The first thing that comes to mind is
Ilex crenata 'Compacta' A Dwarf Japanese Holly. Any small holly might be good replacement for box. They look more like boxwood than hollies and can be shaped.

I don't have any suggestions for the boxwoods, but maybe the ground cover. I love my Homestead purple verbena.
It withstands heat and drought. But only to -10 degree's
and in Zone 4 that might not be enough for you. It likes sun too, and don't know how much you get under that tree.
My weeping cherry is pretty small and gets sun under it.

I got the Ilex crenata 'Compacta' , and they were very inexpensive from HD. Unfortunately, half died on me. I'm not sure if it was because they were poorly grown (only figured that out after I took them out of pots)...or if I'd overwatered them when I planted them...
I read they are not drought tolerant, but then they didn't seem to like too much water, or at least waterlogged soil.
The rest look fantastic, and I will buy more to replace, and plant more. They are common, basic, and besides my killing them, seem to be carefree. Sometimes one needs just those traits in a plant. I just wanted something evergreen to go around a focal point. Something that didn't flower, wouldn't grow to fast, and had small leaves.
Germander might work well for you too. It flopped out in the middle in heat and humidity here, but it might do well for you... small grasses would work well also, like the blue fescue. It forms such cute clumps.

GGG

How about Lamium for the groundcover. Mine grows about 8 inches tall, I have yellow in the front, pink in the back. The variegated foliage is nice when the blooms are finished. It spreads like strawberries, via runners. I just tear out or cut off the excess about twice during the summer.

Pardon the mess our front, we had just painted the porch and hadn't put back the bench yet! Oh, and the area in front of the lamium has been planted now.

Thanks for your suggestions . I checked out the the Ilex and it is only hardy to zone 6. Same for the verbena. Both of those would be good options if I lived in the "right" zone. I think germander is very pretty but my research says it spreads from runners and grows to 3 ft. tall. Probably too tall for the area I want to put it in. The fescue may work though. I'll have to see if I can find it from an online source and order it. Thanks for the ideas.

Homemaker, I had not realized there is a yellow lamium. I do have the purple type. I'll look for it. Thanks!

MeMo

blue fescue grows nicely from seed if wintersown.

Thanks K! Winter sowing doesn't work for me in my climate. I've tried for three years and gotten zip. I am building a hoop greenhouse this year and hoping that will make a difference. If I get it together in time (have most of the materials now) I'll sure give the fescue a try along with lots of other things. Wish me luck!

MeMo

Memo, you clip the germander once or twice a year. It's simple to do, doesn't take but a few mins.

GGG

I've been doing some research on this as I'm about to plant a hedge myself.
Other ideas for hedges are: lavender, cotton lavender, rosemary, shrubby germander and winter savory. These are all herbs which will give off a lovely scent.

For groundcover: creeping jenny (yellow flowers), creeping thyme, pennyroyal, and chamomile.

Double check your zone to see which ones will do well. Lavender will need to be planted in very dry soil with a high sand content.

MeMo,

Boxwoods like sandy, dry, hard soil. They like moisture but good drainage. They do not like boggy, marshy soil.

I would take the ones that died back to Home Depot (they are guaranteed for a year), and get some more dwarf boxwood.

The bad thing about buying plants are HD or Lowe's, WalMart, &etc, is that they order from nurseries, who sell their older shrubs and trees, so quite often the ones that come to the garden centers arrive already rootbound and in trouble. Once they are rootbound like that, they are very subceptable to diseases and fungus and the like. The have difficulty or cannot sufficiently get moisture and nutrients from the soil. They cannot sink their stunted, deformed roots that are helplessly tangled down into the new growing bed to anchor themselves, so the roots are subject to freeze and thaw heaving in the winter, exposing the tender roots, so they die.

When you get home with your new plants, set them in a bucket or tub of water with a jigger of manure tea in it or a shot of diluted Miracle Grow if you use that, and let them soak overnight. I do this with all the plants I buy, be they annual, perennials, shrubs or trees. Dig big holes, but no deeper than they were in the container. Mix half of the native soil in with your bagged soil if you add any. Then, remove the plants from the pots and using a boxknife, cut through the rootbound mass to loosen it up a bit, carefully removing the old roots and freeing up the good roots as much as possible. Try to spread the root mass out or untangle it. Pack the soil in around your plants firmly. Create a well around them. Water daily for about week, then taper off. They should not need more than an inch of water a week after they become established. Boxwoods are quite hardy and can take the drought, too. They are excellent choices for taking cuttings and rooting them to grow more little plants for your gardens. They should NOT have kicked it like that.
So, take them back to HD and get a refund or get more plants!
That's what I would do, anyhow.

Other plants I can think of off hand:

Artemisias (Southernwood & Wormwood) silver & green foliage;

Lavenders and Rosemary (Cold Hardy only) Gray-green foliage;

Winter Jasmine (a classic English Cottage Garden low-growing evergreen w/gloosy dark tiny green leaves, with yellow jasmine blooms in winter, spring and fall. Has a mounding, arching habit) - I love mine!

Spreading (rug) junipers (gr, bl-green, gray gr, & yellow);

Yew (tiny leaves, evergreen and nice smell);

Mugo Pine;

Ornamental grasses; (adds winter interest, too)

Germander (the herb used in ancient Knot Gardens until it was replaced with boxwood - lovely gray-green leaves and tiny flowers in spring - not really hardy enough for our neck of the woods, IMO, and requires more annual rainfall than we get in the plains areas, even when we're not in a drought);

Dwarf Nandina Bambina; (beautiful Fall colors);

Dwarf Asters;

Chrysanthemums;

There are a number of low growing shurbs, like Barberry or Eunyamous, some variegated with yellow or silver;
Holly (many varieties - check for hardiness, moisture and light requirements)

~ SweetAnnie4u

I'm going to do some more research on the germander. At one point I thought it might make a good hedge for my pottager but now when I've searched it just does't look as inticing...call me fickle lol! I think it was that last pic I looked at. I'll look for more.

I'm totally unfamiliar with lavendar, though I have tried to grow it from seed with no luck. Need to do more research there too. Maybe I just tried the wrong type for my area. Love the look in pictures! Can any of you suggest a specific type? HOT (110 + F.), dry (4 whole inches this year), sand, very cold winters (-25 F.), lots of snow or...no snow at all...depends?

Annie, What a great list. You'll keep me busy with that for quite some time. I do live in an area that has either very sandy soil or magnesia. My front garden that I'm currently working on has the sand (amended with cow-poo). The boxwood should have done well here but perhaps they were sickly when I got them as you talked about. I did do all things you suggested except putting compost or fertilizer in the soaking water. We have had the most awful weather this past year though so it's a wonder anything has survived. I bought my boxwood at a farm store. I'm in the middle of absolutely nowhere and I have that and a small (single hoop house) nursery to get plants from. Otherwise I have to order online which is very hit and miss. I get lots of dead/miniscule stock ordering online. I already tossed the dead boxwood so I can't return them now. The three that remain are looking much better than they did before I moved them so perhaps they just weren't happy where they were a few yards to the east? lol

Thanks for all the ideas, everyone. Sometimes I just get brain dead for ideas and so love that you all come to my rescue and get the juices flowing again. I'll take a pic of the area tomorrow to give you a better idea of what I have going on.

MeMo

Memo,

Some of the things that I have used as ground cover are:

4-5 different sedums
lamiums
vinca
I also like to use herbs in all my gardens,

chives
garlic chives
oragano
mints
lavenders
thymes
rosemary ( bring inside)

The plus side for using herbs as ground covers is that you can eat them besides letting them fill in areas.

Stacie

PS I grew all of these when I lived Up north in Nebraska like you do know;)

MeMo,

I have dry, sandy soil, too, and Oklahoma is well known for it's radically fluctuating temperatures and weather.

Lavender can be grown from seed, but it never does very well and doesn't seem to have the true qualities of those grown from cuttings. Your best bet is to buy some plants, then begin taking cuttings and start more plants. They root fast (about 3-4 weeks), and you can quickly fill your yard with these lovely plants. I like to grow mine along pathways so when I walk by them, the plants release their lovely fragrance from not only the flowers, but also their leaves.

Here is a list of the hardiest Lavenders & Rosemary's I've grown:

LAVENDER

English Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia) - it actually is a French lavender, too. :) I have a huge old shrub of this. It's about 10 years old, now.

Grosso - has big FAT spikes of rich purple flower heads - very tollerant of extreme temps and has done extremely well for me in this drought.

Munstead - small, gray leaves and lovely flowers. Can be used in cooking, too, like lavender sugar cookies. (YUM!)

Provence - the French grow this one for perfume and essential oil. Very tall. Blooms later than other lavenders and has very long flower stems.

Hidcote - Deep Blue-violet flowers and wonderful fragrance. I get at least two blooming periods from mine. There is one variety of Hidcote that has very big, very fat flower spikes. Amazing color and fragrance. (Can also be used in cooking)

ROSEMARY (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Rosemary is not very hardy. It is native to the Mediterranean and the warmer Euro countries. Most are hardy only to zone 8. A few varieties can take zone 7, IF you experience a mild winter, and IF they are well protected, and grown on a south facing area, but it is risky.

However, there are at least two varieties which I grow here in zone 6-6b that are more hardy than any others, although they still require some shelter and mulching in the winter.

Rosmarinus officinalis 'Madeline Hill', commonly labeled as 'Hill Hardy' in many garden centers and even sold as such by vendors at Herb Festivals. I am very happy with Madeline Hill. I bought mine in the Spring of 2005. It has grown into a big fragrant shrub, about 4-5 feet wide and 3 feet tall, so far. It is a great culinary rosemary too. It is such a beautiful plant. I hope it will bloom for me this winter.

Rosmarinus officinalis 'Arp' is the other good choice for zone 6 areas with winter protection. ( I grow them both in the ground and winter them over by piling mulch up around them.

My other Rosemary plants, that I have had for years, are grown in decorative pots and urns and are taken into the greenhouse in the Fall to winterover.

As with my Lavenders, I like to grow Rosemary along pathways so when I walk by them, the plants will release their lovely fragrance from their leaves.

Below is a Link to the GW Herb Forum for a topic that was discussed back in November 2005. The topic was about 'Madeline Hill Rosemary' and "Arp" and their hardiness were discussed. Several wonderful LINKS to go visit and enjoy. (If only we could smell the plants)

Interestingly, both of these fabulous varieties of Rosemary were developed in Northeast Texas by the same plantswomen, Madeline Hill. Yee-haa!!!

~ Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Madeline Hill' Rosemary

Oops! I stand corrected.

In a post by Francesco DeBaggio he wrote:

"The correct name for the plant is Hill Hardy Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis 'Madeline Hill'). It was named in honor of Madeline Hill by my father Tom DeBaggio in the late 1980's. And yes it is different than Arp which was introduced by Madeline after the town of Arp, Texas."

"...By the way my father also introduced the aforementioned 'Gorizia' along with several other varieties."

He wrote a very enlightening & interesting entry.

My apologies to the DeBaggio family for giving credit to Madeline Hill. That was what I was told a few years ago by a vendor at an herb festival here in Oklahoma.

~ SweetAnnie4u