A Steeds Holly might be nice, they have that conical shape you mentioned. They are a soft touch holly, (no points, no berries) But I personally love Euonymous. There are a lot of varieties to choose from these days. I am partial to the green spire, which grows moderately quickly and keeps a columnar form. There are a lot of variegated varieties as well if you are looking for a little more color. Depending on the variety they can get quite large, which would help provide some shade for your Pieris. And they're hardy!

There is an author whose cmments have evoked much visceral response in these forums...but for once, I think the contributors to these forums would agree with him. The comment was that yews responded favorably to the use of hedge shears, which was a mistake in the author's opinion. The author? Dirr, general comments on Taxus, third edition, I believe, although perhaps the fourth. On another aside, funny how it is we seem to think that others must see how plants should grow through our eyes, our preferences, our likes and dislikes. How would we transform the gardens at Versailles? I realize there was a time when gardens were highly formalised structures of rigid lines, pristine paths, and carefully defined plants. I also realize this time is largely gone, yet lingering. It's presence is felt in the natural formality of arbs and DAS and boxwood, in the sheared uniformity so typical of yew. Right or wrong is not for me to say. That implies a moral authority I do not care to shoulder nor impart. If a trimmed yew gets your juices flowing, go for it. Knock yourself out. If a natural formed yew is your plant of choice, great. Fabulous. It's a good thing there is variety in this world.

I picked this particular specimen for this spot because I love the bright blue color, it grows fast in height, and was also showing a naturally narrower form. As for if it will have to be killed someday...that's a maybe. In our harsh climate and extremely dense clay soil, growing conditions are not ideal for sure. So it, like most conifers, will not reach the potential it does in other areas of the country. For the 20-25 years I will probably be here to enjoy it, I'm sure it will be happy in that location. After that it's someone else's problem. And as I've stated before, for us urbanites that don't have acreage to grow on, sometimes we have to do what we have to do. As for the stake, we also have strong winds and I wanted this tall, thin, top heavy specimen to have some help maintaining its straight verticality while the trunk gets a little more caliper size. mark

TiaMaria, I am sorry you haven't gotten any response yet but it does require a long complicated answer without a lot of information. I am not familiar with JCBakker but they come up as a wholesaler for me. I find it odd that some of the plants you mention are grafted. They are easy enough to root. Are you sure they graft Viburnum, Rose of Sharon, Barberry, Hydrangea? Also it is hard to design an unseen site. There are many variables besides just taste. If you break apart your question and search each one, you will find a lot of material to mull through. Such as "narrow evergreen", I came up with almost 750 hits just here on the GW. Sometimes the answer just comes down to what you like once conditions are considered. And there are always people pushing the ideal conditions and getting away with it. May I suggest you take a day to visit Rare Find Nursery in Jackson? It is not the only place to go, but they have a very interesting selection of plants and its a great place to start. Plants do range in size. Some are too small and I might suggest you stay away from the smallest rhododendron starts unless you really must have something. It takes a while to go through between the offerings and the gardens so don't go when you are in a rush. Here is a link that might be useful: Rare Find Nursery