smh1 - I'd be looking at perennials as well as shrubs if you want a really interesting mixed border. Plus bulbs of course.

You start by replanting what you ripped out. That is your interest during the winter. Then you put a bunch of perennials, bulbs, annuals, whatever IN FRONT of that green.

This will all become very obvious in about two months. Actually, waiting until next spring, and taking notes on what looks good during the winter isn't a bad idea. My expectation is that it is going to be a much shorter list than you expect.

I do intend to make this a mixed bed with perennials etc but am thinking about the shrubs first. Sorry but there will be no box or hollies there. Camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas would be acceptable and plants such as witch hazel that have winter interest.

12 feet wide from the house???

we start by trying to understand what you mean.. when you use the word shrub ....

lets be very clear... no shrub closer than 6 feet ... period ...

we start the analysis with a pic ... boy you really arent going to get anything specific w/o such ...

so i would start with verticals .... we usually lose the battle w/o such ... and they should be placed architecturally in relation to the house.. which i cant see ... some strong uprights ...

and they should probably be a conifer for year around interest ... and recommendations for those could be had in the conifer forum ...

then we would look for intermediate plants.. such as perhaps.. jap maples ... which could be recommended in the tree forum...

and then we could get down to some flowering shrubs .. of which many are going to be simply too big.. unless you get down to the daphe or small azalea size dwarf's ,.,...

then i would finish up with some ground hugging conifers to cover some space.. unless you want to play in annuals/perennials .... you dont mention if you want care free or not .....

part of the problem.. is that i dont know your knowledge base ... shrubs mean things to me.. that you might not mean.. e.g. a conifer is not a shrub ...

more info please!!!! ...

we have all winter to get you a plan.. to start planting in spring ... and i suggest.. you plan on mail order.. if you want something truly unique ...

if you are going to rely on bigboxstore... just go buy one of each of whatever they offer in spring ... and plant them ... and give us a list prior ....

ken

smh1, save some room for Buttercup Winterhazel, see my link on this forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Buttercup Winterhazel

Can't even begin to recommend anything without a photo of the space - in relation to house, driveway, etc, etc. and knowing how much sun? Full Eastern sun? Drainage good? Other trees nearby? Windbreaks? How much maintenance are you willing to put forth? That's a very deep space. Hollies are great for year-round interest, but not sure what you don't like about them. Spines? Because there are many spineless ones. And the berries are gorgeous!

I'm a fan of 'year-round interest', but that means different things to different people. Some people like big tufts of dried grasses rattling around in winter. Not me!

I favor broadleaved evergreens mostly, for year-round curb appeal. Do you need 'anchor' plants for corners?

Big, Tall and conical or upright (to 15 feet or more):

Blue Maid holly (not that spiney)
Fosters Holly, Sunny Foster (spiney)
Emerald Colonade holly (no spines)
Spartan Holly (no spines)
Yaupon Weeping holly (no spines)
Cherry Bomb Holly (virtually spineless)
Virginia Holly (nearly spineless)
Arborvitae (conifer)
Chamaecyparis (conifer) looser form
Camellia japonica and sasanqua. (japonicas need morning shade) scores of varieties to choose from
Chindo viburnum (gets quite tall!)
Evergreen Dogwood (Empress of China) early summer bloom!
Taller Rhodies (catawbiense, roseum elegans)
Ternstroemia gymnanthera (Japanese cleyera)
Photinia serrulata, Fraser's
Ligustrum japonicum

Spreading to rounded, medium height (2 to 8 feet)

Aucuba (variegated and green)
Otto Luyken Laurel
Abelia
Daphne
Lorapetalum Blue Diamond
Distyllium myricoides or hybrids
Kalmia
Mahonia 'soft caress'
Osmanthus x burkwoodii
Gardenia (Frostproof, Chuck Hayes)
Leucothoe (requires some shade)
Needle palm
smaller Rhodies (Percy Wiseman, Yaku, etc).
Pieris
Euonymus japonica 'Silver King'
Illicium
Spreading or smaller camellias (Winter's Fire, Bonanza, Ashton's Supreme, etc.)
Danae racemosa (poet's laurel)

Low to spreading and ground covers (under 2 feet and evergreen):

Holly fern (C. falcatum and fortunei)
Autumn fern
Mount Vernon Cherry Laurel
Azalea Chinzan
Sarcocca hookeriana humulis (needs shade)
Pachysandra (variegated or GreenSheen)
Variegated liriope
Euonymus fortunei (kept clipped)

That's just the tip of the iceberg.

You could mix in more die-down perennials as you see fit. They're not my thing because I don't like the Fall cleanup! You might consider:

Japanese anemone
Montauk Daisy
Salvias
Oriental lilies (Stargazer, Casa Blanca)
Asian lilies

Sorry, I'm a bit biased toward evergreen!

smh1, if you can manage a sunny spot this one is great for Sept/Oct color.
It is Salvia leucantha 'Midnight' This is a 20 year old specimen growing at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria. It will die down after a hard freeze.
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Lots of great suggestions. I will second the loropetalum. It is purple-ish leaved, evergreen, grows well in our area, and offers cultivars in a range of sizes. Purple diamond is a great variety that won't grow so big it eats your house, and purple pixie is a delightful low-grower.

I like slow growing conifer SHRUBS (sorry Ken!) like chamaecyparis pisifera 'Nana.' I've recently become enamored of a dwarf red cedar variety (thuja plicata 'Whipcord'), which almost gives you an ornamental grass appearance, but evergreen.

There are soo many great choices for fall and winter interest. Japanese or Korean maples, Fothergilla, low bush blueberry, oak leaf hydrangea, even the humble nandina. I recently devoted a sunny corner to callicarpa (beautyberry) after being wowed by one in the neighborhood. As with spring blooming shrubs, the trick with fall/winter darlings is to decide whether they are worth the space when they look more plain-Jane the rest of the year.

So much to choose from! Keep us posted about what you go for.

did not know Salvia Leucantha was hardy here

I have blueberries and strawberries in the bed infront of the house. I like witchhazels but they can get wide as can some azaleas. Maybe look at the native azaleas. Carolina allspice is another to look at.

BTW, I hate boxwoods.