Kalmia will be fine in front of the windows - be sure to give them good drainage; I would mix in some soil conditioner (composted pine bark) and plant them "high". I have quite a few as foundation plants. 'Peppermint' is a mature 5x5 (according to what I see on the web) so it might be a bit big there, but is slow growing enough that you could nip it after blooming and keep it in control. 'Olympic Fire', at 3x4 might have been better. But I think you can manage it. Be sure to plant it far enough away from the house so it can grow into a nice bush. I have one 'Elf' and it has stayed quite tiny (mature is 2x3).

Viburnum with small leaves is probably V. obovatum. It holds some leaves in winter, but is not reliabily "evergreen". I have two as well.

For the sunny area, consider using Agarista populifolia. Considered a shade plant, it also handles some sun, especially if you have good moisture. 'Leprechaun' is a nice dwarf growing up to 4x5. Morella cerifera Suwanee Elf (dwarf wax myrtle) is also an evergreen choice. 'Don's Dwarf' is another cultivar.

Have you joined the native plant society? Don't forget that swell all day symposium coming up February 14th. There will be some plants for sale but mostly it is just a good day for learning.

Why are all those nurseries discouraging you from using Kalmia if they are also trying to SELL it? That seems weird.

Have you been to visit the gardens at the Atlanta History Center? The gardens staff is very knowledgeable and nice! They have all sorts of glorious native plants growing right in the heart of Buckhead.

One comment on the Mountain Laurel. I am originally from the Midwest and have had to really re-learn much of my gardening habits. I got a Mountain Laurel for my birthday and it died, due to a soil borne disease, exacerbated by poor drainage. I planted it like we plant most everything in the Midwest, with the low hole and a water moat around it. Big mistake. I am going to try Mt. Laurel again, this time on a shady hill in my backyard. You can re-create "mountain-y" siting conditions -- and I think they are essential to success with this plant!

Thanks, y'all

Esh - the viburnum is "Dwarf Walters Viburnum", so yes, you are correct on the 'obovatum' ID. So, that sucks - I was told this would be cold hardy and keep its leaves, and it has a good emount of new growth. The whole point of buying it was its supposed evergreen quality :\

RE: Kalmia choices, I was looking at Rare Find Nursery because they have the largest Kalmia I can find (at a cost, of course). The ones highest on my list were "Firecracker" (4'x4'), "Nathan Hale" (4'x4'), Peppermint (4'x4'), Pinwheel (5'x5', and love the flowers), "Olympic Fire" (5'x5'). I am having a hard time finding Firecracker and Nathan Hale in 18"-24" though...Peppermint is easily had at 24"-30", but @ $90/ea, and I have seen the flowers, but don't find them as impressive as, say, pinwheel (most nurseries around here seem to have Peppermint). Do you have a reliable source for Kalmia that is already a couple years in?

Meanwhile, GNPS...need to re-up membership. Meeting on Valentine's day? My DW would kill me :D

Buck Jones in Woodstock/Canton always has a good selection of Kalmia in the spring. I know they always have Olympic Fire and they had several others last year. Usually they are 2 gallon plants, sometimes 3 gallon. About $26, I think. I would certainly prefer to buy plants in person if possible. Call in advance to check stock over the phone.

My V. obovatums still have some leaves now, but I don't think one can always count on them to be evergreen. But I would just as happy as you if they would keep leaves. Did you see that article on viburnums in the electronic GNPS newsletter?

Another nice little evergreen (but not full sun loving) is Pieris phillyreifolia which I got from Georgia Perimeter college's nursery. It has stayed very low to the ground for me.

There are also the native inkberries (Ilex glabra). I think 'Shamrock' is the most well known dwarf one. I have no personal experience with it.

I think if you went to the symposium on Valentine's day, you could still be home in time to take her to a romantic dinner! Of course, even better, bring HER.

What sizes are we talking about on those Kalmia at Buck Jones? I am looking at getting 18"-30" tall @ $50-90 online, depending on what variety. At minimum, I would really like to do 2'; from the hose rack you can see in the photo, it is approximately 24" of (grey) foundation showing, and at the tallest part, we're talking 38" of (grey) foundation showing.

In a nutshell, it's approximately 4' from the ground to the base of the middle window sill. I'm thinking a 5'x5' plant may be appropriate because it's so slow-growing.... also, everywhere I look, Olympic fire is showing 5'x5', where did you get 3'x4'?

Is Pieras a native?

Also, when you say "some leaves" on the obovatums, are we talking "half" the leaves. "three-quarters", "one-quarter" or ??

Ilex glabra looks strangely like a Gardenia from what I'm finding online (the "shamrock", at least)

Esh, thanks for taking the time with me, I really appreciate it.

The 2 gallon plants seemed to be about 24 inches tall (above the soil line) from what I remember. They were not shrimps.

Yes, that is a native Pieris. Here is a picture of my mine:

Leaves on V. obovatum are about 1/3 of the usual, I'd say.

Yes, the Ilex glabra has leaves that very much resemble gardenia. Good looking, shiny, dark green, not prickly.

Below is the source I was using for the sizes on Kalmia.

Ah, I found Dayton's page also. Their numbers seem to be a bit skewed compared to others. I may end up going Olympic fire. Meanwhile, looks like some of these plants are going back :\ sucks!

Just wanted to put in another vote for Kalmia! I had one in previous house that did fantastically well as a foundation plant in front of the house. I had it next to Daphne Odora (with hellebores in front), and I loved that combination.

I have planted a couple of Kalmia in the new house, and seem to be doing fine so far. I planted them really high. Mine are just the species plant, I got them from Fernbank's native plant sale. Have you looked up Nearly Native Nursery? They seem to have reasonable prices (i have never been though, just looked online).

I've struggled to find many evergreen natives for full sun that have flowers. Maybe you can mix some evergreens with some deciduous there and that would give you more flowering opportunities. You could maybe move the Fothergillas and Iteas over there, they do well in sun too.

Also, i have on my "wish list" for full sun, a Lyonia Lucida (fetterbush), which is native and gets flowers in spring. I don't have this so have no experience of it -- Esh, do you have this? Is it the same as the native Pieris you posted, it does look similar?

The common name "mountain laurel" is confusing in that kalmia is native to the mountains, the Piedmont, and the Coastal Plain of the Southeast. In South Carolina, for example, there is Kalmia Gardens, named for the indigenous kalmia, in the City of Hartsville, which is on the coastal plain.

We have several mountain laurels in our yard, collected in the South Carolina mountains, growing under a pine canopy. I think mountain laurel will also perform well in full sun. If you are able to find a source of the unnamed native species, I think you will find it much prettier than the named cultivars available at nurseries. To me, there is something a little garish about the named mountain laurel cultivars. The generic native mountain laurel possesses a subtle beauty that has been bred out of the named cultivars.

A word of caution: It's a good idea to keep your livestock, i.e., cows, goats, sheep, etc., and children, away from mountain laurel because it has the reputation of being deadly if ingested. Mountain laurel may be a little less lethal than oleander, but I'm not sure about that. (Remember the road crew down at Brunswick, GA, who burned a pile of oleander, inhaled fumes from the bonfire, and keeled over dead a few years ago?)

I do have Lyonia lucida - bought two last spring at Nearly Native Nursery. Unfortunately the drought was not kind to them (and I'm sure my watering strategy was to blame). One is gone. The other had to be trimmed (or perhaps the deer took a bite, I can't remember). I think it will survive though. Lyonia ligustrina is one my favorites and I bought the L. lucida partly out of respect for it and partly because I wanted to evaluate it as an evergreen choice.

Jay makes the comment "I think mountain laurel will also perform well in full sun" and I wanted to comment on that. The definition of "full sun" is 6 or more hours of sun. Mountain laurel would love 6 hours of full morning sun. However, it would not do well in 6 hours of afternoon sun. Some plants just need protection from the harshest sun (and those are the ones labled "part sun").

And as always, adequate moisture at the growing site always helps plants endure more sun than they would without the adequate moisture.

Mayland, be sure to check out Agarista populifolia 'Leprechaun' - the flowers are very much like the Lyonia.