Melissa, broom is a pain in the neck. I used to love seeing it by the roadsides driving through the Italian landscape; so bright, so perfumed! But I think that is the only good context for it, in a way. It would be OK where it is on my property, if it didn't attract those effing beetles so wildly; in fact, IMO, the beetles exist precisely to keep the broom from taking over the entire world, since they suck the flowers and render them infertile. But the beetles are engineered to be wildly attracted to the colour yelow; that is, the stamens of ALL flowers,and due to the geography (or morphology???) of my land (sharply sloping down from the rose garden into the broom field and below that, oak woods,with a south-west orientation),having broom down there is like rolling out the red carpet for the beetles (well, the yellow carpet). Broom has strong, fibrous tap roots that can push their way through/ between rocks, etc. I think the only way I can do anything with this area is by hacking up the ground with my pick; I can't see just planting baby trees amongst that thuggish broom and hoping them to survive.Also, I'd have to water the babies in their first year, and I think the broom would just flourish all the more. Probably I'll try a mix of things and see what works best,but it will be necessary to work the soil before I plant anything. I probably should saw down all the broom in the area I wish to start cultivating, and maybe put black plastic bags over the stumps of the ones that are too deep rooted to dig up; for shade it might be better to rig up something artificial. I don't think your land was as abused as mine was; this area in question has been so badly eroded; I have to hunt out spots where it will be possible to dig down deep enough to start stuff. The rose garden area was similar when I started about 15 years ago,but I am not going to lug all this heavy clay, etc. all the way down there. To plant the first Leylandii I prepared an area,digging out rocks, putting in organic matter and kitty litter, etc. I'll certainly be watering it in it's first year at least! but the thing about Leylandii is that it was cheap; it's as tall as me and cost me all of 13 euros. So, if with some effort I can get it to establish,I might have a nice start.The thing is, even on the subject of drought resistance, people's experiences and opinions vary greatly with ALL plants, as far as I can see. To me,for example, roses are very drought-resistant once established, but many, many people heartily disagree with this opinion. So I will see what this Leylandii does before I make any decisions. Criteria for a nurse crop would have to be : economic ,(not to say, cheap) and fast-growing. But even for that, I will absolutely have to work on that soil ; as it is now, nothing new can start growing there, I think,except baby broom and maybe brambles (if they manage to compete with the broom)...bart

Escarpment Live oak has survived 3 winters in my zone 6 yard, not sure of zone 5a though. I would try it anyway, but mine is ULTRA slow growing. Mine is still about 14-16 inches tall after 4 summers. I thought it died, and I planted another Live oak hybrid near where it was and the new one is taller than the Q. Fusiformis, planted 3 + years ago, which came back from a sprout and pushed out about a foot of new branches. Try Quartz mountain Quercus Fusiformis if you try Live oak. Acorns of Burr oak are said to put down tap roots as long as 7 ft deep. I have one from acorns from Dax last fall, it is about 2 3/4 ft tall. It was the tallest of all the acorns I sowed. Will post pics soon.

Of the ones you mention, the hydrangea will likely work the best. Any flowering plant needs sun to bloom heavily, but vines which are more adapted to shade conditions - like the hydrangea - will grow and look better even when not in bloom. For something less common, look for Holboellia or Schisandra, both shade loving flowering vines.

Hi Bruce thanks so much! This is basically a companion plant for a Quick Fire. I was thinking about a Ninebark for the purple...I think I want some purple! I have a 'Baby Blue Eyes' and a Black Hills Spruce paired up on the other side of this plant, and I could be interested in a conifer, but I'm not sure what would not get so big and look good with the pink of the Quick Fire. Which is why I was leaning toward purple, and the nine bark might be great. I was thinking Summer Wine for the disease resistance, but it isn't supposed to get that tall and don't nine barks generally need to be hacked down every few years to get them to grow nicely? That's why they weren't on my top list. The Seibold is interesting. I have a Nannyberry and three other viburnums that my builder installed so pollination shouldn't be an issue!