What to plant - help

[megstoo]

This weekend DH and I are ripping out these ugly type bushes that are along the sides and back of the house and need to plant something - I'm thinking hosta's or day lillies but DH thinks we should add a bit of color.  What are plants would be similar but give different color?  We have a hydrangia in the front but I don't want that in the back or the sides.  If it matters our backyard and sides get quite a bit of sun.  I want something that's so low maintance and gets cut down to ground level in fall but that doesn't collect leaves and everything else.  The bushes we're removing are nothing but leave hogs and makes it impossible to add mulch or just clean the leaves out.  

ETA:  We'll probably be removing 20 of the bushes so it's a fairly large area.  I know whatever we plant will start out small for the first year or so.  

[kk]

I have a bit of a black thumb but we have a few bottle bushes. I keep them trimmed so they are more of a bush instead of a tree. They have a lot of color and attract humming birds which is fun. You may want to google them to see if you like them and if it would work in your area.

[magdala]

Does your local college have an Agriculture Department? That can be a great resource for finding out what plants work in your local area. Self seeding perennials are usually the easiest because they come back every year. In our area that includes salvia and Canterbury bells.

[simpsongal]

rvan0905 - I love those pics. I'm working on our side bed - last year I planted boxwoods partially ringing around a Little Gem Magnolia. I plan on adding some more color nearby (e.g., butterfly bush, crepe myrtles, etc).