Nice area to develop. I would open up that area for some sun loving conifers. Most will get by on 6 hours of sun a day. Scope it out and see what is possible. You might be surprised what the removal of just a few trees can do to provide an abundance of sun light for a given area. To many Tsuga's and shade loving plants can lead to dulls-ville. Regardless of your decision get your plans on paper. Go to the nursery of your choice. If they buy wholesale from Iseli, Buchholtz and a few other big name growers that is a plus. Tell them you are a novice and would appreciate their help in recommending a few plants to get you started. Start with focal point conifers in your islands. Depending upon island size 1-2 should be sufficient. With those in place build around them giving careful consideration to color and size of your companion plants. First year buy what you can afford from them. This establishes a re pour and they know you are serious. That fall before they order next springs shipment order again what you can afford and have them piggy back your order onto yours. Then you hit them with the big kahuna. Ask them if they would consider giving you a discount in return for you buying all your plants from them. Make sure they again are aware of the scope of your project which should take a few years to complete depending upon the rarity and availability of the plants you want. Give it a try. No business man would turn down this offer. They still make plenty even at a discount. It worked for me. Dave

boy you are having fun.. i remember when i was at this stage ... mountain dew is a spring yellow .. presuming you consider Dew yellow??? ... lol .. it greens over summer .... daisy white is also a spring growth white..... while its sister rainbows end.. is a spring yellow ... RE does recur with a second flush later in summer [i am not sure on DW] .. on both.. the color change.. and the dwarf growth habit .... is what differentiates it from the giant grandmomma Picea glauca ... i hope you understand.. that many of these will not be happy in z10 ... if that is where you are ... ken

My apologies Jorg if you're in cyberspace reading this! Ken, is your Little Christopher from today? It looks cold there. And, I'm trying to guage densiflora for our midwestern US climate...do you think they look appreciable year-round? I've categorized them in the same group of plants that don't tolerate humidity with nigra, sylvestris, coastal Doug fir, etc-. Thanks, Dax

Hi Shannon, There are way too many amazing and choice conifers to choose from that would fit nicely in your yard, so here's a list of my favorite mail order sources for you to peruse. If you see something you like google image search the entire plant name i.e., Picea omorika 'Pimiko', to get an idea for large and small specimens and their growth habits. https://www.etsy.com/shop/DANSDWARFCONIFERS http://www.coniferkingdom.com http://www.iconicgardens.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc http://www.maplestoneornamentals.com http://www.singtree.com/Dwarf%20Conifers.cfm http://www.songsparrow.com/catalog/plantlist.cfm?type=all&subtype=EVER,&startrow=1 I would start by choosing a few vertical accent conifers that will act as the bones and anchor points of the bed. Perhaps 3 narrow-ish tall growing conifers spaced apart along the expanse of the fence. Something tall in that corner would be nice. Once the larger tall growing conifers are placed imagine the bed being three larger circle around those three conifers, allowing them room to grow over the years and then take a hose to layout long sweeping curves that connect those circles. Make sure the curves are gradual enough that it's easy to mow. Then choose a bunch of dwarf, mini, compact, and globose shaped conifers to be placed throughout. The tall narrow conifers won't bother your neighbors =)