Space for a shrub any suggestions

Lavatera for me every time. Quick to flourish and a mass of flowers every year for me. Mahonia is much too prickly for me.

My weigelia is also deciduous. It is lovely when it flowers but they can go a bit bonkers. Agree that hebes are a good one to grow. I have just bought ‘Heartbreaker’ for my garden, but there are any number of different shades and sizes to suit practically every situation.

jusnoneed
Do not know what specie of Weigelia you are referring to but the ones with red flowers ie Bristol Ruby or pink flowers ie florida are deciduous, and CAST their leaves in autumn and need a yearly light, not chopping,! pruning.

Viburnum. Flowers at beginning of year before the daffodils.

A Hebe is a pretty good option. Can put up with most soils/conditions, lots of different ones that grow to different sizes, most are evergreen, some have multi coloured leaves, flowers look like mini lilacs but not perfumed. Butterflies and bees love them and a lot of them flower from late summer through until the first frosts

Dogwood 'Midwinterfire'They take anything thrown at them and reward you with brilliant red stems from late autumn to end of February when you prune and the new growth provides small white flowers.

I've got a lovely Hebe called Heartbreaker in one of my borders. It has very pretty pink & green leaves- mostly pink at the moment. In the summer it has purple flowers & is a real picture. I've only had it for 2 years so not sure how tall it will grow.
I love Ceanothus but they die after about 3 years in my garden every time. I've given up now.

Cammellia looks lovely

Hebes are good and usually really hardy. Loads of choice too.

Camellia are beautiful

How about a grass? They are low maintenance, you can get many lovely shades from greeny blue through to copper, and I love watching the grass waving in the breeze - so soothing!

I'm a Hebe fan as there are so many varieties to choose from. From pink to purple flowers, and lots of leaf colours to contrast with what's growing around it. They can be trimmed to keep the size you want and all will survive in all types of soil. Nothing better!

Camelias are a good choice as there are so many varities to Choose from and you can prune them to keep to the size you want. My favorite spring shrub is Amelanchier, easy to prune covered in white flowers and pink leaves in spring and gorgeous autumn colour as the leaves turn red before falling.

How about a camellia - you can keep it neat and tidy if you wish so long as pruning is done at the right time so flowers appear next year. I have a really pretty one, white double petals with yellow centre. Looks almost like a rose.

Pieris Forest Flame evergreen
Choisya Sundance ( bright yellow leaves)
Ceanothus Blue Sapphire ( evergreen dark blue flowers)
Hebe
Spirea Alpine

Wow, thank you so much for your suggestions, I've made a list and will check out everything you have all suggested.
Thank you.

Oops spell check - pieris japonica.

Pyrrhus- variegated, no flowers but shades of green, yellow and red leaves, changing over the seasons. Slow growing.

Another vote for Skimmia Japonica for all round interest if the conditions are right.

Plant male and female plants of you want red berries as well as the scented spring flowers which start to bud in autumn.

Skimmias prefer semi-shade, will tolerate full shade but may become leggy. Full sun will burn the leaves. They prefer a slightly acidic soil but will grow well in neutral soil with a bit of help. They tolerate drought too as the leaves are leathery and retain moisture.

I've had mine for thirty years and leave the berries on from year to year. Birds don't seem to like them but they can be squished and planted and will propagate new plants in time.

Rubella, Fragrans and Nymans are all good cultivars.

How about an "English" Holly? Various Hollies offer support for the UK's dwindling wildlife population.

My Mahonia is huge!

I love Choisia too. Everygreen, no thorns, flowers late April to May. Flowers smell lovely, leaves aromatic too. Easy to prune to size you want.

How about Choysia the Mexican mock orange, evergreen flowers and fragrant leaves. You can get some with smaller variegated leaves. Virtually indestructible!

Daphne Odora. The name speaks for itself. It's a slow-growing evergreen that flowers in late winter. It might need protection in hard winters.

A large Hebe variety would give you all round interest and be as tough as old boots. Champagne or Midsummer Beauty are good, but there’s over 60 varieties.

Weigelia are good, red or pink flowers, and they keep their leaves. I have a red one outside front door, chop it back when needed and it never seems to mind how hard I go at it.