Starting right to left facing the house:
Front Bed in front of the porch
Swing Low Distylium:
Evergreen, Low Maintenance, 2-3 feet tall x 4-6 feet wide
Alternate could be the Wheeler’s Dwarf Pittosporum
Feather Falls Sedge
Evergreen, Clumper instead of spreader, 18 inches tall by 3 feet wide. Easy to keep less than 3 feet wide.
https://hoffmannursery.com/plants/details/carex-feather-falls-et-crx01-pp26199
Fastigiata Yew
Use as to anchor each corner of the house. Grows to 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Evergreen, rarely needs pruning, dense habit. New growth is a lime green.
Bed running down driveway
Dwarf Yaupon Holly
Slow growing evergreen shrub, max 2 feet tall by 2.5 feet wide.
Substitution could be the Encore Chiffon Azalea
Tiny Quick Fire Hydrangea
This is not an evergreen, but has a long blooming season. 3 feet tall by 2.5 feet wide.
Front side of the House, left of door
Back Row Options:
August Beauty Gardenia
Evergreen, blooms in the summer, 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide
https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/august-beauty-gardenia?variant=13940788232244
Duke Garden’s Yew
Slow growing evergreen getting to 4 feet tall by 3 feet wide.
Front Row Options
Encore Azalea Chiffon
Very dwarf and compact. I would put these in front of the back row. Slow grower to 2.5 feet tall by 2.5 feet wide. Blooms three times a year.
October Magic Series Ruby Camellia
Evergreen fall bloomer. Blooms are more red than pink in person. Slow grower to 3.5 feet tall by 4 feet wide.
https://southernlivingplants.com/the-collection/plant/october-magic-ruby-camellia
Side of house heading to Gas Meter
Adagio Maiden Grass
Mature size is 3.5 feet tall by 3.5 feet wide.
https://johnson-nursery.com/miscanthus-adagio-dwarf-maiden-grass
Side Yard … Maple Tree to Gas Meter
Narihira Mahonia
A better alternative to ferns. This is an evergreen that flowers yellow in the spring. It grows 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide.
https://www.thetreecenter.com/narihira-mahonia
If we use the gardenias for the back row against the house and the azaleas in front, then an alternate to these would be the camellias.
June Hosta
It will go underground in the winter, but it is very hardy.
Backyard
Pugster Blue Butterfly Bush
I have these in my front yard, and they have been semi-evergreen over the past two winters. They bloom continuously for three seasons. They get 3 feet tall by 3 feet wide.
https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/buddleia/pugster-blue-butterfly-bush-buddleia-x
Little Lime Punch Hydrangea
Deciduous, but longer blooms and blooming season. 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide.
Holy Grail Perennial Hibiscus
Also deciduous, but the leaves add color when not in bloom. Gets 5 feet tall by 5 feet wide.
https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/hibiscus/summerific-holy-grail-rose-mallow-hibiscus-hybrid
There are other varieties with the same color bloom, but green foliage.
Purple Daydream Loropetalum
Evergreen, 2.5 feet tall by 2.5 feet wide.
https://southernlivingplants.com/the-collection/plant/purple-daydream-dwarf-loropetalum
Perennials
Purrsian Blue Catmint
18 inches tall and 24 inches wide
https://www.gardenia.net/plant/nepeta-faassenii-purrsian-blue
There is a more dwarf version called Cat’s Pajamas
