Hi Ostrich - Wouldn't Weigela end up being too large later on? As you might already Know, I love, love, love Lavender, because of the lovely wafts of scent as I walk by or work around the area ... I have them everywhere!

Last evening, as I looped & wove twines thru the tangled mess of P' Kyu's massive head of blossoms - after the storms' damages ... wafts of Lavender, planted around her, consoled, as well as soothe, my broken heart! Â;)

"It gets rather hot and dry with the western sun there."

-Caryopteris incana 'Sunshine blue',
-Spirea japonica 'Magic Carpet',
-Cotinus coggygria, either 'Royal Purple' or ''Golden Spirit'/'Golden Gift' (yearly hard pruning would be required),
-Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea' or similar (in pruned form)

Hi Ditas! I hope that you are feeling better.... yes, lavender is lovely, isn't it? I love its fragrance. It is indeed very soothing! Regarding weigelas, usually they are, but this Midnight Wine is supposed to be a dwarf that only gets less than 2 feet tall and wide or something like that.

George, I have thought of using Magic Carpet spirea too, but I was not sure if I wanted something golden like that or a dark leaf shrub like the Weigela Midnight Wine. You have grown Midnight Wine - what do you think of it? Will it work well for this area?

I already have 2 Lemon Princess spireas in this bed so that's why I did not use Magic Carpet spirea here. That said, I do like them a lot... so it's still a possibility.

I think that the other choices are too big for this area really....

Thanks again for the ideas. Keep them coming!

Weigela Midnight Wine is a fine small shrub (for the right place with a right companions), but in your case (dark mulch) it will not provide any visual impact and will be lost.
Magic Carpet has a different attributes than a Lemon Princess and will not look like a repetition (which might be not a bad idea on its own).
Caryopteris 'Sunshine blue' sizewise (3x3 at the peak of the season) should work perfectly for the spot and colorwize will make LLight stand out even more (like it need to...)
Unorthodox suggestion of the purple/yellow smokebushes was done under influence of the vision of absolutely fantastic looking heavy pruned shrubs I saw a few weeks ago.
Yellow chamaecyparis pisifera or Rheingold arborvitae will provide necessary contrast and could be kept in a bounds. Actualy, nice clump of Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' would of be the best from the visual point of view, but 'hot and dry' would be not to its liking.

I have lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis) in a western exposure next to a brick edging, believe it or not, it thrives there as long as it's kept well-watered. It also likes shade. I love this plant! :) It has frothy chartreuse flowers above felty leaves that look like can-can skirts. It offers great contrast to my Purple Emperor sedum, which would also work, slowly gets about 18-24" T x W. I gotta learn how to post pics here!

Annuals also make great edgers, provide color all summer long. Pansies, profusion zinnias, dwarf marigolds could all provide little "pops" between the perennials. I leave a little room for them on the edges in some beds.

My suggestion would be either varigated or burgundy Sedum, Chocolate Joe Pye Weed or Blue Chip mini Butterfly Bush. But I do like your day lilies and LOVE your Hydrangeas!!!

George, thanks again for your suggestions. I really love Smoke bushes, but they do get BIG! I am looking for something that does not really require so much pruning and pampering... :-) I also love Rheingold arbovitae too, but I was told that dear Bambi loves it too! Moreover, this area faces some strong northwesterly wind during winter and I don't think that they could take it. I am still thinking about the Magic Carpet spirea idea... it may just be the one!

Prairiegirl and hydrangeasnohio, thank you! I thought about annuals too, but then I would like something taller and more substantial. Sedums are nice but rather late blooming. You see, I would like some colors there before the Limelight starts to bloom. So something that is spring blooming, or early summer blooming would be nice. Otherwise, the foliage has to be colorful and different than that of the Limelight in order to create the contrast.

Thanks again everyone!

P.S. Now where is a good sale for some Magic Carpet spireas??? LOL

Prairiegirlz suggested Lady's Mantle. Here's a picture of it (at left) with purple salvia (Purple Rain). Both would be nice....

{{gwi:242937}}

Ostrich coral bells are nice also!!

alisande - what a pretty combination! My question is though, how long is the blooming season for these beauties? Do they bloom pretty much just in spring and early summer?

hydrangeasnohio, heucheras are wonderful! I am just "discovering" them now, and I am absolutely in love with them! The only thing is, would they do well in the hot and dry spot during summer? After a couple days of 90 degrees, my daylilies look AWFUL. The foliage is all brown and crispy. Just simply UGLY. That's why I want to have something else there!!! Sigh...

Ostrich, I wish I could answer your question. But I don't have those plants; I took that picture (last month) at my late cousin Terry's garden. Terry didn't have any hydrangeas that I noticed, but her gardens are lovely. If anyone would like to see more, I'll link the collection below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Terry's Garden