Hi there,

My honeysuckle stays green all year. Also, mahonia. These are both yellow flowering though. I have a beautiful gardenia in a pot that has become a nice fat bush. The temperature is tricky, so I usually only get a couple of blossoms a year, but it looks nice all summer and only pales a little in the winter. Other than that, I think your landscaper made the best choices. Good luck with your installation.

Carole Ann

Several more you might want to consider:

Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel. There are tons of cultivars, including little bitty growers like 'Minuet' that get only 24-30" high. Flowers range from white through pink to a dusky maroon (the fusca group).

Another interesting evergreen native is the genus Illicium, often called Anise Bush or Anise Tree, although they're large shrubs, not trees. There are two species generally available: I. parviflorum, which gets big and has yellow-green blooms that aren't real showy. The value of this one is in its texture, which is distinctive, and its ease of culture -- it doesn't mind dryish shade when established. The other species is I. floridanum. This species has smaller, darker green leaves and bright burgundy red starry blooms in spring. This plant wants decent moisture and a protected spot in my zone (6b), but if you've got happy camellias you can grow it easily. There are cultivars which are sometimes available, 'Halley's Comet' and 'Head-Lee Compact' being two I'm familiar with.

A semi-evergreen (depending on the winter) shrub is Abelia x 'Edward Goucher', which likes sun to part shade. Blooms are funnelform, light lavender pink and profuse in spring.

Marty

I will second Marty on the Anise tree, and also add Oleander and Fatsia 'japonica'. Ours has stayed evergreen all winter. We may be marginal on bloom for the Fatsia though.

Doug

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I have been thinking about glossy abelia, but I thought it bloomed summer through fall. Is this not right? I was thinking of planting a row of them as a barrier between my yard and my neighbor's yard. I was also thinking of putting something smaller in front of them. Any suggestions? Daylillies?

I'm still open to more suggestions on flowering evergreens if anyone has any.

Come to the MTPS and hear Marty speak, get some of those plants you want for FREE and Doug will probably even be nice enough to donate a beautiful daylily to your new landscape project.

Thanks for the invite. How far away is it from Knoxville?

Check out buffalocanoeing.com. That is Jan & Jim's site as well as where the Swap is held. There is a page for Mapquest driving directions. We have a couple of dozen folks from East TN that regularly attend. We'd love to have you come too.

Also, keep the Knoxville Plant Swap in mind! I bet you can leave with as many plants as you can fit in your car. Many of us are devoted to leaving with less than we came with. I think my goal this year is going to be to bring back 1/3 or less of what I bring. If you want plants, it will be a perfect place to hook up with people that would love to help you out.

We will have all kinds of plants from seeds, to houseplants (cacti to tropicals), to perrennials (and maybe some annuals), to trees and shrubs (not to mention vines).

Check it out at the website below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Knoxville Plant Swap