The above is a very nice suggestion for winter interest........however, you may want to be aware that the summer appearance of these shrub dogwoods is rather underwhelming. In fact, of all the shrub dogwoods, these in full leaf are rather blah looking, if not downright dumpy. But they do make up for it in winter :-)

Another possibility is contorted filbert, Harry Lauder's walking stick. Produces gnarly, contorted branching that is very attractive in winter as well as long fuzzy catkins. Photo link. Has somewhat interesting contorted/curled foliage in season and there is also a red leafed form, 'Red Majestic', that also produces red tinted catkins.

The two filbert cultivars mentioned appear to be prone to Eastern filbert blight, with this making its assumed presence known on these via evenly scattered dead branches and branch cankers - something I am seeing on previously unaffected specimens this summer.

Another thing I am seeing this summer is ample fruiting of some examples of the red forms of Cornus sanguinea such as those listed here, with the pale leaves of these making a nice contrasting backdrop to the clustered blackish berries.

I have a bed of cornus winter flame under a white birch. It is my favorite bed in winter. The birch gives cover to the cornus in summer which it needs as the plant doesn't do well in hot sun areas. I did have to give it supplemental water this summer but only 2x.

Warning:. It is a spreader and has filled in a quite large area although my plants have been in there for 10+ years. It is staggered in height due it's spreading nature but averages 4-5 feet in my garden. If you use it in a pot, you will most likely be cutting it back each year to maintain the best color. Still,it would be a little unruly in a pot for my taste.

BTW, I am not too impressed with Red Majestic in my garden. It tends to olive out a bit in summer and the catkins, though red are small and not very large. I do have it in full sun which is probably not ideal. No blight yet.

If the spot is not too shaded, why not use an interesting dwarf conifer in a brightly colored pot? Or Daphne tanguitica would do well in your light conditions with the benefits of glossy evergreen foiliage, plentiful contrasting bright orange berries in winter and a heavenly scent with sweet white purple flowers. Mine blooms more than once. Eventually you would have to move it (which they don't like) or just enjoy it for a few years and then send it on to plant heaven.

Let us know what you decide!

I saw the Winter Flame at a local nursery yesterday, it is really pretty with yellow leaves right now. I think I need one to put in the ground! Still undecided on the container. Would there be a dwarf conifer with some interesting color and a mounded shape that would work? I have an awful time second guessing myself in choosing plants! How do you all go about it? How did you learn what to put where?

Experience and a lot of moving things around :-) When planting containers (which I do a lot of), I like to visit my favorite nursery and gather up a few plants that look good together. Then play around with the combo, adding this or subtracting that until you get a combo that suits you best and offers the look you want.

One of my favorite all-year containers that looks wonderful in winter includes a yellow-green dwarf Hinoki cypress (don't remember the cultivar name....could be 'Sunny Swirl'), Pittosporum 'County Park Dwarf' (turns burgundy in winter and produces lime green new growth), Nandina 'Filamentosa' and Heuchera 'Green Spice'.

btw, I think the blight issues with contorted hazels is a bit overstated. I see many large and well established plantings with nary a sign of any disease issue. Certainly possible but not necessarily probable.

Gardengal48's advice is good. You will learn a lot from spending time at a good nursery as well as being observant about what looks healthy and attractive in your own neighborhood. And don't give up on the art of good old fashioned reading of gardening books. I recommend the books of Christopher Lloyd, Penelope Hobhouse, Beth Chatto, Ann Lovejoy, Dan Hinckley. There are many others. Although some of these author/gardeners are linked with the English mixed border, they give invaluable personally learned information about growth habit, siting, likes and dislikes. These books formed a foundation for trial and error in my own garden. Gardening blogs are wonderful but are often not written for the beginner. Forums like this are fantastic and I am sorry the Northwest forum is not a little busier!

And gardening is really trial and error the results of which have just as much to do with your own micro climate as your knowledge base - so many variables. Spend a lot of time in observation of your own personal gardening space, noticing shade, sun, wind, borrowed views, wet/dry soils,etc. It was interesting to listen to the wonderful Helen Dillon last night in Seattle. She pointed out that climates may be similar but light varies with latitude which has a profound effect on a plant's happiness. Food for thought in my own garden where I still try to outsmart the Garden Gods by planting totally inappropriate plants in our low light part of the world.

I love Gardengal's combination for your pot (although I can't keep any Pittosporum alive through the winter at my place - not for lack of trying).

Again, let us know what you choose and how it works out for you.

The damage shown here is just like what I am seeing as far north as Island County, WA.

Contorted ornamental hazelnuts can also be infected and have been found
in Oregon in Pendleton, Portland, Corvallis, and Eugene.

http://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/hazelnut-corylus-avellana-eastern-filbert-blight

I lost my contorted hazelnut this year after growing it for about 10 years.

Mike

I can count on embo to give the worst case scenario ;-) -which is good! because if there is any kind of blight, no matter how remote, there seems to be some kind of law by which my plants will get it.

I am so thankful for the advice here! I've spent most of my gardening up to now making mistakes it seems like. Experimenting and learning everything I shouldn't do, lol.

I really appreciate your encouragement, Cercis, I wish this forum was busier, too. Gardengal your container sounds beautiful! I find when I go to the nursery there are so many choices and possibilities it gets a little overwhelming! So many beautiful plants and so little space!

It's not so much about how beautiful each plant is, it's about how they look together as a combination. Having a theme in mind helps. It becomes more of a creation, rather than an assortment.

Container arrangements are halfway between a bouquet on the table and a planted arrangement in the garden. I should do some more.

Mike

My background is in art - and I think of the garden as my canvas and the plants and trees as my pallet of textures and color. Read gardening books - don't rely on the internet or magazines. Then be prepared to experiment and ready to move plants from one location to another. Some of us are buy and plops! Buy what catches your fancy and plop it into an empty spot. Some design each area carefully and then search for the perfect plant. Most are somewhere in between!

Be observant - what grows best in your neighborhood? Talk to neighbors who have interesting gardens - most of us love to share - knowledge as well as plants. Observe the plants in your garden - which are thriving and which are looking sad? Learn to make changes as needed for happy and healthy plants. Accept the fact that not all of your lovelies will make it - each one that croaks is an opportunity to buy a new one! lol Gardening is not brain surgery - have fun. Personally, I love rare, unique and weird plants. I seek out plants that play with the light and move in the breeze - textures that are soft, shapes that are asymmetrical and blossoms that last for at least a month. When asked why I am growing 'that plant' I say 'because I love it and it is my garden!'

I lean towards the art side as opposed to the numbers side. My wife is a numbers person.

Here's a Chamaecyparis obtusa, 'Nana Gracilis' in my garden. Over 20 years old.

Things look a little crowded, however, my driveway goes between the Chamaeycyparis and the Acer japonica, 'Aconitifolium'. Looking west.

Mike

Mike, beautiful shapes and colors. Is that the driveway in the right lower corner of the photo? The variations in sizes, colors and textures suggest a Renaissance tapestry!

You said it is facing west? The late sun shining through the red leaves of the Acer must be glorious.

I was looking west when the picture was taken. Yes, that's the driveway.

Fall color is just beginning. I'm looking forward to it.....and some rain.

Here's the same area, but further away.

Mike

It is breathtakingly beautiful! Thanks so much for posting the photos. Is there a pond or lake behind the Acer and in front of the large trees?

There is a small pond in the foreground of the first picture. I dug it by hand....in my younger days.

This picture was taken in the Spring. ;-)

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i283/Botann/IMG_1575.jpg

Looking southeast.

Mike, your property is incredible, it takes my breath away. When you first planted, were you able to visualize how it was going to look when the plants were mature? How did you decide what to put where? It is so beautiful.

I had no plan other than not to plant anything to block the winter sun. I had the use of a bulldozer for two years so I did a lot of grading to begin with and made some ponds in the wetter areas. The good soil was moved up and spread out over the higher, sandy ground. Most ponds go dry in the late summer. This year they all went dry so I've been digging the muck out of them that has accumulated over the years. Trial and error has decided what goes where.... a lot of trial and error.

If I had made a plan and stuck to it 35 years ago, my garden wouldn't be what it is now. I didn't know much about landscaping when I started and the plan would have suffered because of it. We learn as we go. Paying attention to scale has been the most useful for me.

Mike