Close-up of the corner . . .

in the thousands of posts i have read on this forum.. i can recall one hater.... so i wonder where you came up with that ...

peeps in snow load country ... hate multi leader plants that splay in wet snow.. but that doesnt mean they hate thuja ...

i am not quite sure where you want to plant ... but i do think.. from my perspective.. your foundation plants are way to close to the house .... and that is part of the problem.. of trying to FIT something in there ...

de groots was the first thing to come to mind.. even before you mentioned it ... but again.. a single leader plant is imperative... more than one plant would be more artistic ... especially if they were not in a straight line ...

green arrow also comes to mind.. in the cham family .. again.. single leader ...

but any of them.. anything.. planted 2 or 3 feet from the house.. is going to be problematic ...

its hard to tell the whole layout from these 2 pix.. but it doesnt look like you even have room for a bocci court there .. is there anyway we could talk you out of some useless lawn ... to perhaps brings a diagonal berm out towards toward the corner ... making both front and a side year.. WITHOUT INTERFERING THE THE TRAFFIC ON THE CORNER???

emerald green ... is totally inappropriate ... its too bigboxstore for your glorious house ...

think outside the box you are in .... but if you wish to remain in such.. i have made two suggestions ...

good luck

ken

Thank you Ken! Yes, I have read about the importance of single leader. I am planning on taking up some of the lawn and allowing for a more natural look. Maybe I can baby the yew into getting more height. The foundation plants you see came with the house. I added the oak, cherry and Japanese maple. Also planning a dogwood to be under the oak. I'm trying to bring in some evergreens - maybe then a nice pine in the [relatively] open space in front.
Green Arrow cham is a great suggestion, and DeGroot's is still on the list.
Thanks again!
Kim

If you're talking the extreme corner I like the Green Arrow suggestion. But if its a dry spot I would not put that plant there in 7a with the reflected heat of a white house on a west corner. The wings they develop may not be the best for that location either.

I'd go with a Pinus cembra Fastigiata or Picea abies Cupressina as both plants are much tougher.

Better yet can't you roll with a Cedrus in your zone?

The plain green Thuja are extremely boring, you can barely notice new growth. Would be a complete waste in your zone.

I understand your desire for an evergreen but a Fagus Red Obelisk would look pretty sweet there.

I got a chuckle out of the Polar Vortex in DC comment.

Thanks Whaas - I was trying to soften the "middle corner" if that helps (the middle section of the second photo). A Cupressus sempervirens would be great but we lost a lot of established shrubs this winter due to the cold so I'm hesitant. I did a bad job on the color of the photos but there is already a lot of red due to the barberry and the Japanese maple. I love Pinus cembra but it is probably too wide. I think I'll work on the yew. Prune back the barberry (ouch), and give the yew a chance to show off.

I figured out how to fix the bad color on my camera. This is a shot of the yew that I am thinking of replacing with something taller. . . The holly (?) in the foreground is actually 2 plants that the previous owner planted too close together.