Question
Hello,  I have removed some rose bushed that I had in front of my house (right in front of living room windows.  Now  I want to plant shrubs that don't grow beyond 4ft.  I live in south texas and during the summer gets very hot.  Can you tell me what type of shrubs/bushes I can use.  Preferably if they flower.  

Answer
Janie,

The only thing I can do is tell you what I use in my hottest beds.  On my campus, these are south-facing beds on a slope with bad soil...a real bad combination for me.

1.  Rhododendron 'PJM'... this variety of Rhodie is further subdivided into types that vary by height.  Look for the one that only gets to be 3 ft tall.  This flowers once or twice a year with light purple blooms, and has spicey scented leaves, turn a mahogany color in the winter.

2.  Rosemary and Sage.  The Rosemary grows more upright, provides a nice scent, is evergreen, and flowers in the winter.  The sage (use a couple colored varieties) mound up to about 1.5 ft and give and nice background.

3.  Shrub roses.  I know you just took out roses, but you might try some shrub roses, like 'Bonica'.  Not nearly as fussy as some of the hybid tea roses, left to themselves, they'll fill out at 3-4 feet in a couple of years, and if necessary, you can just shear them.

For what it worth,
Mark in Portland