Thanks for the reply. I don‘t have anything right now at all. I also have small children so ideally non toxic

I went with Hicksi Yew and have 3 of them and they are over 10 years old. I let them grow naturally instead of shaping them conically and I love them as a screen. They are carefree very large shrubs that have tolerated a lot of drought and grow in part shade and practically full shade. But - my daughter just got a puppy this year and I worry when she is here. And this year we got an unbeleiveable amount of rain and they have produced a lot of berries that I rarely see many of and I'm worried about them dropping on the ground. This puppy puts everything in her mouth. She is a year old this week, but, never had a dog that was more interested in putting everything in her mouth. I hope she will grow out of it.

We didn't realize how toxic a Taxus is until one day we had put some pruned taxus branches under a Maple for mulch and the dog got ahold of a branch and was chewing it. Gave us quite a scare, but she was fine. Didn't have it long and that was the first and last time we put Taxus trimmings down as a mulch. Of course, there is no way I can pull out two 10ft x 8ft Taxus shrubs that perfectly fit our need, because of a new puppy. So we are just having to keep an eagle eye on her when she is here. But if you have kids and pets, you may save yourself the worry and use something else.

The thing that surprises me though, is how many yards have Taxus in them and I have never heard of an incident of a pet or a child being poisoned by one.

Or poisoned by a daffodil, also extremely toxic.

welcome ...

always include a big city location ...

you will get better suggestions if you post pix of the spot.. and let us make suggestions ..

shade is a word that means just about nothing.. give us hour of sun.. during what hours of the day ... and let us decide what shade means based on such ....

everything is possibly toxic... if the babes decide to go out an graze the lawn .. they will have problems.. as they are not cows.. lol ...

teach your children that all food comes from you ... when i was a stay at home.. i would give them a snack baggie of goldfish.. and tell them to bring the bag back when they needed more .. i mean really at least teach them to clean up after themselves ... who needs baggies blowing all over the yard ...

shade is not going to kill much of anything ... they just might not perform to expectations.. perhaps not so thick.. more sparse... and a slower annual growth rate ..

speaking of which.. conifers are trees.. and do NOT stop growing at some magical height ... most size estimates at the better sites are at 10 years.. and you can presume they will be twice as big at 20 years ...etc ...

this is how i might look for potential ...note i converted to the proper cultivar name:

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=Juniperus+scopulorum+%27Skyrocket%27&iax=images&ia=images

also note.. these do have ice and snowload issues as they get bigger ... they can splay ...

also ... many of the junipers are subject to juniper tip blight .. but i dont know if that is a big deal in your area .. your county extension office might help you there ...

finally... your best plant.. will probably not be found at bigbox .... if you are willing to invest a little more.. you can mailorder just about anything ... and end up in a better place ...

pix and more info will get you further ...

ken

I agree Ken, that there are so many plants that are toxic to people and pets, that it would be very difficult to design a garden that had none, but, some plants are really toxic and to me Taxus is one that can produce a heart attack in a dog. And we learned from the poison control hotline, that any part of the Taxus is dangerous - the bark, the berries, the needles. And the symptoms might not show up for 2 hrs so you might not make the connection. Plus, even branches that have just been lying on the ground for 4 months are still toxic. Our little 12 lb dog, has gone under the Taxus and tried chewing on the lower branches too. So, I just made sure I know now, what the worst offenders are.

I also tried a Juniper in one of my beds, that was more silver but similar shape to the one in Ken's link. It was in a bed that had 5 hrs of sun a day and that was not enough. Whether it was that, or some other conditions in my garden, I don't know, but it did poorly and eventually I ended up shovel pruning it. What bothered me the most was the lost time trying to get that to work there, and having to start over again.

Thanks for everyones answer. Id conservatively guess 2-3 hours direct sunlight and some more filtered through tree canopies in my backyard. attached is a picture with area where i want to fit something circled - might have to relocate some plants.

its a backyard in Twin Cities area

foundation plantings are planted to hide the foundation.. not ON THE foundation ...

your spot is not a spot for a tree .. aka conifer ..... so the sun variable is moot ....

also note.. with clear blue sky above.. and shade created by a fence.. is also moot.. may as well call it sun ...

based on the shadow of the house.. im guessing this i was a north south wall/fence???

is that a wall.. or a fence.. i might think of clematis ... with or without trellises ... if wall ...

that is one way to get height ...

not a great pic for guessing ... im more confused with the pic.. than before ... im so confused.. and sober mind you.. im not even sure i am using english properly... lol ..

ken

Thanks Ken. That's a fence. The picture is facing south.

Any other ideas from anyone else? It would be incredibly appreciated

Skypencil holly (ilex)?

arborvitae, some firs and hemlocks, and of course yews as suggested (yews esp if your 2-3hr sun est is accurate even at 6ft - boxwoods, holly, and Euonymus for non-conifer evergreens too but I can't really grow those successfully where i am - too dry + winter winds) can do well in part sun. I have a similar spot against a fence and as it's not a house foundations, its perfectly suitable for a narrow evergreen(s)! Though as mentioned, if the shade time is primarily driven by the fence, once the tree gets over 6ft, it may get more sun! You could even consider buying a more mature tree if thats the case to allow it the sun it needs to establish quickly and healthily.