So it's pretty shady? I have an illicium floridanum (Florida Anise) in a shady area (gets about 3-4 hours of morning sun) and it is doing just beautifully. What a gorgeous display of year round dark green leaves. People that don't know it think it must be a rhododendron.

You might need to prune it every few years to keep it under 5 feet, but it is not a rampant grower.

Another idea is a dwarf mountain laurel. Dwarf cultivars include "Elf" (too small perhaps), "Minuet" and "Tinkerbell" and there are new ones constantly. Buck Jones (Grayson) is a good source for mountain laurel.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:809190}}

Hi, Esh. I hadn't thought of illiceum, but year-round gorgeous foliage is definitely right for this place. Is it the one with the especially fragrant leaves? It would be easy to keep pinching it back if it is. It would also be able to handle some of that midday sun this wall will get in the summer.

Whatever I espaliered up behind the base shrub would have to contrast with its foliage, with illiceum either specifically large or small leaves, or maybe dark, like a Sasanqua camellia if I could find one large and hardy enough for up here in north Hall. Our trellis will be about 15' tall and maybe 7' at widest point.

They just finished the end of the house we can see from our mobile home, and it's a ghost gray that's blending away into the foggy sky this morning. Very pretty!