I am at the northern limit for the Hydrangea angustipetala. It was an experiment. Saw it. Like it. Brought it home. It behaves like H. macrophylla here. It is reliably root hardy, but if the old wood does not survive the winter, it won't bloom. Most often it is the spring freezes that kill the older stems when they break dormancy too soon.

This and that is spread over 3/4 acre that is the garden between me and the byway. The lay of the land gives me a bird's eye view of the entire space from the front porch.

Anything Ilex is deer candy in the woods where I am. Fine if you can protect it though. You might want to consider leucothe for year round foliage. Grows in your zone, but maybe too cold in the mnts. I don't know about how that works being a flatlander.

My deer are hunted and the thick forest cover is not the best habitat. The population is kept in check. So far they have stuck with the abundant wild foods available to them and we only get some minor nibbling on garden kind plants.

Leucothoe grows very well for me. I have used it as the short lower back wall of the garden. I also planted it because its common name, Dog Hobble, was given to it for a reason. It is not unusual during hunting season to have the hounds passing through.

Have you studied the work at the Arboretum in Ashville?

Been to the NC Arboretum in Asheville many times over the years. That may be where I picked up the craving for Hamamelis x intermedia cultivars. Have quite a few now and the first one 'Jelena' is beginning to bloom right now. Witch hazels are an much underused plant.