherwise in the ground." My area is colder than Chicago, and IME of spending time with a soil scientist digging holes all winter, the frost line for building, etc. isn't the depth things usually freeze. They may freeze that deep in places with no cover such as bare earth, or a plowed road, but in an area with any cover such as lawn or remnants of perennials or mulch or the normal duff of woods or snow, we never found anything frozen below about a foot, and a surprising number of the holes we dug only had light frost down to 6" or so. It was a real eye opener to me, and a good thing since digging through most of a foot of hard frozen ground was difficult enough without having to do 3'+! There may be some years where things freeze deeper, but in general that's not the case, so an uninsulated planter does freeze harder than the ground and being frozen solid will kill perennials, bulbs, and shrubs that would normally survive in the ground. I also haven't had Gaura survive the winter, and I know of one gardener in CT (zone 6) who has had it survive some years, but be killed off during other years.