"I can't say I dislike them but I know they are fussy and prone to many disease" I read that description of redbuds from time to time in these forums and it's just not true. I don't know how that belief got started. Redbuds are quite tolerant of a variety of situations. Sure if they are unhappy in their location, it makes them disease prone but you can say the same thing for almost any other tree. I think they are strikingly beautiful. Their spring display of flowers is truly excellent and their lavender flower color is somewhat unique as are their heart-shaped leaves. The fall color is a excellent yellow that contrasts the bark color especially after a rain when the bark looks black. I have two redbuds on either side of an October Glory maple and both are doing great. Since my soil is very sandy, I've been dumping compost in that area for years and the two redbuds have responded with gigantic pancake-sized heart-shaped leaves. Both are very healthy and growing at a very fast rate. I also have an Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry that I would rate highly, too. It's in a situation that would be the closest to your situation. It gets full sun in the morning and then substantial shade in the afternoon although it's not dense shade. It's doing great. Nice show in the spring and another good foliage show in the fall. It suckers like crazy, though.

Yes everyone around my urban neighborhood utilizes the hollies, yews and boxwoods for all their wonderful compact evergreen qualities. I just am not a fan of these plants, can't seem to develop a relationship with them. I may well plant a juniper for some height next to a dwarf pine or spruce for the needles I so love.

NWalton, I am not sure where you are in zone 6, but if you are in New England you may find what I did useful as far as plant ideas, though mine isn't a formal hedge made of one kind of plants as you may want. Before I started this project in fall 2009, I think, I tried to web search mixed shrub borders and didn't find much that inspired me. But I knew I had seen in person similar things planted various places, so I had some ideas in mind and then just winged it. My goals were to block or distract from some of the sightlines to a work area from the main entrance drive, but not to exceed 20'-25' in height. We had just cleared a wooded area to have more sun, so I was starting from a blank slate. I knew I wanted a mix of evergreens (for winter interest) and deciduous shrubs, vines and perennials for colorful and contrasting foliage and flowers. I know I have more space than the typical suburban yard, but something similar to this could be done on a scaled down basis. Mine is probably about 15' deep on average x something like 60' long. The first photo below is in June of 2010 after planting fall 2009. 3 kinds of evergreens (2 or 3 of each randomly spread down the bed length - Thuja 'Sunkist', Thuja 'Techny' and a slower growing cultivar of blue spruce, 'Fat Albert', that I will probably eventually have to remove due to large size or budworm damage), a few small pagoda dogwoods, a couple of Hydrangea paniculata (Quickfire and Pinky Winky), a Coppertina Ninebark, two Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), a half dozen rhododendrons, some winterberry holly, and a few perennials. Before planting, I laid down a bunch of composted manure. After planting the various shrubs, I mulched heavily for moisture and weed control, first putting down cardboard and then about 6" of loose mulch that packed down to 4" or so. Perennials were planted around the edges after the main shrubs were in by cutting through the cardboard. I tried to leave enough room between the evergreens and shrubs to allow them to just grow together over time, but not be super crowded, so it was rather sparse the first year or two. I didn't do formal plans, but knew the ballpark size of the mature shrubs and the bed size, and once I bought the plants, I plopped them down in the bed and moved them around until I liked the layout, and then got out the shovel. I didn't pick out specific varieties ahead of time, but went around to local nurseries during fall sales knowing that I wanted rhodies, varied colored medium evergreens, etc. and chose from what they had available (that met my needs) to keep expenses down. Looking east from the middle Looking NE from the SW side (June 2010) In December of 2010 after one full growing season looking west from the dirt pile just visible on the right (east) side of the photos above After 4 growing seasons with some added perennials but not much in the way of added shrubs it is fairly full. Late October 2013 June 2014 looking East along the front of the bed. Looking down the back side as fall color is just beginning to develop - no perennials since this is the work area side. Here's a photo in taken late November 2014 that was from a similar angle to the second photo at the top. There have been a few plants over the years that haven't worked out due mostly to the voles that are a curse of my gardening existence, but for the most part I am quite happy with the bed. It's at my husband's shop so I don't get down to it as regularly as I might wish, but it doesn't need more than a few of hours of weeding per season and some tidying up and cutting back some time between the fall and the start of growth in spring as long as I keep the mulch in good shape. I add more mulch every couple of years where there is space between plants. I've also added edging, a combination of the rolled edge black plastic edging from a big box store and recycled bricks lining the inside edge of the plastic (visible 2 and 3 photos up) to run the lawn mower wheels on so no edge whacking needed. As far as the plants you've mentioned so far: Pinky Winky is a big plant. Mine is 8' tall x 12' wide at about 8 years. Great flowers. I also have Quickfire which is about 6' in all directions at the same age and blooms starting a month earlier. Look at other Hydrangea paniculata varieties as well to find ones that fit your size wishes, bloom season and style, and branch stiffness (some weep a bit due to bloom weight.) Fagus "Rohanii' is a plant I see as a feature, not part of a border or mixed planting. Gorgeous but huge, and as Floral mentioned, not much grows under a mature beech. Native white pine (Pinus strobus) are large messy trees that aren't necessarily handsome with age since when open grown they often have multiple trunks and they exceed your 30'-40' height. They tend to be messy, dropping pitch on anything nearby and losing large branches in storms that have heavy snow or ice. I don't think I'd plant them in a suburban yard, though they make up a significant part of the woodlands on this old farm.

That paperbark maple looks nice! But have you thought of dogwood? Maybe too small but they are lovely. I'm partial to Japanese maples, and there are so many varieties, some quite unusual and some with variegated leaves. Many different size to choose from as well. I see there are some big trees behind that fence of yours, and Japanese maples often do particularly well when planted near larger trees. Do Chinese pistache trees grow in CT? They are GORGEOUS and look like they're on fire in the fall. I'm partial to the variety that produces the red berries after the leaves drop -- so interesting! Maybe it's a bit bigger than what you want, though. And then there is the Wointer King Hawthorne to consider. It groes to 30 feet. Crape myrtles are usually thought of as southern trees, but I've seen one growing in Newport, RI. Lots of different colors to choose from there, but beware that some have a more upright growth habit, so be sure the one you get has a more spreading growth if that's what you want.