I just went out and measured the area and its 12.5ft long and 7 ft
wide, so a bit bigger than I thought. I live in Scotland, so the
climate can be really cold in winter and is now starting to get warmer
with reaonally climbing temperatures from now to august int the region
of 19oC - 24oC. THere hasn't been much rain in March, really nice
actually, but sometimes there can be a lot for and can go on for days.
The area that I want to plant faces west, so gets the most sunshine
in the afternoon. The soil is quite moist and defiantely not sandy,
so maybe more clay, but not totally. I do have the butterfly bush and
lavatera, but they are just small, I only planted them last year. I'm
just learning about gardening, and find part of the problem is there
is so much to pick from. Basically I maybe want a coupld of evergreen
shrubs/bushes like rhododendron and something else and a tree like
Laburnium (I have always liked this tree), and so that something is
always flowereing from spring to winter.

Well, Rhododendrons are out -- too much sun and wrong soil pH (Rhodies
typically like it a bit more acidic and it sounds like yours is more
neutral). I'd also wonder about the drainage in this area -- if there's a
great deal of rainfall and the area is primarily clay that would not bode
well. You also do not define what "really cold in winter" means -- for
example, do you spend much time below 0 degrees C or do you tend to stay
above 5 degrees C? 24 degree C is not terribly bad (about 75 degrees F to
us on the standard system) so if that's your idea of summer heat....

The size of the planting plot is fairly small, so you don't have too much
room with which to work. How much room do you have to plant this tree
and/or shrubs? (That is, how much space will the new plants occupy all to
themselves and without competing with existing plants.) Note that Butterfly
Bush can grow quite large quite quickly. Bear in mind also that most
evergreen varieties grow slowly and take a long time to get to the size you
likely want. The variety selected will also have to be able to handle the
afternoon sun and possibly some poor winter weather conditions.

Rhododendrons, as well as Azaleas, have nice floral sense, year round
foliage depending upon climate and heights vary from about a meter and up.
They also prefer more shade however, and well-drained, acidic soil and a
North or East facing. These do not match your description well.

Mountain Laurel is another option that hits as much as 2-3 meters in height,
does well in sun to light shade but again prefers acidic soil that is well
drained. These also tend to prefer North or East facing, but may do ok
otherwise depending on the microclime.

Some others on the newsgroup may have had better luck with these under
conditions similar to yours so I won't naysay too much.

James