One thing to consider about the barberries is the thorns. I love the plant, but that has prevented me from planting any. Wonder if there are thornless varieties-someone here should know.

Have you considered blueberries? Many stay 3' - 4' tall and have a lovely fall color. There's something nice about providing a source of food, not only for the wildlife, but for yourself, if you can beat them to it :)

Even tho there columnar, how wide will the holy get? You will need to get to it to prune it so I wouldnt want to end up with anything to smunched togethter. By the pic dosnt look for alot of room. A perennial border with a second hedge would be nice but widish. I would try and pick something that you dont have to prune to unnaturally. Not great for plant health is a 20'+ tree that people try to make 6'. Hollys look great. Nandina would be nice so would other ones mentioned. I might go for 2 somethings and alternate them. One evergreen like the cypress and one semi. I like a perennial border for color. Mabey a box hedge with some roses?

They look great! According to 1 source, the dragon lady holly could get up to 16Â20 feet high and 4Â6 feet wide. So maybe you might want to go with a shrubby perennial that (hopefully) you can more easily remove if the hollies end up growing together. If so, some suggestions might be: Some of the taller spirea, or bluebeard (caryopteris).

I'm growing a holly hedge (dwarf burfordii nana) and plan to use amsonia hubrichtii (blue star) in front. The softness is a nice contrast to the darker, coarser holly foliage.

This blue star grows 3 feet x 3 feet. Although it dies back in winter, it emerges in fairly quickly spring and has pale blue blooms. Then, it has gorgeous, lush, soft foliage through the summer. In autumn, it turns a glorious gold.

I have quite a few blue star in my gardens already. It seeds out and you can inexpensively grow more if you have the patience to wait. Otherwise, you'd need to find a source for potted multiples.

It is a native plant.

Cameron