My biggest worry would be the brush in the background. I wouldn't put anything into the ground around that till it was GONE (you'll fight that "berry" for a long time...)

Then again, you could just use it!

As a kid, I used to "tunnel" into massive blackberry thickets (using loppers) and made kewl "forts" (aka rooms). In many case the room was 10' tall, with 2"+ stems of the thicket enclosing the "fort".

How about a fence (with a trellis perhaps) to enclose the seating area. Let the brush climb that wall (giving you the visual/audio screen), and then you just lopper the bits that invade your space.

I guess I'm saying make lemonade outta the lemons. That brush will haunt you unless you are determined to kill it all.

If you really can get that brush killed off, it looks like an ideal place for blueberry bushes, and perhaps some fruit trees to give a roof and "circle" for a seating area (of course that'll take *time* to develop).

just my 2 pennies

Cryptomeria japonica is a must-have conifer. There are numerous cultivars. The one with the burgudny new growth is easist to find and very nice.

That would be Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans', I guess.

Korean firs are beautifu l but fairly slow growing.

Doesn't cryptomeria get to extremely large? How about making a laurel hedge which could be clipped to shape, with a camellia or a dogwood for a focal point?

I plant to get rid of that remaining brush. I left it there so it would screen me from the road while I was working on the rest of the area. I thought about a small pergola for the spot, but would like to get the growing things started first. Blueberries and fruit trees are definitely up my alley. I have a couple fruit trees in another area that came with the property, and I will put the blueberries nearby. That area has much easier access to water.

I do like the Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans'. One thing I am drawn to is fine textured foliage. It might make a nice contrast to a camellia. I have a predisposition against laurel, since I saw the struggle my in-laws had with managing its size on their property.

Thanks for the suggestions. Any more? Any guidance on placement or further development of the space?

The 'Elegans' sugi is a slow-growing juvenile foliage form, at some point becoming treelike but not very quickly. If you're talking about typical English laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) or one of its non-dwarf cultivars one of the common names that has been reported for it is real estate plant because the size and upkeep of English laurel hedges supposedly drives some locals to put their places on the market. Then there is the matter of it being a reseeding pest...More handsome (comparatively small, deep green leaves instead of big, medium green ones) Portugal laurel (P. lusitanica) is also, unfortunately another eventually Brontosaurean shrub that is now coming up rather too often in local woods and plantings.

Clipping shrubs situated in otherwise informal settings makes them look out of place, like tuxedos at picnics. There are really comparatively few occasions where formal shearing is an enhancement. The scene shown in the photo is not one where formality would be called for.

Since the existing tree is a dominating element I would think about what would look good planted right around it, build out from there. One way to get started might be to cut a branch and take it to a nursery, hold it up against other kinds of plants you already like or look good after you get there and see how the pine foliage looks against their leaves. Broadleaf evergreen shrubs are the best category for fleshing out beds in this climate. Use some with medium sized leaves (common examples: rhododendron, Oregon grape, pieris) , alot more with small leaves (Japanese holly, box, heather...) to get a good textural balance.

OK, there's no pine--I was thinking of somewhere else. Anyway, I would still recommend same: start by furnishing bases of focal points (existing trees) with visually compatible selections, build out from there, in steps. See sample designs and general discussion of planting design in Grant & Grant, GARDEN DESIGN ILLUSTRATED (Timber Press).

Also: foliage does not block noise to any significant degree, you would have to put up something like those concrete walls we now have along urban freeways here to get much relief. You can remove the VIEW of/from the road with wood fencing and/or planting, of course.

Two other moderately sized conifers to consider are Mountain hemlock, Tsuga mertensiana, and Weeping Alaskan Cedar, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis. Once established, they would be less thirsty in summer than Cryptomerias.

The hemlock is quite slow, growing mere inches per year thus seen in comparatively small sizes in lowland gardens. (Given enough time it becomes a large tree on forested mountainsides). It often turns a nice bluish color in cultivation as well. However, it is not immune to adelgids. I have seen planted specimens loading up with them and defoliating in recent years.

Weeping Nootka cypress is not as small-growing as many gardeners seem to think, nor is it slow-growing. I've had one shoot right up. Another cultivated specimen in Tacoma, WA was 74 feet tall in 1990 (Van Pelt, CHAMPION TREES OF WASHINGTON STATE).

Thanks for all the responses. I took a scouting trip to a local nursery this weekend and am still leaning towards the cryptomeria and camellia, although their camellia selection was disappointing. I think I may have room for a larger conifer, farther back in the woods, and maybe another large shrub, but I have limited time this spring. Further development beyond these two plants will have to wait, unless I have a eureka moment.

For theme garden with conifers and camellias...

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter - Berries Jubilee

"Everyone wants to know how to combine plants. Not everyone can visualise them in different situations, so we show how you start with the most essential ingredient from a wish list and find a partner for that plant, then work outwards, stage by stage, until the picture is complete. This takes time, but it works"

Here is a link that might be useful: Guardian Unlimited Books : News : Gardening legend who was as colourful as his plants

Have you thought of a Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina). It's really a shrub rather than a bamboo, so there's no worry about it getting out of control. It's evergreen (turns red in colder weather), has pretty white and yellow flowers in spring and red berries in winter. It grows only about 5 to 6 feet high and the branches tend to grow upwards, so it's good beside furniture. The leaves are soft and look like those of bamboos (hence the name). There are several varieties; one has purple leaves. Perhaps it would fit the bill for one of your new shtubs!

-Gord