Next question: Why, oh why, would anyone plant a hedge that grows to 18 feet tall by 30 feet wide right next to a house??? Am I better off pulling it out or will aggressive pruning keep it in shape? I don't know anything about this particular plant, but I am also puzzled by the plants people use close to the house. One place I lived had a star magnolia that was beautiful but completely blocked both dining room windows, forsythias right up against the house, and a pyracantha in front of the cleanout door on the chimney. Beats me....

Tricia, Rhododendrum is evergreen and might do well in that spot if there is no afternoon sun. You can prune it if it gets too big and it will have nice flowers in Spring. Mountain Laurel, the PA state shrub is evergreen and has flowers, won't get real high for you. Variegated privet is really beautiful and you could shape it any way you like, takes abuse and flowers in spring. All green, there are boxwoods, you could shape nice, even a topiary which would look different. Some azelas might do alright there, there are evergreen ones, if you mulch them real good. Encore azelas might make it in your zone well mulched and bloom off and on through the summer. If you go with a rhodo, amend the soil real good with spagnum peat moss and mabey a few rocks, since your soil is clayish. Chuck Hayes gardenia is evergreen, and if you amend the soil like a rhodo, you could have a beautiful gardenia out front and boy do they boom in the spring and the whole neighborhood smells it. There were people on this forum from Philadelphia that had a 4 foot Chuck Hayes that grew well, they had to trim some of it down.(check Fragrant forum, input Chuck Hayes). SOrry, ran out of ideas. Hope you find something nice.

A Steeds Holly might be nice, they have that conical shape you mentioned. They are a soft touch holly, (no points, no berries) But I personally love Euonymous. There are a lot of varieties to choose from these days. I am partial to the green spire, which grows moderately quickly and keeps a columnar form. There are a lot of variegated varieties as well if you are looking for a little more color. Depending on the variety they can get quite large, which would help provide some shade for your Pieris. And they're hardy!

Interesting. In that thread she asked for low maintenance, here she asked for evergreen. There she said Boston, here she said Zone 5. The moderating temperatures of the ocean and the Urban Heat Island effect mean Boston proper is usually a bit warmer then Zone 5, opening up the possibilities of all sorts of types of holly. Anyway, people in the other thread pleaded ignorance of our clmate and were reluctant to make specific species suggestions, so here goes... In answer to her questions on the other thread, hydrangea and juniper both work great in our climate. I don't like hydrangea for foundation beds because I think they look awful in winter (so I prefer them in parts of the yard that are only used in summer) but that's a matter of personal taste. One of the few true blue flowers. One problem with juniper is lack of shade tolerance, but should work here. Are you new to the area by any chance? Or just new to landscaping?