boy are you asking the wrong peeps.. lol .. thats like asking us if this batch of crack is better than the last batch of crack ... lol

i am going to have to defer on the whole GA thing ... as to what should/might work ... the baking z8 GA thing bothers me.. but lets see what others suggest ...

but i would definitely go MINI ... check out the link to understand that ...

i would personally leave at least 2 to 3 feet from the house as a walking area.. etc ...

since your bio tends to indicate you have a number of other addictions.. lol.. the mini suggestion.. would allow you to perhaps get upwards of 20 plants in there ...

the drainage bothers me.. but we can work on that ... is the soil that famous GA clay????

one thing for sure.. you are probably very close.. to being too late to plant conifers in z8 ... but again.. lets see what others have to say ... you just might have until fall planting time to figure this all out ....

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

other possibilities...nice crib

Here is a link that might be useful: conifers for shade

Thanks y'all!
Ken the capitalization of the word MINI totally hooked me. I have been dying to start a conifer bed or area somewhere around here, but waiting until fall isn't the end of the world. I am going to check the links you guys provided. Are conifers good candidates for containers? I love to be able to move stuff around.
As to the soil, our soil here is a bit different. It is clay based, but when we built the house we brought a bunch of soil up to the front yard from down on our acreage along a creek. The creek is called Sandy Copper due to it's sandy base, so our yard has quite a bit of sand in it as well as the years of decomposed wood chips we've been getting dumped on our property.
Here is a pic I posted here a few years ago asking for some help with some Thuja Green Giants.
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And here's a pic I took this afternoon of those same Thujas. You guys obviously gave me some decent advice :).
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Hard to tell, but the fence is 4ft tall to give you an idea of their size now.

If you're thinking rock garden, check out what Maria did with a similar planting spot (you'll have to scroll down a bit!).

Here is a link that might be useful: conifers in the rocks

Thanks for the link sluice. Those are some fabulous pics, just the kind of look my husband would love.
I found a link for a place called Iseli Nursery, a good site to start learning about conifers.

Your Green Giants did great. If looking for mostly minis you might want to look here. Bob posts on here on occasion also.
Cher

Here is a link that might be useful: Coenosium Gardens

Are conifers good candidates for containers? I love to be able to move stuff around.

==>>>>

the trick with TREES in pots is the proper potting media .... conifers are trees .. and the most important thing is proper drainage.. and most potting media is too high in peat and holds too much water ... if you get to this point.. new post.. or search out Al's gritty mix.. on GW .... in the alternative... a bag of cactus mix is darn close ...

and a tree in a pot.. can never be left in the sun ... not the tree .. the black pot.. you will cook the roots ... even if you plant pot and all .... one trick is to hide the black pot with the tree.. in another pretty pot ... so there is a wide air gap to temper the heat of the sun ...

still no one has come up with a list of conifer for blistering sun in your zone ... how far south are you??? obviously GG work ...

ken

I'm in north Georgia, about 15 miles north of Atlanta.
I was thinking I would end up with better drainage in pots (at least in that one bed).
There is a big garden, pottery place about an hour north of me that is great. My friend has a wholesale license so she gets great prices. Those pots in my first post cost me less than $20 each.

bocron

You are in the right forum to get the answers you want. Plenty of information available here from knowledgeable people who will guide you in developing a conifer garden.

Iseli has many wonderful selections to choose from. They are wholesale only. You can download their catalog.

Buchholz is another one. Many selections to choose from. See link.

Find a local nursery that buys from them. See if they will piggy back and order from you to add to their spring order. A common practice in the trade. To late for this year as deliveries are in process. You have all this year to select and plan for next year.

There also slow growing dwarfs that will work also.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Buchholz

The slopey area leading to your front door looks like a better place for conifers than right against the house where drainage may be an issue.