Your emerald green arborvitaes ('Smaragd') will be 5 feet wide in time, perhaps more. Were you allowing for that?

tj

Hosta! that's what I have and it looks great.
I can't imagine an emerald green getting to 5 feet. between 3 and 4 feet is more realistic, I think.

arbs.. thuja.. are conifers...

you ask in the shrub forum

so my first reaction is do NOT plant shrubs in front ... of conifers ...

and since.. in 5 years or so.. they will need the whole space...

you should be asking in the annual or perennial forum ... as those plant can be moved or sacrificed when the arbs swallow up the bed...

words mean things.. and your use is confusing me [its not hard.. as i live in the state of confusion.. lol] ...

so we must start by making sure what we are trying to say to each other .... so are you referring to the arbs as the shrubs.. or are you thinking of putting shrubs in front.. or both ...

ken

The Arbs ARE the shrubs, duh...:P

I think a contrasting foliage form is the way to go.

One of my favorites is Miscanthus oligostachyus 'Purpurascens' formerly M. sinensis var. purpurascens AKA flame grass.

A skirt of tall or medium (or both) sedum, a few nice, decent-sized rocks, and flowering compositaes (or not) is all you need to form a nice, simple composition that will hold up nicely to Chicago winters.

I have sedum 'Matrona', Korean feather-reed grass, spirea 'Magic Carpet' and berberis 'Crimson Pygmy' on my berm. With rocks, of course. It's defining a small corner of lawn against the neighbors driveway, so needs to be low. I use another sedum as a groundcover that grows into the lawn
but I don't mind. Anyway, it's very low maintenance. I know you're supposed to water the first year to establish the plants, but I didn't always water.

Ummm, the 'Smaragd's are known for maintaining a very narrow profile - it takes a very long time for them to develop into a width greater than 3', even here in the PNW where the growth of just about anything seems to be bigger and faster than anywhere else :-)) And there's nothing to say you can't shear these to make a flatter, wall-like privacy screen, allowing a more than adequate amount of room to grow something smallish in front. Personally, I think the feather reed grass mentioned above is a great choice. Both 'Avalanche' and 'Overdam' offer a green/white variegation that would be a great contrast to the arbs. And with a pretty narrow, upright profile themselves!