If it was a mimosa you saw, those WERE flowers.

Take a look at Heptacodium miconioides (Seven Son Flower). Narrow though multistemmed, about 20 feet tall. Late fragrant summer bloom followed by striking red bracts appearing now which will look good through October. Interesting peeling bark and tough as nails in heat, cold and any kind of soil.

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Ok now call me "crazy"... but judging by the photo of the ozark mountians shown above, there are oodles and oodles of trees that will grow there and unless that is heat and drought stress causing their leaves to color you might actually be able to plant something that puts of a show in the fall.

I have some questions for you. 1.) What do you see growing around you and does any of it appeal to you? 2.) Have you ventured off to any nurseries yet to see what is available in your area and made notes and written down what you like to come home and research it before buying? You'll get lots of great suggestions here. Unfortunately 99% of them are rare collector plants you'll never find in a local nursery. 3.) Have you got a digital camera or some way to show us a photo of the site? This always gets the creative juices flowing. Many folks like myself usually can't suggest plants without seeing the conditions.

hello, and thanks for answering. 1st, mimosas are weeds around here, so the tree in Minneapolis was very different tall like a pine.
2nd. I have a yard full of oaks, walnuts, sassafrs, etc. I'd like something that stays green all year long. In winter I long for a glimpse of green.
The local Walmart and Lowes do have plants, but every yard has the same ol same ol if you know what I mean.
I'd like something a bit rare, different.

I have a digital camera, but am knew to it. How do I get a picture from it to this forum?

thanks,
KK

What I am getting so far is that you want evergreens, taller than wide, can grow to 20-30', but probably no wider than 10-12', that can take sun, and that can handle wide swings in temperature, in the same season, not just winter to summer. Do you want them both to be the same, or can they be different species? Do you just want the green foliage, do you care if they change color from summer to winter, can the foliage be golden, do you want flowers or berries?

Variegated hollies aren't as tough as the green ones, in general, and I THINK they need a bit more shade than your situation will give them, but an green one might do. You might also have to do some pruning in future, as I am not sure many of them will stay as narrow as you want - this may be difficult as the tree grows taller.

What about one of the grafted forms of Deodar cedar, Cedrus deodar, such as 'Descanso Dwarf', which gets to 15' in 20 yrs.? Cupressus arizonica, Arizona Cypress 'Blue Pyramid' is said to be 20-25' tall at maturity, and half that wide, blue-gray in color. Irish Yew, while not a conifer, is otherwise possible, at 20'; Taxus baccata 'Stricta'. T. media 'Hicksii', a hybrid yew to 10' or more, might also do, if you could find it.

Another possibility is one of the arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis, selections, ranging from 'Emaerald Green', 'Emaerald Beauty', 'Fastigata', 'Nigra'. There are also possible selections of False cypress - Hinoki, Chamaecyparis obtusi; Sawara, C. pisifera or C. thyoides - although they don't like windy locations.

If it's hardy in your area, another possibility is Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem', which grows to 15-20' tall, 10' wide - it flowers most of the summer.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Sorry, my spelling went cock-eyed - it's 'Emerald Green' or 'Emerald Beauty' Thuja occidentalis, in the second-to-last paragraph above.

O, Dibbit
Thank you so much. You expressed perfectly what I tried to say and did poorly! Yes, I do want a taller than wide ever green. Doesn't have to be varigated, I just thought that would be pretty. Smells and flowers, fall color any and all would be delightful. Just looking at the list of suggestions you gave me is great. I'll print off you response and start researching each tree.
Thanks you, Thank you, Thank you.
Kat

one CAUTION ...

foundation plantings should mean.. plantings to hide the foundation ...

THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE PLANTED ON OR NEAR THE FOUNDATION ....

plant them as far away from your house foundation as possible ... i grew up in a pasture that was turned into suburbia in the late 50' ... by the 90's all the cute little bushes planted within 3 feet of the 'foundation' ... were taller than the houses ... those who had foresight.. removed them sooner ... other still remain .. and they make the whole neighborhood look like carp ...

make big beds.. and place stock appropriately .. i know they will be tiny.. and sparse for a few years.. but in 10 years.. you wont be tearing them all out ...

good luck

ken

as an example.... there is a tiny bed on the foundation ... then the sidewalk.. and the bigger plants exterior to the sidewalk ...
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another view ... i may regret that i left the rhodie there.. but it was the only ornamental on the 5 acres when i moved in .. and i was sure it would die... lol ... and i doubt the azelia will ever outgrow the spot in zone 5 ... the bed is 5 to 6 feet wide
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and another .... think outside the box..
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Ken there is nothin worse than plants crowded up against a home and overgrowing their space. I completely agree with you and deplor all the messed up landscaping I see everywhere. The pictures are so nice. Love the terrace.
We've waited 6 years to start landscaping our lot to observe the area and learn about the weather and conditions here. I hope when I pick the tallish narrow tree, to have a mature diameter of 10-15 feet without requiring pruning as I prefer natural shapes. I figure planted at an angle out from the corner of the house 5-8 feet should be adequate for mature size and allow for passage between homes and down the steep slope. I hope.
Wish I could attach a photo, but am so ignorant of how to do that.
Kat

Kat - Go to google.com, create a gmail account, and then open a picasa web album. It is free. You can then download the photo uploader; it is also free, but optional, you can upload using the browse button on your picassa web album.

When you upload your photos to picasa, it will give you the html code to use to point to them, with the size selectable from thumbnail to full-size. The images will be clickable, so a small photo on GW will be linked to the full sized one in your picassa album. This works well because it's not a great idea to post large photos (they m ake it difficult to read the text in the threads) but it's also good to make a big image available for a closer look.

hit the link for info on photobucket and picture posting... its free.. and pretty easy .. after you do the first one...

after you set up the post.. when you hit PREVIEW... if you can see the picture.. we will ... if not.. we wont ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: hosta forum FAQ

Hi guys, I am going to attempt to post a few pictures of my yard showing the problem areas at the front corners of my house and the steep grade I have to work with. Here goes:
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Thanks Guys! I got my pictures in! Wow. Sorry I don't yet know how to scale them down a little or add caption info.
The pictures showing the front left of the house are the west side. The front right are southern side. As you can see, yard is dismally bare. I have planted a purple maple about 17 feet out from house. It is replacing a Japanese maple killed a year ago during a winter warm up followed by freeze.
The railroad timbers were the builders idea of how to create erosion control and garden beds. They are ugly and full of bugs and I'd replace yesterday if I had $$$$. I'm thinking of beginning rock piles from digging and using that rubble in place of gravel later when I build terraces.

Just be sure that whatever you plant won't block access to the electrical wires - even though the meter reading is almost all wireless/remote these days, if you need any work done on the utility lines, fighting through a tree, esp. a prickly holly or conifer is NOT the way to endear yourselves to the line workers.

Also be aware of where the underground lines run in your planting plans - if ever the lines have to be dug up, having a tree right on top of the location is perhaps cruel and unusual punishment! It won't do the tree any good either. Smaller plants or shrubs that can be moved if need be might be a better choice for that area.

I would avoid DEodar cedar in what is often referred to as zone 6. tropical things.

I would tak advantage of the rr ties and make some kind of raised planting area. Veggies maybe. But if you didn't want veggies you could do some shrubbery.

As for what you saw in MN, the most likely culprits are as follows.
Hemlock (canadian) This could be a possible tree for you.
Larix sp.--- Larches(actually not evergreen)
Tamarix (also not evergreen)