Thuja occidentalis 'Degroot's Spire' and it goes beyond the 8 feet mentioned at the link ... and INSURE you get single leader plants ... its really the only thing that will fit in that extremely thin area ... we need a pic of the charlie brown tree.. if you want more than his guess.. ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Phygelius is a good hummingbird plant that might like some shelter to hold on to its leaves. It can get large and rangy but could be trimmed and staked to stay in a certain size. They may eventually get hit too hard by winter lows but usually last me a few years. Presently I have one that is several years old. They have a very long bloom season. Other plants that are evergreen but not so much on the flowering as far are hummers are concerned, are Mahonia, Nandina, possibly evergreen blueberries if you get enough sun there- Sunshine Blue, Legacy, and Misty. You need a pollinator so you would need 2 varieties. There is a fuchsia that makes edible fruit called a Honeyberry, I don't know if the flowers are attractive to hummers or not. I haven't eaten them to see if they are good enough to grow compared to blueberries, but they are still expensive so I haven't tried them yet, around $20 a plant also needing 2 for pollination. Here is a link that might be useful: Phygelius

Renae's good in heat, although, as Jeri says, that's a tough situation if your summers are very hot, so I couldn't say for sure if R would be OK there. She's not overly vigorous, and I should think you could easily keep her trimmed back/espaliered/trained against the wall, if necessary. (She's somewhere in between a shrub and a climber.) An advantage for a narrow spot like that is that she's pretty much thornless, so no fear of scratching passing cars or people. Pinkie and China Doll, both shrub and climbing versions, are very tough and drought tolerant once established. They're also both particularly continuous/long-blooming. The ones we have here are thornless, but I have an idea they may not be in the US versions. Some people find Pinkie's flowers boring, but they both provide a reliable and constant splash of cheerful colour in the garden. Jackie, I've only seen AO as an enormous shrub; I'm interested to hear she doesn't object to that sort of regular trimming. Comtesse :¬) PS You don't mention your zone, Theresa, and not being familiar with your locality, I am wondering if you get cold winters, as well as the summer heat? I'm not sure how the roses I've suggested go in the cold.

Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to suggest that particular hummer package, I was just showing some of the plants suggested. As said, you'll need to find the right plants for your zone/area. Re: layout and such....one thing to know if you're going to get into gardening.....plants have wheels! :)) I have had very few perennials or even shrubs that permanently landed where they began. I like a full look to a garden so I do plant close initially but I do it with the realization that I will have to move them in 1-2 yrs or so..depending. I love to experiment with new plants (it's a disease...:) so leaving a layout the same year after year is a foreign concept for me! What plants are being recommended to you by the nurseries? You might not have to order anything if you can find things locally. As far as layout....do you mean what goes where or?? One thing to realize of course is that your sun will diminish as that maple grows. Apparently it gets to 15-20' wide/tall so that would eventually shade most of the bed except for early/late sun that creeps under the canopy. I've never had a Jap maple so not sure how fast they grow. But it will simply mean enlarging the garden which is normally step #2 of this disease. :) On to layout....This is pretty basic and maybe you know this but with a garden bed shape like yours that is viewed from all sides, you want to position your tallest plants in the center and then scale down in size towards the edges...for the most part. Your patio side will be the most important. Some plants will refuse to get with the program and will assert their independence in some way...usually staying too small or getting too big and too fast! But that's the fun of it.....moving, dividing, experimenting. Many online nurseries sell garden "packages" such as shade, butterfly gardens etc that give a good placement guides. You don't need to buy them but you can learn from them. There's the advice of planting in odd #'s that is always good to follow...usually with smaller plants. So, tell us perhaps what's been recommended and then we can help with the particulars. Not everything needs to be a hummer plant ...what are some other favs? With the maple and water feature in there it's really not a huge space. What's at the end there in pots...staying, going? That fountain would look more natural with plants softening its edges and with something tall behind it as a backdrop. The biggest temptation that we all go through when we begin gardening is to buy as many different plants (like 1 of everything...) as we can cuz we want variety and maximum flower power! Try to resist that if you can as it ends up a bonafide mess usually! White blooms and gray foliage (artemesias are wonderful but might not be for your zone) and ornamental grasses (Karl Foerster stays narrow) complement other colors/plants beautifully, a large leaf next to a small leaf variety lends interest, and you'll want varying bloom times to lend interest. Anyways...let us know what has been suggested/what you like and we can pitch in with more specifics.