Here are a few thoughts...

A cool plant to use, unless the location is shady, would be Physocarpus opulifolius, Ninebark. There's a variety called 'Diablo' that is often trained to a standard (tree-form). It has striking bronzy green foliage and umbels of white blooms about now. Ultimate size maybe 8 ft. Another cultivar is called 'Dart's Golden', which sports bright chartreuse foliage. I've only seen this available in shrub form.

Another good candidate is Swamp Dogwood, Cornus foemina. It also has umbels of creamy white blooms, which are followed by showy light blue berries on red stalks. This species gets 12-15 feet tall with a somewhat spreading crown.

Other shrubby moisture loving dogwoods that are quite handsome in the landscape are the "twig" dogwoods, usually Cornus sericea. There's one called 'Cardinal' with bright red winter branches. A variety called 'Bud's Yellow' has equally eye-catching yellow gold twigs. Both are large shrubs with an open, rounded shape and ascending branches.

A couple of evergreen options would be Yaupon, Ilex vomitoria, and Anise Tree, Illicium parviflorum. Both of these get maybe 15-20 feet at maturity.

Marty

Marty--thanks so much for the suggestions, I'll pass them along to my friend who was asking.

Jana