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scraplolly

Help choosing shrubs, please.

18 years ago

This is for the front of our North facing house on the west side. The area isn't very large--just 10'6" wide. A centered window (6' 10") begins 5' from the ground.

It doesn't get much light--in fact, there's no direct light at all except for a little as the sun sets. In summer, though, I would call it bright shade.

We have clay soil, likely alkaline.

I've narrowed down my choices to two:

Potentilla--for the long lasting flowers (June 'til frost)

Physocarpus--chiefly for winter interest. (Not the burgandy foliage--I think it would just look like a black hole)

Would either of these work? Anything you can tell me which might help me decide?

I have my doubts about Dogwood...though it is a native species here.

I also have my doubts about a Thuja--though I quite like them and we had a Thuja tree in this spot which seemed to do well. It was pruned badly, topped and 3 feet from the house, so it came down. (You can see it still on the lawn to the right of the photo.)

The area in question is to the right:

{{gwi:268542}}

If you have any other suggestions, I would be very grateful!

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