Zone 8a Full sun south facing.
Something that has foliage most of the year and isn't boring.

Was considering dwarf magnolia, but I see those want to grow to 20ft around here.
Also thought about some of the juniper varieties.

Just make sure you keep it trimmed.

Southern wax myrtle
Yaupon Holly (Nellie R Stevens or Pride of Houston)

Thank you elcoyote. Those are two excellent suggestions. No thorn bush?

I do really like mock orange, but already have a couple of those

He said he wants something that isn't boring.

Red Tips

I've had red tip photinia, and they do look nice when healthy.
They want to grow 25ft tall, and keeping them trimmed at 7-10ft makes them disease prone (black spot, etc)

I also have 7 or 8 different cypress, 2 kinds. They are sensitive and will die quick on you. In 5 years I have replaced half them .

Yeh, cypress looks incredible for a while, but there's something about the weather and microbe environment here that doesn't agree with them.

Cotton root rot.

Dwarf Silverado Sage

I am onboard with yaupon holly. Great xeriscape plant and can be left bushy or trimmed to be tree like. If you select females they will have the brilliant red berries throughout the fall (just don’t have your car/boat around when the waxwings pass through).Further, as our resident naturalist passes on, the leaves are a source of caffeine in hard times.

I would suggest alternating Silverado Sage and Mexican BoP with Spineless Prickly Pear (yellow flowers) flanked by pods (4-6) Red Yucca and maybe a couple Desert Willows thrown in there for good measure.

North or Variegated Privet - it's a slow grower, but will last a lifetime.

Haha, agree.

I'll probably stop by Bruce Miller's in Richardson on the way home.

This would be good for zone 9a and warmer

I do have some Silverado Sage that is great. Mexican BoP will not thrive in Dallas.

Althea?

It'll be fine

On the short list

plant these and I will come by once a month and trim them for ya for free.

just a thought.

#notHOAapproved

The weeping yaupons add a little interest to the landscaping

well darn!

Oh, what about vitex / chaste tree? You'd have all kinds of fun because of the shape of the leaves.

Ha, my favorite tree in the yard is my vitex (I know it's elcoyote's favorite also)
Those things thrive here and will get to 30ft tall in no time. Bloom from end of March to end of November if you keep trimming them (sorry Dfitz).

yep, attacks Bradford Pears too. It is not as much a problem if you do not plant too deep. Number one mistake people make is planting a tree too deep and piling mulch around the trunk. Neighbor mulched my pecan trees right after I planted them. She said look I had some extra mulch. I said thanks but no thanks. I would have said more but she was already kind of ticked at me for calling her orange shingles ugly as sin.

Crimson Queen Japanese Maple?



Orangeola Japanese Maple?

Japanese Maples are beautiful, but they will get scorched Dallas south facing full sun June to early October.

My mom has what I believe is a Red Prince Weigela. That I like a lot. But hers is 8-10' tall and 5' wide. The ones on google search mostly look smaller than that.

Red Tip Photinia

Dwarf pittosporum

Interesting. Don’t think I’ve seen one in person.

I'm not 100% that's what it is. Is very similar though. I'll go by there this weekend and get a pic and see if we can properly ID it.

Saw that Neil S. is featuring Italian jasmine as this weeks plant of the week. I may just have to try and locate one to give it a try.

Take a trip to Tyler there are some nurseries out there that are hundreds of acres, they have just about what ever you want and you will save a bunch of money, then go hit Athens on your way home. They sell flats of tomatoes of 36 count for around $11, I use to take orders from all the neighbors and make the trip every year

I was looking at that one the other day. It’s a TAMU earth kind plant

If I drove out to Tyler, I’d just keep driving till I got to Caddo

i am about to do this
in my creek
that was cleared out
tired of looking at my neighbors
back porch

Nellie R Stevens

^^^very popular with many neighbors

I like Nellie Stevens, but it is a bit “boring”. Rose of Sharon isn’t evergreen, but it’s probably my favorite plant in our yard.

Nellie or Savannah hollies
Variegated Privet
Waxleaf Ligustrum

You can do a lot of lifting or shaping with all listed to create the look you desire.