I live in Northeast TN and we have all four seasons of very different weather. Summers as hot as 99 degrees and winters as cold as 0. We have a pre-civil war log home with beautiful stonework for the foundation and the porch. The people that lived there before us spent a fortune on landscaping but never maintained it and it had grown up and was overtaking the house. So....we have pulled everything up and started fresh. I am not replacing everything just a few in the front and maybe a couple of things around the side but we don't want anything that is going to get too big because we want to show off the gorgeous stonework that is a contrast to the hand hewn logs.

I am NOT a gardener! I am excellent with four legs, hooves, fur, and a heartbeat but but not with plants. lol I have no green thumbs! So therefore I need something relatively easy. I also have five dogs and a three yr old so it needs to be tough.
As far as looks go I would like to have something that really pops and has alot of contrast. My neighbors have done well with the bamboo nandina, which I think I will use to get that pretty bright light green color but for the other I'm not so sure. I want something that is a deep burgandy or red color. I think someone mentioned the barberry but said it was hard to trim because of it sticking ya.
Last but not least I really don't want to spend a whole lot of money on this little makeover.
Does anyone have any suggestions?