This is covered in the help section of the website, and a search of the forum will turn up the same question. Upload your pictures to a photo hosting website like photobucket or whatever. then follow the instructions there for adding them to other sites. You can put the url in the box under your message when you preview your post, or use the "tag" to insert it directly into your post. Try not to insert really big pictures, as they cause the window here to get really wide and you have to scroll from side to side to read all subsequent posts. Also, one or maybe two is enough. We don't need to see eight pictures of the area from every possible angle to get the idea. Try to include the whole front, if possible, so we can see how it relates to the rest of the front yard. A closeup is no help. There is a test forum for experimenting until you get it down, and a help section and tech support section too.

I don't know about Gold Coat English Holly, but Ilex 'Honey Maid' has some nice coloring and seems to stay relatively small. This specimen is several years old. Variegated plants seem to have a slower growth rate than solid plants. Not sure about the clay thing. Mine are in dry shade.

Yews will definitely give you 6 feet but just make sure you pay attention to the particular variety you are getting -- one like Brownii might be good. Yews grow slowly, so be sure you get one that is already fairly large (they are expensive because of this). You can always prune them down to the desired height if they get too big. Otto Luyken is more of a dwarf variety so it will not achieve 6' height but other varieties of cherry laurel such as Zabel Laurel should approach it. These are mature heights, so it will take some time to get there -- though laurels grow quickly. Most evergreen barberry varieties will reach 6 ft., but there is a lot of variety so look at your nursery for something suitable. Wax Myrtles and Arborvitae get huge. I probably should not have suggested them for your situation. You also might want to look at an evergreen Viburnum -- huge variety of selections; they have attractive spring flowers. I'd recommend going to a nursery and looking around. Often there are new varieties that will better suit your needs.

It's too late when you can no longer get a shovel in the ground. Note to above statement: If the air temp is below freezing, don't expose root hairs. If you get really late in the year, mulch well. Yes, leaves can work. or straw. or a lot of other things.