Thank you, I'm going to be spending a lazy afternoon looking up all those plants and links. My next question would have been where to find them, I'm not sure there are any readily available around here, but I'm going to look in the spring. I did find Fairweather Gardens online for pines. I don't want to pay high prices for really big plants, but I don't want to get seedlings in 3" pots, either so it's hard to know where to order online. My beginning choices for pines were Pinus parviflora "Arnold Arboretum Dwarf", or "Banshoho" Dwarf Japanese black pine. Any ideas or experience with those two? I know black pines will grow in this area, we had one at our former house. I also found Chamaecypris Hinoki "Rigid Dwarf", and arborvitae "Holmstrup" which looked as if they might be promising for upright varieties, I might have spaces for two or three upright conifers. The rest should, I think be lower shapes. Blue Spruce and dwarf Albertas are about the only spruces that seem to live and do well here, but neither are suitable for my garden. I do love the look of spruces so I will consider the ones listed. I do understand about the difference between dwarf and mini, and the 10yr growth estimate, which is why I always look at the ultimate height. I don't want to be cutting anything down in 15 years and they can't be too big because of the cypress. I've been trying to look at more than one description of each one at different sites as I find that the sizes vary depending on who is telling it, lol! We don't have clay soil here, btw, it is upland rocks. There is a saying here that if you don't see the mountains (the Ozarks) dig down three inches and you'll find them. I do have pretty good soil with lots of compost(between the rocks) but it is very dry in July and August. We are in zone 6b with microclimates of z7.

I read through this thread last night, but was unable to post to it. Rather than read through it again, I'll touch base on a few things that stood out in being a native of Kansas City. Welcome to Kansas City AprilK and to the rest of you that have migrated here, or plan to soon. The Brookside area is a lovely area with lots of beautiful well established gardens and fully mature trees that are loaded with robust color and foliage. As for the Kansas vs. Missouri thing, grins, I grew up in Kansas and moved to the Missouri side in my early 20's. I moved back to Kansas only for a short while back in the 90's, 8 months to be precise, and I could not WAIT to buy a home again north of the river on the Missouri side. I've been in Clay County now for over half of my life and love it. Both states have their pros and cons, and much of it is more about the neighborhoods you select than it is what state you live in. There are "some" differences in politics and it shows in some of the ways laws are governed; especially Family Law. Also, a thing to keep in mind whenever seeking to move here, you should consult with your insurance agencies to get quotes on both homeowners insurance and auto rates; the amounts you pay might make the difference you spend in a mortgage or rent payment. Plus, the insurance companies are privy to high and low crime areas; it's a great way to weed out some of the less safe districts. The higher the crime rate, the higher the insurance premiums. One final note on location; if you are considering living on one side of the state line while working across the border, you will pay taxes to both states. Ok, all that said for the "transplants" (pun intended), now for some garden talk. I noticed multiple references to Peonies and wanted to mention a personal negative experience I had with them. I suggest that you do not plant them near the foundation of your home unless you enjoy ants. Peonies are a magnet for ants and if not tended to properly; they will invade your home. The previous home I purchased had a beautiful peony garden across the front of the home's foundation; very mature and robust. Once I got in the home, there was a constant issue in having to deal with sugar ants trying to invade my home. Finally, once I learned that the peonies were the root cause of the ants being along the foundation of the home; I moved them away from the home's base and planted them along the outside property lines where they drew the ants away from the home; doing so resolved the problem. While I love peonies; the flowers are short term on many species. Right now, with it being the end of summer and heading into autumn; we are beginning a new planting season here in Kansas City. The autumn is a great time for planting bulbs that require a hard freeze to bloom the following season. Irises, tulips, lilies, daffodils, hyacinths, crocus, etc... Again, many of these flowers have a short lived flowering life and provide the best show of colors when planted according to bloom span noted on planting guides; early spring, mid spring, late spring, early summer, mid.. etc.... You will want to layer bloom cycles to where you have a constant show of color. Just be careful not to over-crowd your garden and divide your plants, once well established, to keep them from choking each other out. Many of the above mentioned are full sun to part sun plants, and while they will still grow in the shade, they are less likely to bloom. Hyacinths do well in the shade, as well as Lily of the Valley. Beware though, the Lily of the Valley plant can be invasive given the right conditions and is also known to be deadly to children if ingested; not sure if it is the same for pets, but most likely would be so. For shade gardens, my favorites are ferns and hostas. When I plant my ferns, I loosen the clay soil by digging the hole double the size of the plant and filling in around the roots with cypress mulch or peat humus before adding dirt back in to fill. I've had the best luck with ferns I plant along the foundation of my home in a well shaded area; North side, and east side. I have not had as much luck in planting the ferns around trees; they seem to lose out in a battle against the tree roots. Hostas seem to do much better for me around the trees in lightly filtered sun locations; but primarily shady gardens. As I have 18 trees in my yard with this newer place I acquired a few years ago, I'm getting ready to try my hand with coral bells, columbine and some other shady hummingbird magnets. My full sun location in my yard is limited to about 10 feet wide by about 30 feet long. The area borders my driveway and my mailbox, which makes me think twice about filling the area with bee balms and other plants that will draw bees as well as butterflies and hummers. Lawrence, KS has pretty much the same planting specs as the Missouri side does. Sorry for the long winded post, but I love gardens, and hope you all find Kansas City a very welcoming community.

Rolling Green is one of my very favorites! The grounds are lovely, the stock is well organized, the staff has been there for years and is pleasant. If I'm looking for something particular in a shrub/tree I go there or to O'Donal's in Gorham, Me.; I live roughly halfway between the two. I haven't been to Garden of Eve's in some years now. But perhaps I will stop in... they had pretty nearly everything I can buy for the helpmeet's employee discount at a closer place. I rarely go to Exeter unless I'm hunting for fabric... but Churchill's sounds like a good excuse to preview what's "hot" in fabrics for the fall season... (next time go to Wentworth's in Dover, NH; this place is really making a name for itself with water gardening! and stop at Salmon Falls Nursery in So. Berwick, ME.. I will be honest, though... SF isn't what it used to be. But the statuary is about the best in the area and the shrubs are always lovely... even if the selection has been reduced in the past few years.)

I live in the northland. First they need to check any rules to see what changes they can make some will not allow anything other than in pots. From the discription of one tree in a field I think they live in Kansas City North of the river which has multiple types of land. Theirs is probably all fill. North Kansas City is a small town in itself. North Kansas City is next to the Missouri river in a flat area which which may be soggy when we have too much rain. My DH just told me there is a retirement residence in a part where they tore down all the senior apartments and build taller buildings. I would suggest thymes, zinnas. Kansas City has numerous gardening societies. One of the umberella groups is the Garden Center Association. It is a group of various garden groups that used to use a building in a park called Loose Park just south of the plaza area. This groups has a meeting the third Saturday of the month normally at the MO Conservation Department building just south of 4700 Troost. Coffee and goodies at nine am and various types of lectures at 9:30. Center has wonderful gardens behind the building for different types of woodlands, ponds, grasslands, etc. Amazing how much is packed in such a small area. If you can post the general area of the northland I can give better suggestions and locations of nurseries and plant that can provide decent plants at a reasonable cost.