I planted Endless Summer hydrangeas in my front bed, I've never had any hydraengas before and don't have any experience but it said 4-5 ft tall, which is what I wanted. They get leggy, I think, so I planted a boxwood hedge in front of them. I also planted around the other side dwarf crape myrtles, three rhodies and a larger limelight hydrangea. Time will tell how they all grow together and how large they get. So far the rhodies are the happiest.

blue velvet: thank you for your feedback. It sounds like an interesting grouping. We wanted to put in a crape myrtle here, but we were told it would not survive the winter. *sigh*

You didn't mention amount of sun/shade the area gets during the day, but most azaleas and small-leaf rhododendrons will grow with full sun if kept well-watered.
Here are two links from the American Rhododendron Society web-site. Since I can only add one "live" link I have just listed the second link.
The lists give plants that will survive Zone 5 weather and expected size in 10 years.

http://www.rhododendron.org/alphalist.asp?Hardy=-15&Genus=R

Here is a link that might be useful: Hardy Azaleas

cdjr: Oh, sorry about that. It sits in the shade for most of the day because of the house. It is also on the northeast side of the house, so the light that it does get is mostly in the morning.

I've enclosed an updated picture of how the planting site looks now.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:275788}}

I got the crape myrtles with a guarantee. If they don't survive I get my money back. I figured with the climate changes I'll be in zone 6 someday :~) Perhaps I can baby them along until then.
Most of the shrubs I got are things I've never tried before. I've never actually purchased and planted any shrub other than boxwood, lilacs and roses before. I also always had a house that came with something and never had to start completely over.
After this experience I feel like I need to go to some kind of support group... Hi my name is Sylvia and I am addicted to shrubs :~/

Welcome to the club, Silvia :-)

Swanoir, I don't know much more about rhodos than that there is one for every situation, guaranteed, so if that's what you want, I'd bet that you can find it.

Other than that, height is what you make it in many cases, and even things that have an appropriate 10-year size will eventually be too tall, so most things you can just plan to prune. So some things you might consider (and consider that I am a few zones up, so forgive my laziness as I didn't check these for zone)... Ilex 'Mariesii' has beeyouteeful foliage close up, nice for a door-side planting. Enkianthus or Kalmia - don't know if hardy for you. If you like berries, Cotoneaster, Ruscus, or Pyracantha. Or Viburnum, come to think of it; in that family too there is one for every need. My favourite hydrangea is aspera, but may be too inclined to grow tall (seems to flower on new shoots off old wood, not new shoots from base). Choisya? Nandina?

Or... how about ferns?

Sylvia: that reminds me of a Monty Python skit were they are all sitting around shaking there heads as they are speaking about one of their aunties. "We thought she was doing ok with the crocheting, but soon one ball of yarn wasn't enough. She was going through 3 or 4 balls in a day. And then she started talking about doing... you know... knitting." :-)

Hi karinl: thank you for all your wonderful suggestions. We have considered some, like the Pyracantha, Hydrangea, and the Viburnum but they do grow too tall and would cover up the rockery. I will look into your other suggestions. It is interesting that you mentioned the rhodos, since we are following up on the azaleas that cdjr mentioned, and they may work.

It would be good to know what part of the country you're in and what type of soil you have (pH and texture) to get really good suggestions. I live in the NE where I have loamy, acid soil, so my suggestions will be best if you have acid soil. Heaths and heathers are great 4 season plants - you can get different ones that flower here in NH from when there is still snow on the ground right through until until late fall in shades of white, pink, purple, and red. They have small foliage, somewhat like junipers, and they come in many colors from silvery to dark green to golds and red. Several of them change foliage color as cold weather arreves. However, they wouldn't be happy in many areas of the southeast where there is a long season of heat and humidity. Once established, they don't mind dryish conditions, though they need regular water the first year. Rockspray Nursery in MA is a good source.

Another plant to look into if you like rhodies is PJM Checkmate. It has the same bright pinky purple flowers as the regular PJMs but is very short - at 2 years, mine is only about 1 1/2 feet tall and it's supposed to top out at about 3 feet. It has smallish, olive green leaves that turn at least partly darker reddish in the cold weather.

There are some dwarf or low-growing spireas. Also, bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) grows about a foot high, Deutzia gracilis 'Nikko' tops off at about 2 1/2 feet and has white spring flowers, and there are some 1-3' Forsythisas that might be hardy enough to bloom in your area. Dwarf Leucothoe (L. fontanesiana 'Nana') might be small enough for your purposes and has evergreen leaves and white flowers. Vaccinium angustifolium (low bush blueberry) has reddish new growth, white spring flowers, scarlet fall color, and of course blueberries. It's about 2' tall. One of the maroon foliaged Weigelas, either midnight wine or wine & roses, is short and has pink flowers. There are also miniature and groundcover roses, and you could ask for info on the rose forum.

If you want acid loving plants and are in an alkaline soil area, you can dig out your soil and replace it a couple feet deep with an acid soil mix - look on the azalea and rhody forum for suggestions. You'd need to water with rain water, though since your goundwater would be basic along with the soil.

Also, you may want to look into perennials and ornamental grasses.

nhbabs: Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to share all this with me. We are in Central WA state, which is rather a high plains desert evironment. The natural soil is more alkaline and more clay than sand. But since we just finished building a house on the site, we brought in topsoil and it was spread to a depth of between 8" - 12", so it is more loomy than it was. The natural soil is moderately rocky, but the good news is that it drains well.

We were told by our landscaper that the soil could support more acid loving plants like azaleas if we simply use a rhody type fertilizer. I was a little skeptical but then I remembered that they guarantee all the plants they put in and will replace them if they fail. So I had more faith in what he was saying after that.

Kind of a plain old plant but Potentilla cutlivars should do just fine there. They don't mind a little extra water if the drainage is good. I don't understand why you would rule out a truly dwarf conifer based on fire concerns? I can't imagine a Little Gem Spruce making much much more of a of a fire than a crepe myrtle. Or maybe a Hetz Midget Arborvitae? Best of luck with the new planting.

Ernie

erniew: perhaps you are correct about the dwarf conifer and I am being overly protective. Thank you for your feedback.

Your suggestion about Potentilla is spot on, since we do have three of those on the west side of the front planting area. After considering all our options, we went with azaleas.

Demand is great for dwarf flowering plants, shrubs or otherwise. New ones continue to come out as industry tries to respond to market. Visit an independent garden center and see what they have. If most are pretty much emptied out by now in your zone, look at web sites and catalogs of mailorder nurseries.

With shrubs in particular colored foliage forms are being used to try and meet the desire for months of color on a small round bush. Yellowleaf and variegated forms of Japanese spiraea, yellowleaf and purpleleaf forms of Japanese barberry highly prevalent. Multiple cultivars of both dwarf yellowleaf and dwarf purpleleaf barberry on the market at present.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lake County Nursery New Plant Home Page