Iktaku,
I love the fall color combination of aspen and sumac. It just says fall in the Rockies to me. Just make sure you get a non-poisonous variety. The sumacs are the orange shrubs in the lower right corner of the pic, sorry it's not bigger.
Barb

Here is a link that might be useful: Sumac with Aspen

Oops, wrong link above. Please use this one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sumac with Aspen

I'm not to good at getting an idea of what a garden looks like without pictures but...

Along the stream bed, I think Anemone sylvestris would mimic what I see out here (though, I've never been to Idaho except for driving through!). I can picture bleeding hearts and shooting stars looking very nice alongside the galium and solomon's. I'd like a little more of a woodland look than an English garden look even though I adore an English garden! The suggestion of sumac is right on with what I picture. My neighbor has sumac at the base of trees and she has a dry creek too. Fall is a lovely sight next door!

Hmm, you could almost do both...instead of lavender, you could plant catmint, instead of David Austin roses, you could plant wild and nearly wild roses. Oooh, you could plant lots of flowering herbs!

Sounds like fun!

If you want to add a native looking evergreen ground cover to the mix, arctostaphylos is an option.

There are a couple of related varieties listed at Plant Select.

Here is a link that might be useful: arctostaphylos at Plant Select

Ribes odoratum 'Crandall' for spring fls, fall color and occasional bird food, plus Rhus aromatica 'Grow Low', and Douglas maple for fall color contrast to aspens,

kinnikinnick, Rubus arcticus (nagoonberry, yummy!), sprinkle daffodils early season and red tulips mid-season, potentilla, one Saskatoon to mix with the aspen trunks at the verge of the aspen dripline, Physocarpus malvaceus over the 'Grow Low', Shepherdia canadensis for ice cream, of course some blueberries if you can water them.

Dan

THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL! I apologize for not responding sooner..I was thinking that the responses would be emailed to me, but I guess they aren't ;)

I was totally thinking about planting a bunch of bulbs so that is absolutely wonderful...I appreciate the suggestions on those and the flowers...I adore them. AND I just bought 3 kinnickkinnick at a local nursery to try yesterday! It says it wants gravel soil so we will see how it will do here., as my soil is a bit more clay-ey with rocks in it...although I am amending it with compost.

Your photos are so inspiring. I saw the sumac the local garden center and was drawn to them, but worried about how big they would get. I will double check.

And I LOVE the look of arctostaphylos, the flowers remind me of KK and I would like an evergreen option.

So - my only concern with the flowers is the dogs...they will walk through them unless I fence the yard, but I may just have to deal with that.

Also, many of the shrubs listed are BIG...and my property is small. The back bed is probably 60 feet long by about 6 six at its widest...and usually no more than 3 feet. I have a huge red twig dogwood I've let go crazy as I like the structure in winter there. Too bad, there was also one in the corner that my husband hacked out before I found out ;(. I was thinking maybe a lilac back there - or a viburnum?

Then there is the other kind of L shaped bed under the aspens. But again, it is only about 20 feet long by 13 at the longest legs. More like 5 feet winding down to the ends.

So, with some of these I would really have to trim them back pretty hard...Is that okay for the plants?

I am also thinking about adding some grasses - like Idaho Boulder Blue fescue - for interest. And of course, a simple wood mulch.

To help, I went ahead and put up some photos...

I LOVE the flowers, but am worried about them with my dogs...in one of the photos you can see a makeshift fence around the bed - just trying to train my 2 80# Chesapeake Bay Retrievers about where the new paths are.

http://picasaweb.google.com/hummingbirdlaughs/Backyard#

In this first photo - the bed is along the back fence up to the streambed. The second photo gives you another view. In that far corner is a small fountain and pond. The third and fourth photos have the main bed ringed in makeshift fences. And you can't see it now, but again that back fence there that is gray with metal (That big dog likes to break through the fence there and we have to fence over it with a second cedar fence!) will be yet another bed about 5 feet by 20 feet..No aspen there, just one tree and I am waiting to plant that unless I figure out a great idea.

And sorry for the construction mess...we just put up that new fence last weekend ;)

Again, thank you all for your wonderful help and kindness...I can see where this native woodland look can be lower maintenance and easier with dogs...And then will try to add some flowers where they can get most protected and the biggest view of them...so keep any suggestions coming!

Take care, Lisa