As far as "need color" how about a dwarf weigelia (or however you spell it) var. "Wine and Roses." I have seen dwarf varieties at the nurseries around here. A little smaller but gorgeous--Heuchera, i.e. "Coral Bells." That comes in many colorful leaf varieties, including red leafed. I have seen it get quite large in some landscaping situtations, so maybe there are larger varieties, so I would check the label or ask about that. I love Diablo ninebark, but that gets HUGE. Maybe they will come out with a dwarf variety of that. I have seen some mention if it, but never seen it in a nursery.

Ken, that is not a very large tree :-) Check the scale - it's growing in a bed of heather. The photo shows one about 3' tall at the most. FWIW, this is a dwarf conifer and only gets around 8' tall, maybe as much as 15' over a very long period of time. It is commonly sold in quite small starter sizes (quart size pots) for this exact purpose of container planting. And grown in a container it would take even longer (and with routine potting up) to ever achieve that projected mature size. It may be different in your neck of the woods but growing plants in containers - ALL kinds of plants - is a very common practice here. There are some who devote an entire business practice to container design.....and not just seasonal container design. Maybe it has to do with our rather urban setting and the fact that many folks don't have any land......or very much land.......in which to plant directly. Lots of condos, townhomes, zero lot line houses and even floating homes, all of which make inground gardening difficult, if not impossible. And contrary to what you might think - these plants thrive for many years under these conditions. I grow my entire collection of both conifers and Japanese maples in containers and have done so for years. The only consideration for long term container growth for any kind of hardy plant in my and cadence's location is the quality of the potting soil and attention to watering and routine fertilization. And the need for some rather infrequent root pruning. Expand your outlook and broaden your horizons :-) Not everyone gardens in acres of sandy Michigan prairie!!

I think fifteen feet is not too close for smaller trees. I bet your spot is mostly sun so that will present some difficulties as smaller trees are mostly understory types. The dogwoord, Cornus florida is the native but Cornus kousa is probably the easiest. There are 1010101 forms of japanese maple. Some get large enough they may reach out fifteen feet I suppose. Sun tolerance will be your biggest problem. I own a tree form of Service Berry. it flowers, has berries and good fall color. May rival the dogwoods if it proves easy to maintain. Redbud is abundant here. Kind of a one trick pony with a good flower display but limited fall color. I think the green heart shaped leaves interest ppl. Fifteen feet, huh. Man it is a fussy transplant but Nyssa syvatica is a sharp tree that usually is not huge in residential settings. Of all these the redbud grows the fastest. Fifteen feet.... I think you would be ok on anything with a projected thirty foot spread. Branches over your home are sorta old school in my opinion, A/C is reliable and somewhat inexpensive now so the risks and worry and maintenance of large trees on small lots seems 1950ish to me. Although I still admire a good brick home under its big oaks when I see one. If you can find a five foot tall tree in a couple gallon pot locally I think that would be your best bet for success, instant gratification and cost.

I have seen it in person. It isnt overly bright. However the cushions are not cheap and an investment that I am sure you would like to last several seasons. If you choose a color like that you are tied into it until you part with the cushions. By doing something more neutral, black, navy, black and white stripe, navy and white stripe, natural etc. it allows you to "change it up" from season to season with accents in the form of pillows etc. I find each spring when its time to bring out the outdoor pieces again I want something new and fresh. Replacing accent pieces is affordable and fun to do. Replacing investment pieces like cushions/cushion covers isn't doable for most of us on a seasonal basis. You could easily add that color as your accent with navy or black or natural. Next season you may want hot pink or yellow or red or green which all would be able to be added with navy black or neutral too.