OK, I'm getting the sense that you're not really all that interested in landscape design, as most of the advice above doesn't seem to have influenced what you've done, and that's OK - it's your house. You just wanted advice on plant selection for a foundation planting. Most of us don't like doing plant selection advice because beginners don't learn anything about gardening or landscaping when someone who learned it the hard way just tells them to put Plant A into Spot B. Most of us are just people who learned it the hard way and want to ease the learning curve a bit for others - not to save them the trouble of learning. But you want feedback from the design forum... well, you might not like it, but here goes. Deciduous and herbaceous plants have a role to play in any garden, of course, as they provide colour and all sorts of seasonal interest, but they have little or no impact from a landscape design standpoint as they essentially disappear or look like a bundle of sticks in winter. Good layout of a garden, including foundation planting, almost always starts with a backbone of evergreen plants to frame and provide context for more seasonal plantings. If I can see correctly, you have exactly one evergreen plant, and that one is an alberta spruce planted precisely where most of us suggested you not plant anything (and where I think it will get only shade, and die) and in a terribly geometric spot in an otherwise non-geometric setting. Alberta spruce makes most landscape-sensitive people go "gaaaaak!" because it is so common and so... commonplace. Search the forum for old threads if you want to know why. But if you must have one, and they can be cute when young, it needs a family. Putting the poor thing out there alone is like having one pink flamingo. A grouping looks witty, but a single looks tacky. Find a few other evergreens that offer a variety of leaf shape, plant shape, and size, and plant the Alberta in a grouping with them off the left corner of your house, similar to what has been done on the right corner by previous owners (though it's uniform there; on the other side some variety of shape would be good). You seem determined to cover up that lovely brickwork no matter what anyone says. But a single sore thumb plant up the middle looks like... a sore thumb. Honestly, that area needs just a low cushiony effect to soften the foundation, not a spire. Think about what you need as being a wave of plants with a crest somewhere off-centre between the windows, but nothing so brutally upright. That hydrangea might actually be good there, if it's kept trimmed, as it would allow the brickwork to shine in winter. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting curb appeal; we all do. But I think the objective is to improve the look of the house, not just to encircle it with random plants, which can have the absolutely opposite effect. KarinL

Here are some suggestions that should do well in your area. How about Encore Azaleas? They are evergreen, bloom both spring and fall (though not as show-stopping in the spring as traditional azaleas, the late summer and fall show more than compensates), and they will take a tremendous amount of sun. Mine get almost full sun here in east central Mississippi. Certainly, the hawthornes are a good possibility too. They would give some continuity, since you already have some in your landscape, and it's hard to beat them for ease of maintenance. As for deciduous shrubs, some of the antique or new low maintenance roses are a real possibility. I grow "nearly Wild" which doesn't get over three to three and a half feet tall or wide, NEVER needs spraying and blooms all summer. The new Knockout roses are just as good. They are not a maintenance problem at all. If you don't like their "nakedness" in winter, underplant them with groundcovers and/or bulbs. For instance, Phlox divaricata would love their shade in summer, would give green color to the ground under them in winter, and would fill your beds with fragrant blue clouds before the roses get going in the spring. Hardy cyclamen would be great too. These bulbs need the shade in the summer, then bloom in the late fall and put out beautiful silvery green leaves all winter, adding interest under your roses. I have my Nearly Wild Roses thickly underplanted with daffodils. I prune the roses in early December each year (just as soon as they go dormant), the daffodils come up all around the pruned stumps and the roses get going in time to hide the ugly bulb foliage. Instead of roses, how about Berberis? I particularly like the "Aurea", which is a beautiful golden leaved Berberis. It does not get overly large, it keeps it's leaves very late in the season, it doesn't burn in the summer, and the fall color is positively spectacular. I do not shear it. I let it grow naturally, so in the winter, it will have a similar architectural form to your Perovskia (which would make a fine companion for it too, by the way.) It could also be underplanted with the phlox divaricata, and boy would that be a show stopper in the spring! It's winter sticks are white and rather ghostly. I find it very attractive. How about hydrangeas? There is a white variegated lacecap one that would look fabulous in front of your Laurels. Any mophead would be nice too, particularly the Endless Summer one. It takes more sun than the old timey ones and blooms till frost. Mine were full of blooms when we got our first freeze last week. Again, underplant them with spring flowering bulbs to help mask their nakedness. Remember, your Laurels are evergreen, so they will "come forward" and the naked skeletons won't look so lost in front of them. Hope these ideas at least get your own creative juices going.

Hello again all, yes thanks pm2 - I guess it is time for an update! After a late spring with much rain and cold in March, we are starting to dry out and get some sun and warmth. The daffodils are right on schedule, with the dogwoods maybe just a few days behind normal. The blooms are still a bit greenish but in a few days the hillsides will be glorious with white. The redbuds have been out for a week or so now, I just planted one in the front yard, even though we are surrounded by them in the woods, I just love them. There are bluebird eggs in the box on the top of the hill and today is in the 70s so all is right with the world! Because we've had such a long cold wet spring it's been hard to get into the gardens, especially with our clay. I dug out cannas I wanted to divide yesterday and they came up with clods of wet clay attached. Still a bit early to do serious digging. The front shade bed however was easier to dig because of all the compost I added last year so I did add some early color that it really needed. 'Chattahoochee' phlox and 'Woodside Gold' columbine went in to replace the anemones I lost last year to insects. The combination of tiny light pink flowers of pulmonaria, the baby blue of the brunnera, blue with a purple eye on the phlox, and pink and purple columbine make a lovely spring show. I had to watch where I dug however because some of the hostas are so slow to emerge and I risk digging into them. I have to remember to plant some bulbs around them so I don't forget where they are. As to the shrub changes, I moved the Itea to the woods garden after I realized it would take over and sucker in this small garden space. I replaced it with a Chamaecyparis Gold Mop which grows very slowly and will provide that gold foliage I'm looking for. The Sarcococca is kind of sitting there, it looks like it got a bit of tip burn, this area gets winter sun so it may not be happy with that. I never did get the flowers in January, unless I missed them. The Calycanthus is forming flower buds, I can't wait to see, and especially smell them. The clethra is still thinking about leafing out, it is alway late to do so. The spirea and the cornus are leafed out and came through fine, the loropetalum suffered some leaf dieback, but I just picked off the brown leaves and it is now leafing out to the tips. I may have lost the flowerbuds but I don't know yet, this is a new plant for me so it might just surprise me yet. I may have to move it if it gets too big which I'm finding out may be the case. I had to remove the large Foster's holly at the corner of the house as it was too close to the foundation and was beginning to heave and crack the brick so I lost some midday shade. I may move the loropetalum there and replace it with a shrub cutleaf japanese maple or maybe just some perennials. The Old Gold juniper is close by and will probably need the room eventually. I didn't know what to expect with the loropetalum as far as hardiness or size so I just plopped it in and am waiting to see. It's a great plant, the leaf color is terrific and if it blooms I'll get a great mass of bright pink. On the other side I had success with a large Kalmia Olympic Fire but a smaller one I planted next to it is not looking great. The Rainbow leucothoe is suffering as well, I did know they are fussy as to conditions so it may get the heave-ho. The pieris are doing fine as are the acuba. I lost all my azaleas to the Easter freeze last year, I had hoped they would bounce back but I'm going to have to dig them out and replace them. I did get rid of a large yew and replaced it with a Viburnum 'Conoy' which made it through the winter in fine shape and is forming flower buds now. It kept about half its foliage over the winter. It should eventually take the place of the yew and the strugging kalmia. I may add another one instead of replacing the three Glacier azaleas I lost and just replacing the Renee Michelle azaleas in front of it. By far my greatest joy has been the hellebores I added around the two Japanese maples. They have doubled in size and have been blooming since February. Last year they kept blooming into the summer and the foliage is evergreen. I can't say enough good things about them. As for the ferns, the lady ferns are up and the male ferns are thinking about it. I'll probably move the lady ferns to the woods garden, they are just so fragile and in late summer get a bit tattered, so not the best choice for a front garden. The male ferns were sturdy and held up well last year, but are a bit uninteresting. I'll probably replace them with Japanese painted ferns this year. I have quite a few in my back garden and they have done very well and provide that purple color I love. They are a bit more spready though where I could use some more height. I snapped a few photos yesterday of my fav plant combos in the shade bed. The dogwood is the crowning glory! Heuchera 'Amethyst Mist' and lysymachia Pulmonaria 'Mrs Moon' and 'Silver Indiana' heuchera Heuchera 'Frosted Violet' and Hellebore 'Royal Heritage' Heucherella 'Stoplight' and Asian ginger Pulmonaria 'Mrs Moon' and lysymachia Unfurling leaves of 'Minuteman' hosta Columbines Edging tapestry Phlox 'Chattahoochie' and Pulmonaria

Please don't plant nandina. This is from Audubon: "When dozens of Cedar Waxwings were found dead in Thomas County, Georgia, researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, found the cause to be Nandina berries. Read their report. All the birds had intact Nandina berries in their crops. There was hemorrhaging in the heart, lungs, trachea, abdominal cavity and other organs. Nandina berries contain cyanide and other alkaloids that produce highly toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) which is extremely poisonous to all animals. Sudden death may be the only sign of cyanide poisoning and death usually comes in minutes to an hour." Poisonous berries