How far away from the house can you put them? The more sun, of course, the better. I have a Thuja occidentalis 'Hetz Midget' that does well with sun from about 9am to 1pm so a little less light should be ok. Were you thinking of that cultivar or 'Teddy' or something else? Also, have you looked at dwarf Tsuga canadensis (Eastern hemlock). Though not as uniform in shape, they can certainly take the shade. A variety called 'Gentsch White' is globular and readily available.

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: Gentsch White

I have small round arborvtaes under a Spring Snow crabapple. They get some morning and early afternoon sun, lots of air movement (not close to my house)and a well mulched bed. I dont know how well they will continue to do as the crab apple continues to grow...now at 10/12 ft...but so far, so good. It has been my experience that most evergreens do quite well if given decent soil, no competition and no direct contact with the cement-loaded soil too near ones foundation.

Anyway, they are so very inexpensive, why not try 3 and see how they do? Be sure to plant at least 4/5 ft from your foundation. mulch well, water well too.

Pondy

They should do fine in shade, but I hope you're not in an area with deer as they are truly a "deer magnet" and could cost you other plants as well by luring them in. I have a couple in front of my house, but there are enough dogs running loose around here to discourage the deer.

Thank you for the input on the Arborvitaes. I have also been looking at boxwood shrubs... I have not yet bought anything, but this weekend is when it (whatever IT is!) is happening! I have a list here of different boxwoods (and the globe arborvitae) that, according to internet searches, would do well where I intend to put them. However, I go see them in a garden center, and it will say that they require full sun. So I'm getting conflicting information here... but.....I think I will just go out and buy some young ones, either one of the boxwood varieties, or the globe arborvitaes, and give them a try. I have never seen deer in our yard, or any evidence of them, so I don't think that is an issue (although we have a woods behind the house....we are also on a busy highway). I have two emerald arborvitae trees in front of the garage, and they have not had any damage by deer, so think I'm ok there! And, I have a four foot span in which to plant my foundation plants...so they would not need to be right next to the foundation. Thanks for the replies, I am so new to this!