No direct sun. ===>>> i agree shade is near impossible to define in words ... but with no direct sun at any time of the day... there is no way around telling you its full shade ... and not much will 'thrive' in such ... especially if you want height out of it ... either you buy big .... or you wait for years.. lots of years ... key word: thrive.. grow to standard ... not many things outright die in too much shade ... but they might grow slower.. and sparser.. etc ... making it hard to accomplish a goal ... and even if you buy big.. they will be severely stressed.. having been grown in full sun ... and then moved into shade ... your best bet.. for ideas.. might be to post us a pic or two ... so we can see what is there.. and make suggestions ... also include location.. big city name.. as z6 is about half the US and very divergent ... and state your goal ... are you trying to hide something with the height??? btw.. is there anyway to increase the light ... thru some tree pruning ... might be the best investment you can make ... and you dont say how far behind the house.. but it wouldnt hurt to get the trees trimmed.. if they significantly overhang the house ... trying to think outside the box here ... ken ps: you dont state why you need the height.. but any understory tree might work.. such as redbud ...

One last question re the Japanese forest grass. Would it be silly to plant it this fall, or it helps develope a better root system even though it dies? or should I just wait for the spring to get them in the ground? @laceyvail 6A, WV @Christopher CNC

Based on the shade, I go with mt. Laurel and azaleas. There are plenty that will be about the right height. Mt. Laurel minuet, for example. Azalea Weston's lollipop. Dwarf Fothergillia. They will do well with part shade. If you have sun, you have more choices, but I'm not as sure of them, given that my yard has part shade, shade and deep shade. Try Bluestone perennials. They have plenty of shrub choices.

I know you're probably excited and just want a list of gorgeous plants that will look fabulous lol, but I have to agree with the others- you have to, imo, think more long-term and take it a bit more slowly. I would definitely put any effort first into what you want to do with the entrance - new stairs, larger stairs, a "landing area" around the stairs, perhaps bringing out the roof over the steps, maybe even adding a porch, etc - and then definitely really think how you want the walkway from the door to the driveway. I agree wider is better, and I personally would go with something slightly curved, not straight. You could then have a lovely garden in the area in front of the right side of the house, between the walk, the house and the driveway. As someone who bought a house with a straight walkway to the drive, and who has wished for 25 years I could afford to change it, and who has dreamed for 25 years about the garden I COULD BE having, I can't stress the importance of, imo, doing the hardscaping first - and carefully thinking it out. Maybe I'm projecting my wants onto your blank slate, lol, but I do think since you have that wonderful blank slate to work with, that is how you should proceed. To the left of the door (looking at it from the street), just be sure to make your beds deep enough - I would say at least 8 feet. It looks like you have the space for that. And you mention "hiding the well" - is your well really in that spot? And you don't need to keep that little structure if you don't like it, right? So if you don't want it remove it. A well cap is much easier to "hide" than a little well house thing. My daughter just bought a new house and is insisting on hydrangeas in the front! I keep telling her in winter (here in CT, similar to Boston) that she will have bare sticks. But, like a good mom, lol, I helped her plant them and am prepared to help her move them in a year or two, haha! For your house, I can see one, maybe two hydrangeas, away from the door, especially if you make that big garden area to the right after you put in your big curved walkway lol. But near the door as a focal point, I think you will come to rethink hydrangeas. Once you think about and plan what you want this to look like in general, then you can go to town on buying plants. There really are some great plants, and imo, a mix looks better than just one kind of plant, and a staggered, layered planting looks better than a row. And you can still have that staggered, layered look and be symmetrical, if that's what you prefer. There are hollies, pieris, rhodies, yews, junipers, firs, etc., just to name the evergreen ones. You might want to add a small, perhaps flowering tree, to the mix. As Ken says, now is a good time to start looking for sales if you really want to buy. IMO, though, if it were me, I'd wait till I had a plan, and at the very least, I'd buy on sale now but overwinter in the pots in my garage or shed or similar space, and plant in spring when I had a better idea of where things were going. Good luck and please keep us posted! I think I can speak for a lot of folks here when I tell you how exciting it is to see someone planning a new garden, especially with such a blank slate to work with. We get to live vicariously through you and see it come to life! :) Dee