If it doesn't have to be a bush, check out the different kinds of Amsonias. I like the narrow leaf varieties. They bloom bunches of little blue star shaped flowers in the spring, then have seed pods that hang on them. I shear mine back after blooming, though, to keep them from getting too big. They bush back out and look nice, with nicely colored foliage in the fall. They die to the ground in winter. Also, a couple day lilies would work there, along with a tall growing iris. Fireworks goldenrod is a fall blooming plant I love that would fit in that space. I'm not sure what zone it is. Sue D.

If your soil is acidic you should be able to grow Azaleas and Rhodos, they will do great in partial shade. Just remember they do not give year round color, but the show that they put on for a few weeks are worth having them. The trick would be to plant a number of them with different flowering times then you would have a couple of months of color. The PGM's are very hardy and are the first to bloom. I also have many of the Lightes series azaleas. Before you buy any check to see what the lowest temperatures are that they will tolerate. You will find many available. This time of year, if there are any in your area, would be a great time to get deals on them. I have more than 100 rhodos and azaleas and the colors with the hostas are fantastic. I have a red one next to Hosta Patriot and I just stand and stare at them. Maybe you could try clematis, in some sun, with different flowerings times as well. Also my magnolias and dogwoods are beautiful. To find out more about rhodos and azaleas check out Capt Dick Steel, Bayport, N.S. on the internet. His is a very interesting story and in person a very informative man to talk to. He could convince anyone to try rhodos and magnolias. He is now approx 95 years old. Remember I live in Nova Scotia, very cold and sometimes snowy winters. By the way I have sumacs as well, sumacs everywhere. Want some. I planted two, wish I hadn't, spreading like crazy. Betty

Since this is in a snow dump zone . . . You are out of luck for evergreens against the house where the snow drops. I would plant your evergreens at least 10 feet from the house so that they don't get broken by the snow dump. If they are large, plant more like 15-20 feet from the house. In that kind of circumstance, planting any evergreen with which I am familiar as well as many deciduous shrubs within the zone where ice and snow will be landing will be an exercise in frustration since they will get mashed and broken whenever snow rockets down off the roof. In this area at my house I have planted caning shrubs such as spirea and Hydrangea arborescens, both of which can be cut back to the ground if needed in spring and within a month or so will be a couple of feet high again and will bloom that summer at their regular size. You can also plant large perennials such as some of the larger Baptisias since they will die back to the ground and not be harmed. Farther out, away from the range of the snow dump I have plants that won't easily recover from damage that would be caused when the roof lets loose of its snow load but do fine with snow from the clouds. Thuja/arborvitae does well here if it has a single stem; split stems tend to split under a wet snow load or freezing rain. I have Sunkist and Techny which I expect will take a fair time to exceed 15', so I consider them large shrubs/small trees. Spruces come in a range of sizes and speed of growth. I have Picea pungens Fat Albert which seems to grow a bit slower than the straight species, but will eventually get too large and need to be removed. There are plenty more that the folks on the conifer forum could recommend. Some of the hardier, small-leafed rhododendrons such as PJM and Olga Mezitt (sometimes just labeled Olga) look good in winter. Their leaves curl when it's really cold (single digits and below) but they don't suffer foliage damage here, even when it gets down into the double-digit negative temperatures; mine have grown relatively quickly to 6'-8' but have now pretty much settled at that height. PJM has mahogany winter foliage and Olga has olive winter foliage so they make a nice contrast with other evergreens. I am assuming that this area will get at least a half day of good light. Other than Mt. Laurels/Kalmia latifolia and hemlocks (not recommended because of the wooly adelgids as GG48 mentioned) there aren't a whole lot of shade loving options that are evergreen.

This is not the right place for that question -) This forum is intended for discussions or suggestions about ways to improve the website. I would suggest you move it to one of the plant specific forums but it is just as easy to answer it here........there are NO plants that repel cats or dogs!! Or deer. There are some plants that can deter them from entering your garden or at least slow them down but 'deter' is a very different concept from 'repel'. These would be plants - like the barberry or roses or other thorny items - that you could put on your side of the arborvitaes, but that wouldn't stop the dog from digging or running on the other side. And to keep dogs out of your yard completely, you would need to plant a solid hedge of them all around your property. But then again, a fence would do the exact same thing. But there is no plant that just by scent or something similar that would "repel" dogs cats or deer.