I guess she called it a Carol Mackie bush!

I guess she called it a Carol Mackie bush!

Is it full sun, partial shade, etc? What direction does your house face? What is the maximum height you would want? Evergreen or deciduous or a mix?

Thanks for the input, the spot has sun in the morning shade in the evening. House faces East, towards a old growth white pine forest. We want a mix of evergreen and deciduous plants. Max 5 feet so they don't grow in front of the first floor windows.

Ken Janek "Yak" rhododendruns would work nicely. Mine are 6-7 years old and just barely approaching 3'T. Are about 4'Wide.

Hollies are great (Blue Princess good for your climate) but need a bit of pruning here and there to keep them shaped well and a good size.

A threadleaf Japanese maple would add some great color and form. It is weeping form so doesn't get too tall. Tamukeyama is a nice one that will get wide in time. Holds its red color well. some JP's green out as the season progresses. Very hardy. some are not.

Pieris are good for that setting too. I just got a new variegated one that is very attractive. Silver Flame I think was its name.

Great info, we have a Jap. Maple on the other end of the front of the house I think two would be much. But the Holly, Yak Rhodo's are great tips. What kind of plant is a Pieris?

Can one ever have too many Jap maples!!?? :o)

If you want to stick with natives, some other choices might be summersweet clethra, kalmia (mine stays 3.5 X 3.5 in the sun), hypericum, physocarpus, ilex glabra, calycanthus, itea, potentilla.
If you choose clethra, itea or physocarpus, you would need to make sure to purchase one of the more compact varieties.

Thanks you for the info on the natives. Where can I look at these native species online?

Pieris's common name is Japanese Andromeda. They can be problematic in a lot of sun, but are very useful and easy to grow in shade (morning sun fine). I also have some dwarf ones.. 'Little Heath' is barely 2'x2' after 3-4 years. It is variegated. Doesn't bloom well, but I grow it for the foliage. 'Cavatine' is even smaller and solid green. It does bloom well. Prelude is another dwarf. And a good full size (4-5') traditional one is 'Mountain Fire'... new growth is bright red.

Clethra 'Hummingbird' is supposed to be "compact", but it does spread quite a bit. Probably too much for a foundation. Mine is in bloom now and the fragrance is just wonderful! There is another Clethra that is *really* supposed to be a dwarf...'Sixteen Candles'. I just added it to a perennial border this year, so can't tell for sure.

SOme of these smaller plants might work well as a front layer to larger plants. Its preferable to not have a single row of plants straight across. I like to layer smaller shrubs in front of the back row and include some perennials too.

I've tried hypericon twice here and both didn't make it. its borderline northern MA/southern NH

What do you think about Junipers? There are some that don't get more than 3-4 feet tall.

Wendy brings up a good point about the clethra. If you really want to stick with natives, there are some that can wander a bit and not look as "neat" as you may like. You can google most of the shrubs that have been suggested and get some general info as to size, color, habit, etc. I agree with Wendy that a variety in a layered fashion, including perennials looks very nice. I don't happen to have a lot of juniper, but I'm sure there are some nice varieties out there that could work for you.

Wendy, I'm sorry to hear hypericum did not make it for you. I had one for years until one spring when I was cleaning up, I accidentally pruned it down to the ground. I'm pretty sure the books say that's ok to do, but even so, I felt it was a mistake. It never came back after that. I have since planted another one that has been doing fine. I just make sure to never cut it down. I'm outside of Manchester, NH.