I'm a transplant from the east coast and know nothing about Seattle plants. We have a evergreen hedge in front of our porch that is engulfing the house. I think these types of hedge plants are common in Seattle, and I hope someone can tell me what there are and WHEN and HOW to prune. Pardon my description--I'm not very knowledgable about ornamental plants.

The plant have thick waxy dark green leaves about 3-4 inches long with small serrated edges (but not painfully sharp like hollies). The veins on the leaves leave the center vein at just about opposite points and go out to the end of the leaves but interconnect. The leaf tapers to the tip and has a slightly rounded point at the end. The leaves come off the woody stem at about the same point, though one of the attachments of the leaves is always a bit higher than the other. At the end of the stem that I am looking at, there is a bud that looks a bit like a mini-artichoke (about 1/3 inch wide and about 1 inch long).

Again, sorry for the rather lame description. Thanks in advance for any help in how/when to prune my as-yet-nameless hedge plants.