Colour in a winter garden

My garden is really very boring, lots of manky grass and trees - horrible conifers, holly, blackthorn, lilac, rowan, cherry and assorted ones that I don't know. One of my favourite cherry trees died last year, and I need to plant a few more to fill the gap. I am attracted to ones that have some colour in the winter - it will help relieve the tedium of bare brown branches. I am also toying with replacing the hedge with a beech one - a mixed coloured one - to help with the view from my front windows. Ummm.