Daphne might work there, but I think it blooms in the spring. Has a nice fragrance, though.

Encore Azaleas don't have fragrance (at least mine don't) but they put on a beautiful show of blooms in the spring and again in late summer and fall and they aren't the orange/yellow of most fall bloomers! Do a google search for them to see the different colors and growth habits. I love mine and plan to get more.

The groundcover Ceratostigma plumbaginoides might be a good choice for this situation. Blooms in fall and bright blue would be pretty with the chatreuse foliage of the spirea.

It's not at 'peak' bloom in this picture, but you can get a sense of it's form and color. It spreads at a moderate pace and starts blooming in early August and goes right into the fall. The foliage colors up nicely late in the season too.

Japanese anemones are becoming widely available, do very well in shade, and bloom from late August to frost. they come in shades of pink, rose, and white, all of which would look good next to the chartreuse spirea foliage. Turtlehead (Chelone) in shades of pink and white, and toad lilies (Tricrytis) in lavender and white, are two other fall-blooming shade-loving perennials. another one is Kirengeshoma, which is hard to find but has gorgeous bell-shaped yellow flowers in late summer/early fall and loves the shade.

Victor

Heuchera 'Autumn Bride' -- bright green leaves and white flowers late. There's a purple form that might look even better with the spirea. Actually anything purple would look good there.... some of the heucheras? Nothing fragrant, sorry.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I've got some reading (and shopping!) to do. Cynthia, do you (or anyone) have any idea how problematic the Ceratostigma plumbaginoides might be? It's so lovely that if I don't use it w/the dogwood, but it would be great in another location that I have in mind.

Thanks again!

Aly

Problematic? No! It's just a lovely ground cover. I wish it would spread faster than it does. It's slow to moderate spreader. I always hold my breath in spring because it leafs out rather late. No insect or disease issues and blooms late in the season when you really need it :) That patch is maybe 4 years old, two plants and the spread is 5 feet or so.

I can vouch that Ceratostigma Plumbaginoides is not difficult in my garden. I think it will move faster in more sun and moisture, but it isn't anything you can't handle.

I'd add a purple-variety Cimicifuga racemosa (actually several) to the dwarf plumbago. The purple foliage would contrast with the spirea nicely and it has white/pink blooms in late summer and early fall. It gets 2-3 feet of foliage and another foot or two of spikey bloom.

It doesn't have a fragrant, purfumey scent, but a musky one. Some like it, some don't. It is also expensive and slow-growing. I bought 5 from forestfarm.com last year for about $8 each and they are healthy but still small. I hope they bloom this year. I see big ones at the nursery for $25.

Cynthia, that's the look I aspire my shade bed to have. Nice work.

"Cynthia, that's the look I aspire my shade bed to have. Nice work"

Yes, it is! Thanks Cynthia and GeeDavey for your helpful comments.

:)

Aly