Potted plants that small are easily protected in winter by sinking into the ground or moving into a more protected location. A fellow GW'er living in Michigan and a very active Container Gardening forum member grows hundreds of plants, including trees, in containers that he manages to overwinter quite handily. The advantage of being able to provide specialized care for these tiny plants easily outweighs any drawbacks regarding the extra effort they might require in a container, as arktrees notes. And I wouldn't worry much about any need for root pruning during the couple of seasons they are held in containers before planting out into a permanent location - it is unlikely to be required during that short a time span.

If you have no restrictions, the first thing I'd do, if you don't already have it, is encase the entire property with a mixed border or green space. This is to provide some privacy, shade, and noise and wind buffer. It should be wide enough so that while in leaf, the home is not easily visible from the street. Obviously that will drastically reduce your usable lawn and the amount of space you have for specimen trees but I think you'll be glad you did unless it's an urban area in which case people will think you're off your rocker. Then if you've got a sort of long driveway, I'd plant an allee of whatever. Then I'd go ahead and plant for optimizing energy efficiency. This includes planting trees for shade and also keeping a certain amount of area open for solar panel exposure. And also some open area if you grow your own vegetables or have any kind of livestock or require turfgrass for any reason. Or if you have a septic system. And if you haven't already done a utility locate, doing so will show you where your trees won't be going. If you spend some time there through some heavy rain showers you will find out if any drainage issues need to be addressed. I'd also consider planning ahead for outdoor living spaces such as patios, picnic areas, hammocks, firepit, swimming pool etc. When you get done with this, you should have a much more focused picture of where your specimens and flowering trees and other landscaping is going to go.

I think it's time to give up on container plants that look (and especially smell) dead. I gave up on my potted NZ flaxes a couple weeks ago. They'd been in pots for 5 years but this winter's single digit temps (two nights at 9 degrees) did them in. They were in plain thin plastic pots. And, even though they are considered wetland plants in NZ, they really do need perfect drainage here - we're much colder in winter than NZ is. On the other hand I have many plants in plain plastic pots, cheap pots or nursery containers, and it appears that only the phormiums died. I have a hinoki cypress in a plastic pot that is left out totally exposed and it's fine, ditto a japanese maple. I have a bonsaid pieris that was left out totally exposed, albeit in a very large ceramic pot, and it's fine. Too large a pot to move or pack away like the rest of the bonsai, which spend the winters with the pots sunk in wood shavings in plastic crates. All the smaller containers, like 1g cans and 6" pots, spend the winters under the deck or up against the house where they get a bit of shelter. Larger containers are left where they are. You can get extruded plastic pots, kind of like styrafoam, that are very thick but light and those insulate the roots a bit from cold. I've never yet lost a plant in one of those. They're expensive but very nice. I yanked the dead phormiums last week and replanted the pots (new soil) with a combo of small hinokis, delphinium, snapdragon, heuchera, dianthus and white alyssum. Time for something very different! I do usually leave on dead foliage til spring, as it insulates the plants from further freeze damage. But, if the plant smells rotten, then just yank it. And it can take til April for a plant to show any signs of life. With container plants you can pull it out of the pot to see if there's any sign of life in the roots, which could send out new top growth even if the top is totally dead.

Local $$$ nursery has a progressive sale in October to this weekend. Starts at 60% off, goes to 90%. At 70% off their prices become mostly a good deal. It's like a game going every fall. First day I just go an make a list, unless I see something I've been wanting. I research things then go back. If they have a lot of something I may wait til almost the end. It's a game to me. Plus, what they still have in stock varies wildly from year to year. First few years, I scored a good number of miniature hostas. This year, almost sold out of minis before I arrived for 60% off. Last year, large hostas, pulmonarias and single peonies were my favorite scores. Lots of hydrangea choices but I couldn't choose one. This year, all pulmonarias and peonies were sold out before the sale. Ditto hydrangeas. I have to consider that that, too, is part of the game.