Yesterday I was at Lowe's in search of Round Up brushes. Of course, while I was there, I went through the garden center. They had a collection of Compact Oregon Grape Holly. I'm not sure I've seen this for sale locally before, though I have wondered about it, or something like it, for my problem front foundation plantings.

The absolute minimum requirements for this space:

shade tolerant. This is the north side of a two story house with a large red maple to the west.

lime tolerant. The soil pH is 7.2. This is what trips everybody up. I don't know how many recommendations for pieris, rhododendrons, leucothoe, and other things that just aren't going to work I have gotten over the years.

deer tolerant. While they aren't a big problem during the growing season, during the winter when snow is covering the grass they are an enormous problem. If it wasn't for the deer, I would be perfectly happy with the old yews that are currently in the spot.

Things I'd like are something evergreen and about 5 ft tall. I'm thinking wind may be an issue, but that is something I can probably fix. Our winter winds come from the northeast (which is why the storms are called nor'easters). Unfortunately, right after our house the road turns north, so the wind gets a running start down the open road. I have established some shrubs between the road and the house, and could plant more.