Thanks everyone. digdig, you make a good point about spreading out the fall color. Many trees just go brown and that's it, but some, like liquidamber and birches have lovely fall color. Rico, sounds like it worked really well for you, congrats! Any chance you can post a photo? (I'm very visually oriented.) The terrain goes over a gentle hill lengthwise ( middle 50 feet), with dry, somewhat rocky soil in the middle, and good loam on either side. That alone will force different planting so I have happy trees on that dry bit. The other side will only be seen if you walk around it. It's not visible from the road or from the neighbors. There are no overhead wires. There are underground utilities that cut across one section. I plant to just plant across it. If they ever need to be dug up, fine. My understanding is that most tree and shrubs roots do not go deep and will not interfere with them 4 feet down. Alyrics, you bring up a good point that I have been debating. Should I just plant some trees and mulch around them 4 feet and do crazy mowing between all of them? Or should I try to do a complete kill of all the grass with roundup and mulch heavily with wood chips? I'm leaning towards the former because it's easier. Although in reality it will probably be weedy for years. Right now I have a small hill of woodchips that I got from the highway cleanup crews after our October surprise snowstorm last year. (2 large dumptrucks full) I'm usually able to get woodchips around here pretty cheaply, so the cost of the mulch won't be an issue, it's more the labor of placing them. Groundcover is out, that is definitely too much work. Any thoughts on the mulch versus mowing versus weeds? Thanks for all your input.

Redbuds cast a great deal of shade and often make it impossible to garden under them for that reason. They don't get too tall, but their branches will eventually strike the house at the distance you are contemplating. Serviceberry has the nice drooping florets and later the delicious berries that many birds love, so you could observe them feasting on them close up if a window looks out on that spot. It does well in partial shade and seems fairly adaptable; I see no reason why you couldn't keep it in shrub form if you are able to find one trained that way. However, I had some revert to small-tree form when I failed to keep them clipped, so you may be able to find a more trouble-free shrub for next to your house, and save your serviceberry planting for along your driveway or other opening from the woodsy areas. Pieris Japonica comes in many forms these days and is an interesting shrub that grows fairly slowly, so requires little attention. Some of the larger Rhododendrons would also do well in that spot, and the color choices and flower forms are wonderful. Of course Forsythia would also grow there, and there are several size choices. Witch Hazel is often difficult to get established, especially if it is a graft. It has a wonderful fragrance when the tiny flowers appear, but it grows very slowly and takes a long time to fill out, in my experience. If you don't mind thorns you could try Bitter Orange, but eventually it will probably crave more sun. The flowers have a nice fragrance and it has beautiful dark shiny leaves...but it also grows quite slowly. The hazelnut tree or shrub is not often thought of but is worth checking into. There is probably not enough sun for a lilac but the hibiscus can tolerate more shade and has flower choices that range from white to a soft pink to a lovely lavender color. All that said, Viburnums are available in many kinds, and the viburnum in any form makes a good wood that stands up to abuse quite well; they are one of the sturdiest shrubs out there, imo, unlike the hydrangeas, which make a very soft stem. However, oak leaf hydrangeas are capable of eventually getting fairly large, and have the interestingly shaped leaves and flower clusters. I believe their color change in fall is also attractive, and they do quite well in partial shade. Here is a link that might be useful: Pieris Japonica references

I think this may be the tree being talked about. We live in Omaha (zone 5b) and when we were helping a friend landscape at their new home, we dug up one of the offshoots by the trunk and planted it in our yard. The tree is already providing full shade in the yard (04/17/16) while the other trees in the neighborhood are just budding leaves. The leaves start to grow quickly followed by the flowers. The leaves start out green then quickly turn a deep burgundy as soon as it stops flowering. The tree bears no fruit. The flowers have an overwhelming scent similar to southern jasmine. The scent is so strong that it becomes unbearable at times. It is right outside our bedroom window so we sometimes have to close the window on nice nights because, while the smell is beautiful and intoxicating, it is unbearable in large amounts! This overpowering scent isn't in an allergy kind of way, it is more like if you sat in a small closet and lit 10 of your favorite incense sticks then stayed in there for two weeks with 10 sticks constantly burning! I would love to know the name of it but my research has produced little results. It is similar to the 'summer glow bird cherry fruit' tree but it doesn't produce any fruit. (Edited) I've tried to post a photo but it isn't showing up yet. The tree I'm talking about is none of the ones mentioned in the posts here. My tree is is not ornamental yet it doesn't get more than around 40' tall.

Hello, everyone, A year ago I moved into an 1870's cottage in Little Rock. The front yard (holding to old Southern nomenclature for now) is already a pretty, highly traditional (if predictable) azalea, dogwood, oak mix, but the back is a mess with some nice plants. It already divides fairly naturally into three areas. I'm going to follow my longwinded predisposition and describe the whole space before getting to my questions, which mainly apply to the third, quite shady area north of the house, which will be a woodland areas focusing on natives and bird habitat. 1. The first spot is tiny, about 12' square just north of the garage. The garage is a separate outbuilding west of the house, and I'm turning it into a pottery, so gardening-unlike myself-is on a no fat diet for now. Bamboo, an unknown tree, loropetalum, and a non-blooming biggish crepe myrtle grow there now. The crepe myrtle is on the property line opposite the garage, and makes a natural division into the next area, I plan to stay with all dark foliage and blue and pink bloomers back here. 2. in the central portion, I cut down two sassafras trees (to which my neighbors objected and for which I had no love). This made a sunny area. This is 35 feet wide at one end and 25 the other (where the deck cuts in), and about 50 feet long. Here, I want roses and other sun lovers in the broader, full sun space. The narrower portion is partly shaded by a large unidentified tree that butts up to the deck and is midway between the house and the garage. The narrower space ends where a magnolia grandiflora stands just west of a large crepe myrtle. Almost buried behind the trash trees among broken furniture was a lovely wrought iron, gothic arch. I've moved that so that it bisects this sunny section of the yard from area 3., which is almost full, but not deep shade, as it lies on the north wall of the house. Steps come down from the deck across from the crepe myrtle. To the left of the steps, a small fishpond sits off a picture window in the sunroom. The pond is currently uninhabited due to Beelzebub the raccoon, who ate the previous tenants last winter. The pond needs a total. face lift and has to be deepened before restocking. However, my desk is by that window and, even in it's ugly as-is state, you talk about bird watching heaven! I LOVE it! So re-camping that little pool is where the largest pot of my broke-ass garden-dedicated pesos are headed this round. OK, so now you'll pass under the arch into 3., a small (25' L x 15' W?) woodland garden. At present this area has 2 small redbuds, a pretty 10 foot Enlish holly, a lot of spindly nandina, a multitude of evil-minded vicious, but well-grown Rotunda holliies, and the a/c condensers. Opposite the house is a 6' fence. I thought I could put in 2-3 native shrubs and some vines here. On the other side against the house, I want to replace the Rotundas with mix of camellias and natives. So I finally get to the question, what should I plant, hoping for 4 season interest?