check out michael dirr's WOODY PLANTS . he lists just about anything you'd want to choose and his discriptions and comments are right on.

you might try hemlock for your evergreen.

i have the winter king in my front yard -- about the only place i get sun. I'd suggest it for a sunny spot. Bark exfoliates very nicely after about 10 years. flowers are a fragrant cloud of white after pale pink buds that last 7 to 10 days. scent is a heavy vanilla-ish that can be overwhelming in a warm close area. its similar to milkweed or sweet autumn clematis. leaves are dull yellow in the fall if they make it that far into the season-- they tend to start dropping about the middle of august from somesort of disease (rust), otherwise they start the summer as a deep almost glossy green. Berries stay on the tree until late winter or spring (birds don't eat them until the berries freeze several times) and look really great after christmas. lots of seedlings are a problem as are the thorns(2-3 inches and sharp) all said and done i'd still keep my tree. i takes pruning nicely, with work in the early years it could be shaped artistically. mine has topped out about 30 feet tall by about 18 wide.

you could try red bud or a dogwood. or explore japanese maples wich would like a bit of shade.

diggerb

You need to make sure you get enough sun before you consider something like Amelanchier. Trees like that and Hawthorn require at minimum 5-6 hours of sun in order to flower well and set fruit. One way to tell how much sun is to watch the area on a sunny day (you may have to wait for the leaves to come out on your deciduous trees to know for sure). Check the spot every hour and count up the number of times the spot was in sun.

I have Styrax grandifolius in part shade and it flowers pretty well (or well enough). Not sure that it would work for you, but there are trees that tolerant more shade than others. Unfortunately, having those maples there will make it a bit more difficult.

And wanting 4 season interest might make it a bit harder to find something unless you do something evergreen (like Ilex opaca, American holly); there are plants with exfoliating bark that some people consider of interest in winter. Heptacodium miconiodes is one such tree (likes sun though), paperbark maple (Acer griseum) is another.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for the advice - I am in the process of looking up into all these ideas/info

diggerb - having info first hand about how it is to have (for example) a hawthorn, is exactly what I'm looking for.

Esh ga - I do get more sun in the front, so I do hope the Amelanchier will be doing well. I will also check Styrax grandifolius.

Finally, I know that I am looking for a lot - 4 season interest and evergreens without much light. In the end I might have to give up on some trait or another, but this way I have more to choose from.

Thanks again.

I have a beautiful coral bark japanese maple.
There is a red tansy or is it red pansy redbud with purple foliage.
There is yaupon holly. Not sure how these work in your zone but they are great for zone 7 here.

Cornus kousa (Kousa dogwood).

Assuming it fits in your space requirements, its a great tree. Its also not as overused as some others and has a fantastic flower display.

When following this link, use the links on the right side of the page to access all of the different photo galleries associated with the plant.

Here is a link that might be useful: University of Illinois Plants database