The Hardy Fuschia does better in the Pacific Northwest, from what I understand. Isn't that frustrating! How about Osmanthus fragrans, the fragrant Tea Olive?

Oh thank you for the suggestion. I think I'm looking for something with a more ostentatious bloom. My lot is almost 3 acres and is very heavily wooded. The only color I have within the entire property comes from the liriope around my foundation and about 8 rose bushes planted around the side of my driveway and on the side of the house. I have a lot of non-flowering shrubs, ligustrum??, and boxwood but nothing that really flowers.

So, while I'm sure the fragrance is excellent, and it is perfectly suited to being a foundation shrub, I need something that will bloom with profuse flowers, all spring and summer!! Okay, just kidding, but I would like to see flowers for as long as possible. That's why I was thinking of the fuschia.
I know the pieris don't flower for a very long time, but they make up for it with having extraordinary foliage.

A couple of camellia cultivars would be nice - you can trim them to size, if needed, or try to choose cultivars that will fit in the space without trimming. And, if you pick carefully, you can have blooms from Nov. until Mar., maybe not a lot at first, but as the plants mature.... There is a reddish-pinkish variety that seems to flower from the end of Dec. through to Mar., but I am afraid I've only seen it and don't know the name, and it seems to want to grow fairly tall - I have seen 4-6' shrubs, mostly.

Even though the pieris flowers don't last too long, the calyxes and trusses do hang on, so you have the effect of flowers.

Daphne would also give winter/spring flowers, and gaardenias would give spring/early summer flowers.

I am trying to think what meets your requirements and flowers in the summer, but am drawing a blank at the moment.

there's some dwarf osmanthus that have variegated leaves that would look nice. the blooms are small but very fragrant. nandinas are semi-evergreen here and between the spring flowers and fall & winter berries plus leaf color change have a good bit of color. there's a yellow berried cultivar available, too. i was thinking gardenias, too, but i don't think they'd flower well without at least some sun. evergreen + color + poor soil is a tough combo.

Did I mention that I want them to water themselves and take out the garbage for me??? LOL!

I know I see nandinas everywhere, but I agree that they have excellent foliage and the berries are really beautiful. Plus the price is right on them, so they are a contender, thank you. The yellow berry cultivar sounds really appealng; I'll have to look into it.

I had seen a variagated Daphne and I thought it was really beautiful, but I read that they only reach about 4 feet or so. I need it to be able to reach at least 6 feet. Anyone have an idea on how long, how many seasons, it would take a 12" inch Daphne, to reach 3-4 feet?

I love Camelias and I think they are beautiful. But for some reason I thought they were very hard to grow and that they were "high maintenance". Is that true?? I don't mind watering and feeding regularly, but if a plant is prone to pests and diseases and I'm constantly have to fight for it's life, then I consider that high maintenance in my book. Again, anyone know how long it would take a 1 gallon plant, to reach say 3-4 feet, in seasons? I only need a guestimate.

I think I might be leaning towards the Camelias if I can determine that they are not as fussy as I have it in my head. I love their dark green glossy leaves and the blooms are beautiful. Everyone has been wonderful and thank you so much for your input.

snicker- you'd be dead before a daphne odora got that big. daphnes are great, but they have a habit of dying right around year 5-8, and they normally top out at about 3-4'. they grow slowly, to say the least, and are pricey, though the big boxes carry them for reasonable amounts compared to nurseries. do pop one in, just for the fragrance & looks, but put it in front of something taller. they need excellent drainage.

another thought- hellebores would be nice to have a t the feet of some of your bigger stuff. they have long lasting flowers, can take poor soil and shade and thrive on neglect. they ain't cheap, and grow slowly, but they are worth it. if you can find someone who has them already, ask for seedlings- they self sow abundantly - and start that way. it'll be 3-4 years before you see blooms, but you won't regret it, and you'll forget they're there til then.

camellias are easy. not high maintenance at all here. just pick the type you want based on the bloom you want and when (some bloom late fall & some spring) and the size, and be patient and let it grow. they'll do that faster with some sun and good soil, but will grow in shade; it just takes longer. if you can improve your soil, a 1 gallon plant, which would probably be about 12- 18" high, would probably get to 3-4 feet in a couple years. most camellias are going to get much larger than that though and you'll want to be careful in picking ones that match the size you want eventually to avoid trimming chores (most get bigger than what you're wanting). camellias have an nice shape naturally and shouldn't need too much fussing, unless you plant the wrong thing and it gets too big.

i'd consider mixing and matching rather than doing all one thing. that way if you do have disease or insect problems, it doesn't wipe out everything. or if one dies down the road, you aren't stuck buying a huge one so you don't have a hole. a little variety in shapes and forms is much more dynamic in design, too. you can get a better range of color and scent and times of color as well. have fun with it!

I had two lovely Pieris up and die without any clear cause. Of course, any plant can die ... I can't quite picture them as a row of shurbs. Most of the ones I've seen are more of an accent plant. I agree that camellias are a lovely and easy shrub, in and out of bloom. I thought they were considered slow-growing though. What about azaleas?

Most azaleas are smaller than wanted, but could be nice as fillers in the front. There are small-leafed rhodies that are taller, sometimes mis-called as azaleas, and the normal large-leafed rhodies can be short or tall.

Indian Hawthorne, Raphiolepis, can grow to the height you want, and has flowers in summer, either white or pink, but might want more sun, esp. to stay tightly shaped.

The hellebores could be very nice in the front once mature. They do get pretty big - about 3' across, so you would have to allow them room. There are newer and really lovely colors now, pinks, purples, speckled, including doubles that from the photos are truly spectacular! They could be a very nice accent in the front.

Another shrub for the back of the border could be a variegated aucuba. I know it's almost a cliche, but it is also almost fool-proof, and the variegation would brighten up the backdrop. You might have to do a bit of trimming, eventually, to keep the size...

The fall before we moved to NC, I bought and planted a dozen hellebores and never got to see them bloom because we moved here. I think they're a great suggestion and I'll definitely pick some up to add some color.

Also before I moved down here, I'd seen the variegated aucuba in my plant encyclopedia and just loved it. I could never find it in MA and now, as you said since it's everywhere, I don't think I'd want to plant a hedge of it. I'm still planning on buying one or two for the rock gardens I have in my front yard. I think I'll plant a few of my beloved pieris and azaleas in there also.

I think the Daphne's are out, thank you for your imput tamelask. I'm young, but I just don't have the patience!!! I'm really heading and leaning towards the Camellias. What would be a nice companion plant to them if I wanted to do alternating shrubs?

Finally, I have one more plant that I just found last night and I would like everyone's input before I make my final decision. I've been seeing these shrubs on HW64 in Knightdale near the new Midway Shoppes. They are planted in the Bank of America parking lot, and in the median of 64. I spent hours online last night and I think I've diagnosed them as Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum 'Burgundy' or Chinese Fringe Bush. I think it's a pink form of Witch Hazel??? Anyways, if that is the shrub, then it is evergreen, would grow to the right size, has stunning blooms and year round foliage interest. My house is a white brick and I think it would like nice in contrast. My only concern is that it says part shade and I think I'd be more part shade to shade.

Thank you again for all of your suggestions. My only problem now is that I want all of them LOL!!

the lorapetalum is a nice shrub, but it'll get bigger than you want unless you want to prune it. it's not a witch hazel, but the flowers do look similar. it'll do ok in a good bit of shade- but it won't be as full or floriforus. as far as companion shrubs, i think any of the above mentioned ones would work- just decide what foliage & flower types you like together. lorapetalum and nandina have fine leaves, which would work well as a foil, and osmanthus, especially a variegated form, would also be a nice contrast. ditto the acuba.

consider doing a daphne in your other bed with the azaleas and peiris- it really is worth the diva status for that scent in february. and it's a tidy shrub, til it it dies- even then, you can just pull it out. they are slow, but will bloom when they are small, so you'll get the scent even while they are growing.

Friends have a lorapetalum, purple leafed, in almost full shade, and it's pretty lanky. I think that in part shade, they won't be as full as you want, and they CAN grow up to 12', so you will be constantly trimming back. That said, they are pretty, either the purple-leafed or the less commonly seen green-leafed one. Me, given your parameters, I would put one elsewhere than the foundation bed, but it's up to you.

For the aucuba, I was thinking more about one, or two, in a back corner, to brighten the corner up a bit.

I got some August Beauty Gardenia's from Lowe's last month they are supposed grow to 6'. I just added some peat moss, Miracle Grow Garden soil and 1 tsp of Garden Sulphur to our red clay. They're looking good so far.

I think they have some newer loropetalums out now that are supposed to stay 4-5 feet, but I have no experience with them. I have 13 (just planted 10 new ones) of the bigger varieties in my yard and I love them. They have no pests that I've noticed, they're drought tolerant, and the deer ignore them. But none of mine are in a foundation bed. They're out on the fringe of the woods.
Dana