Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Need a dwarf bush for community center, 1 by Darleen

Darleen wrote:
Hi all you busheroos. I have only 5 kinds of bushes at my house: something that turns red in the fall that the deer like to eat, white flowering spirea against the house, too many redosier dogwoods on a hill, 2 different colors of butterfly bush and 3 barberry plants (ouch) around the pergola. So my bush knowledge is dismal to say the least...don't even own a good book on shrubs. However, I'm the volunteer at our community center in charge of plantings. We want to line a long walkway in front of the center in the spring with with dwarf shrubs that will stay small . These need to have some seasonal "color" that's interesting, and "maybe" look good alternately planted among equally dwarf ornamental grass (another void in my knowledge). Anybody out there have any suggestions for shrubs that might fit this bill? I need pictures, too, and probably a referral to good reference books (also with pictures) on dwarf shrubs. I'll be using 4-H kids as my "workers" when it comes time to plant, so I guess I will need forgiving plants, too, as the kids don't always follow directions to a T. Some are really in to mud making while they plant! Barberry might cut them up too much for their parent's pleasure.