Before I can offer any suggestions, I need a bit more information. What kind of shade do you have - is it only shaded by the house or is it also overhung by trees? Does it get any morning or afternoon sun or is it facing due north? Does the roof overhang the area so it is dry and gets less light, or is there no overhang over the area? What is on the other side of the bed from the house - a walkway or something else? Can the shrubs' branches spill out of the width of the bed or not?

If a shrub grows 5 feet wide, you can plant it four feet from another identical shrub, so they grow together. Plus, there is no rule that says you have to plant them in a straight line. If you stagger them, you can plant them even closer. That way, the planting is deeper but not as wide. Also, keep in mind that the stated size of a shrub is in ideal conditions, at maturity. Here are a few compact viburnums: V. carlesii 'Compactum' V. x Carlesii 'Cayuga' V. dentatum 'Cardinal Candy' V. opulus 'Nanum' If you are not married to the idea of using viburnums - which, as a species, are very sizeable shrubs - there are other shrubs that are suitable for foundation plantings: Clethra alnifolia (summersweet) Berberis (barberry) - numerous cultivars in green, gold and purple Buxus - several species and cultivars Ilex crenata - some cultivars, but mind that if you want berries, you need both at least one male plant for every four or five female plants, and the cultivars are either male or female and different cultivars may have different textures - 'Beehive' (male), 'Hoogendorn' (male), and 'Soft Touch' (female) Pieris japonica - several cultivars, including 'Bisbee Dwarf', 'Bonsai', 'Pygmaea' (also listed as f. pygmaea), 'Nocturne' 'Little Heath', and 'Cavatine' Abelia x grandiflora - several cultivars, including 'Compacta', 'Conti' (Confetti), 'Dwarf Purple', 'Little Richard', and 'Sunrise' Escallonia - several cultivars, including 'Newport Dwarf', 'Pink Pixie', and 'Red Elf' Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Kembu' Also, there are literally thousands of junipers, arborvitaes, chamacyparis, and other evergreen coniferous shrubs. And don't forget to consider ferns. There are several evergreen ferns (Polystichum munitum, P. acrostichoides, P. polyblepharum, Cyrtomium falacatum, Blechnum spicant, and Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance', to name a few. I hope this is helpful. Tammy

I have on order 25 encore azaleas that are supposed to be planted in a new planting bed to be created on the north facing side of my house. My yard guy said he thought they would be okay there, but I'm a bit concerned that they won't get enough light to do well. We live in Augusta, GA, which I believe is zone 8a. Any opinions, or suggestions for something that would fare better would be most welcome. Looking for something that will eventually become full and bushy to fill in the space. This is an expensive project for us, so we want to get it right.

conifers are trees .. and as such.. never really stop growing at some magical height .... its all about the annual growth rate ... see link ... how fast it will get to that height.. and go right past it ... http://conifersociety.org/conifers/conifer-sizes/ i really need a pic to opine .. use the camera/photo butting under the box you type in to post them directly in your post ... how much of an area do you have for the footprint ... the most common error made.. in planting.. is not planting it far enough from the house ;... to allow for future growth .... to many peeps plant it for the size it is at purchase.. with no allowance for the decades ahead ... especially if your house will need painting in the future ... z6 is about half the US.. and rather divergent.. give us a big city name .... ken