For evergreens there are: false cypress, euonymus, Japanese and English yews, English or Korean boxwood, mountain laurel, loropetalum, Nellie Stevens holly, arborvitae, junipers, and I'm sure hundreds more appropriate for your zone ... although perhaps not for your space requirements. And, unfortunately, nothing is deer proof, some things are just a little more resistant.

A width of 5' is your biggest limitation as shrubs want to grow wide as they grow tall, and severe pruning might be the only way to keep from encroaching on your roses and overgrowing the windows.

frankly.. there is nothing that will achieve the height.. without the corresponding width .... and nothing will magically stop growing at some limited height .... height estimates are at 10 years.. and a year later they are bigger .. basically until they die ...

think outside the box ... xmas light clips on the gutters.. some invisible bird netting ... 4 inch square.. and morning glories ... or clematis .... etc ...

except for the true mini conifers that grow less than an inch a year.. no conifer should be planted that close to the house/foundation ... IMHO ....

ken

You are definitely going for the right look for a foundation planting, namely a layered series of different textures with evergreen at the back. But I agree that a total of 5 feet from foundation out is not enough width to get that job done.

You have enough sun to work with and you have a vision, so why not do it up right: expand the bed 3-4 feet, move the roses out a few feet, and then put in some spreading yew or a globe arborvitae-type thing about 2-3 feet out from the house. You'll have to trim the yew or whatever you put there, but it will give you the look you want. Yews are incredibly overplanted on the foundation, but for the back row of a layered planting, I think they work just fine.

Put a low layer in front of the roses, maybe some Blue Star Juniper, then you can keep the layered thing going on during the winter. The Blue Star is fairly slow growing, (especially living on the east side), so don't expect it to fill in quickly. Instead, cough up the cash and plant several.

If you think widening the bed is daunting, just lay down wet cardboard on the turf and cover with lots of mulch. Then cut out wide holes for your plantings. The grass will be long gone in a year.

Boxwood could work against the foundation too, but it grows like molasses.

Just my thoughts, based on having been in a similar situation. Get what you want the first time around, so you don't have to do it again later.

Thank you all for helping me think this through.

You're right, Scout, I'm better off getting what I picture the first time around! And thanks for telling me I'm on the right track... I'll keep working on it. But a deeper bed seems like the way I have to go if I want the evergreen background.

Back to the drawing (and digging) board...

bloomin

Wait a minute, what if I do it the other way around? The shrub rose in the back of the bed, with the low growing creeper or slow-growing dwarf boxwood in front? I think I saw a picture of that somewhere...

I have a bed adjacent to the one I was asking about above, which is 7' deep, other conditions the same. That would help a little with the space issue, as well as choosing smaller evergreens for the low space in the front. I could mix them with other perennials for seasonal interest. But wait -- then I still have an ugly foundation to look at in the winter.

Aaarrgghhh... this it making me nuts!

bloomin...

I understand, believe me. Hey I thought of another evergreen beauty you could put behind the roses. Pieris Japonica -- great shrub and slow grower but eventually you'd have to start pruning it. Nice white bell-shaped flowers in spring, new foliage is red turning to light green, and rich glossy dark green mature foliage. It makes its flower buds in the fall and they hang out all winter waiting for spring.

If you could get them at least 2 feet from the house, I guess you could maybe wedge some in behind the roses. They won't mind being shaded by the roses, and then they would sort of appear in the fall when the roses go bare.

Your call -- good luck.

What about Dragon Lady holly? Nice dark, shiny leaves, red berries...They have a vertical growth pattern and could easily be kept to five feet. I prune mine to about that height. They also have prickly leaves and are not a favorite of deer (no guarantee there) but to plough thought the shrub roses to get to a prickly holly I think they'd have to be pretty hungry. They haven't touched mine.