For something low you might investigate Gaultherias if you have acid soil.

begin by understanding.. that foundation plantings are for hiding the foundation .. and not properly planted on the foundation ... you have to allow for the future potential of what you might plant ... and.. imo ... be planting 3 to 5 feet from the house for most shrubs ...

i cant tell how big the bed is on your foundation ... but designing and installing the bed.. is the first step in eventually determining what plants will fit there ...

the second step.. would be for you to be able to state a GOAL ... what do you want to accomplish ... do you want to cover the windows .... [probly not] ... corners.. etc ... once you can put yours minds eye on the goal... then the plants will nearly name themselves ...

the word shade means nothing alone ... what if any sun does the spot get.. when .. what hours of the day ... etc ... give us some more info to work with ...

ken

Since your house does not have exposed foundations maybe you don't really need to plant anything right against it. It certainly makes house maintenance easier if there are no plants right where a body wants to walk, put ladders etc. when working on the outside of a structure. Also if you do most of your planting out a ways from the house you can see them when you look out of the windows. If you have no ideas of your own about suitable plant selection maybe have a local garden consultant that is familiar with the plant palette for your region come out and view your site, make suggestions. Or hire a local garden designer to draw up some planting plans.

Thanks so much yardvaard! You've made my little house look amazing!!

Your little house is perfect. I’d choose an evergreen groundcover to fill in area from sidewalk to house, planting a small tree in the middle of it. Pachysandra, ivy and vinca are the obvious choices but there are many others.

You can do evergreen in zone 5. There are many forms of spreading or groundcover yews that are low growing and easy to keep in check by only occasions pruning, Check out Taxus x media 'Taunton' or Taxus cuspidata Emerald Spreader. Korean boxwood varieties are also very cold tolerant and will take light shade easily. Ditto Ilex crenata, Japanese holly (a boxwood look-alike). And for something that will actually offer some flower color, a PJM rhododendron (hardy to zone 4) but that needs a space where it can grow to some height (6' or so).

I despair of a garden that has no evergreen presence :-) Deciduous shrubs and perennials are nice but I want to see something other than bare bark in the off season.

Herbaceous and deciduous only = no meat on the skeleton. Of course, in this instance the house itself provides structure. Not, that, as I said earlier planting the foundation is needed in this instance - planting out away from the house would be preferable, even just having a planted border along the wall.

A PJM Rhodie is not only large and coarse, but it's presence is sad and bedraggled looking when it is frozen, which is most of the winter in Z5. The spreading yews are as tall as a man and easily as wide. It's a lot of pruning to keep them below 3' window bottoms. When I lived in Z5, no Ilex crenata or boxwood grew there. If they're growing there now, I'm suspicious of their reliability. At least something is fishy.

I don't think it's true that "herbaceous and deciduous only = no meat on the skeleton." There are lots of plant effects other than evergreen that give fullness and interest. This is not disagreement that evergreen has value. But if evergreen is either not available in foundation sized plants, or is impractical for other reasons, then other solutions must be found. I'm also not claiming that there is NO evergreen solution. I'm claiming that if there is, I don't know what it is, and the things mentioned I don't think are it.

Well, we will have to agree to disagree on the appropriateness of the suggested plants :-) Taunton yew will never get to 6' tall in one's lifetime, if ever. Typically 3-4' over an extended time frame. And the Emerald Spreader is only around 2.5' tall at maturity. And there are a whole bunch of boxwoods, typically Korean or Korean hybrids, that are hardy down to zone 4!! They were bred in Canada specifically for northern gardens. Ditto with the PJM rhodies - bred specifically for colder climates. While they may look a bit limp or bedraggled in freezing weather , they are still an evergreen presence and it only takes a little bit of warming to get them looking good again.

Holly, inkberry, some hardier boxwoods (Green Mountain is hardy in zone 5), yews, Montgomery spruce (low type, not vertical), small rhododendron varieties all work. No deer around? If there are deer around, you have to be much more careful about what you choose - they do like yews! And yews do need yearly clipping and still seem to get too big. Biggest mistakes, if you are planting yourself, is to plant too close to the house, or planting shrubs under those low windows at the right that will soon grow too tall. Do consider adding perennials or annuals. If you have a lot of shade, disease-resistant impatiens are now back and available in every color to relieve too much green. For choosing the evergreens, best bet is to go to a local nursery, bring a picture and ask for suggestions.

Another point: notice how the foundation planting in the mockup presented here makes the already small house look even smaller. Whereas if the planting was along the wall instead the house would still be seen from the street with a planting in front of it, just not right in front of it.

If it were my house, I’d plant one of the low evergreen shrubs mentioned as low hedges framing two beds flanking the walk, coming all the way to the sidewalk, and fill them in with an evergreen ground cover and bulbs. For more interest add one or a pair of small trees.

Boxwoods are not reliably hardy in zone 5 (at least in my experience), so I would not recommend them. We have a few of them planted along the house and they have died or been severely damaged many times in previous years.

Korean box and some of the hybrids can do well in zone 5, so long as they are properly sited. They need a certain amount of shade during the winter or they burn.

And some of the Korean hybrids developed in Canada are even more cold hardy. Most of the 'Green' series (Green Gem, Green Velvet, Green Mound) are rated to zone 4. And generally hold their color very well in winter (hence the 'green' part of the cultivar name).

And you know this from personal experience? Remember, plants can't read, and many are rather willfully ignorant of what humanity expects from them.

There are some nice boxwood plantings up here in MN so certainly doable in Zone 5 withthe right selections. Up here, it's generally reccommended to avoid exposed sites in the winter or where snow is likely to get blown or piled up.

No, I don't know it from personal experience. However, these specific boxwoods were developed and bred in Canada (in 1939) to withstand harsh Canadian winters and have been hugely successful. There are many instances here on these forums of folks successfully growing boxwoods in colder climates and the the ones I noted are even recommended by the UMN extension service.

Here are 2 possible shrub plans after researching. I'd like to cover the drain pipes with 5 - 6 ft thin, mostly SHADE tolerant shrubs Zone 6. Any ideas on a tall, thin shrub?

Thank You.

Make sure your scale is correct. It appears that you have 3 oakleaf hydrangeas occupying the same sized space as the 3 boxwoods. That's not gonna work as a mature oakleaf - unless you select one of the dwarf varieties - will be at least twice and closer to three times the size of the box.

gardengal48, yes, definitely - low house, all shrubs will be dwarf varieties. Any suggestions for 5ft tall thin shrubs to cover the drain pipes? thx.

Actually, oakleafs and those boxwoods are going to be about the same size. Green Mountain is, well, a mountain.

Did you ever tell us where in the world you are?

5'x3' for the box over a long period of time versus 10-12'x8' for the hydrangea. Not even close!!

And the boxwoods can be very easily pruned to any size you want....not so with the hydrangea.

Gardengal48, but I can't have all boxwood going across :(

mad_gallica, MA zone 6 (I originally thought zone 5, but I'm learning and that's why I'm here!)

LOL!! If it were my garden, there wouldn't be any boxwood at all as it is a plant I find beyond boring and completely nondescript :-) And with other less favorable attributes as well! But I understand that broadleaved evergreen selections in your zone are limited.

My comment wasn't intended to imply that you replace the hydrangeas with boxwood but that the hydrangeas have an ability to exceed the size of the box by a significant margin. But if you select a dwarf or compact form of oakleaf hydrangea you should be okay as long as there is sufficient space for them to grow unencumbered. The boxwoods can be pruned to fit the space as needed....the hydrangeas cannot!

We of the New England forum are of the opinion that oakleaf hydrangeas are quite iffy in our zone 5. I've lost them, and I am by no means alone.

My Green Mountain is about 6 x 4 with some pruning, and it didn't take that long to get that size. There are other hardy boxwoods that are shorter. Since Green Mountain was specifically bred to form a nice, conical shape, hacking it to make it fit into a space isn't the world's best idea.

If you are at the point of plant selection, I'd recommend posting in the New England Forum.

There is a reason pyramidal shaped plants tend to "eat" houses and ultimately become hard to control, to which people say they are "overgrown" and recommend their removal. A "drain pipe" (downspout) does not justify their use in that position. The solution is to paint the downspout the color of the background so it is camouflaged, and forget about the pyramidal plants. See the downspout at the far right; it is barely noticeable.

You are right again Yardvaark. I went back to your mark up pic and it looks fine as it is. Even just making a neat, mulched planting bed will be a huge improvement. Thx.

Just paint the downspouts to match the house if they bother you and also, avoid the "meatball" look to your plantings. Yardvaarks rendition above was spot on.

I have 2 oakleaf hydrangeas and a paniculata (little quick fire)--fair warning, the deer WILL eat these.

ETA: adding to the boxwood "cons" mentioned by chloe is that they smell like cat pee. I can't stand junipers and boxwoods exactly for that reason.

Many comments about boxwood here. Some varieties of boxwood ARE reliably hardy in Zone 5 and even into zone 4. That is a fact. If you go to a really good local garden nursery, they may well offer a 1 year guarantee on shrubs, which is why they only sell plants hardy in your area! One very strong “pro” about boxwood is that they are very deer resistant. One negative about using boxwood in a foundation planting is that branches are quite susceptible to being broken off by wet, heavy snow sliding off the roof of the house, or by heavy snow shoveled onto them when clearing the front walk.

Not all boxwood smell like cat pee, but some varieties do. I learned that the hard way once, when I made my own miniature boxwood Christmas tree with a styrofoam cone and boxwood branches I picked up at a garden store I don’t usually frequent, and started wondering what that AWFUL smell was in my living room! I suspect that those varieties that don’t are bred to suppress that smell, but probably have the same underlying “chemistry” - we just can’t detect it as humans. Deer, like dogs, have several hundred times our smell capability, which is why they leave boxwood alone!

Maybe I was a deer in a previous life? My husband says he can tell when there are boxwood or juniper plants around because he'll see my face involuntarily assume that "ew" expression.

It's unfortunate that the Panera near us has a healthy planting of boxwoods courtesy of the shopping center developer. Can't stand it.

All box shares this "fragrance" issue to some degree. It is caused by oils in the leaf tissue that when heated - by sunlight or indoor temperatures - release what most consider to be a very rank aroma. You will notice it most with English boxwood and less with any box that receives afternoon shade. If in full sun, be prepared to hold your breath when passing!!

I just purchased a yew called 'Maureen". Slow growing to 6 feet but very slender and takes full shade. It's hardy to zone 5 and will be planted amongst some very mature boxwood shrubs on the north side of my house. I find it very attractive.

Chouchou_gw, Wow! That is great info!! I will look into that! 👏 Thank you!

Can I ask what color your roof is? I am having mine replaced and up in the air on color. My house is close to the color of yours. Thank you.

Hi Sylvia, the roof is gray. Good luck with your roofing.

Gina L, thank you.

What about a Kalmia? They are listed as hardy to zone 4. I have one (K. latifolia-mountain laurel) in almost full shade. It is in bloom now and looks great year round-beautiful glossy leaves. Mine is very slow-growing, but they can be pruned if they start to get too big.

Thanks to everyone here for the advice. I started my little Cape project about a year ago. Here's the before and after. Still more work to do and things to add, but I'm happy so far.

I've had good luck with winter gem boxwoods here in zone 5. Also have had green velvet without a problem with the cold. I think these are both varieties of Korean boxwood. I have lost one or two over the years to what I believe was a fungal disease, but most years they look great. I don't happen to be using them as Foundation plants but you could. I also have had no problem growing densiformis yews in partial shade. Probably a prosaic plant but it works and stays fairly small. Maybe three feet wide and two feet tall. I do use some of these as Foundation plantings. Obviously you would want to combine several different types of plants. Annabelle hydrangeas are also popular here as foundation plants in shady spots.