Question
We live in Nashville, Tennessee (zone 7? zone 8? we've seen both!) We have bare areas at the front corners of our house, and we would like to plant evergreen trees. We like unusual plants and trees, not boxy hedges or heavily sculpted bushes! Do you have any recommendations?
Many thanks for your help!

Answer
Bob,
Just to clear up what your zone is,it is zone 6 which is the same as mine here in Western KY.
You did not specify how close to the house the area is that you would like to fill in. There are many freeform evergreens but you MUST take into account how big they get.You do not want to plant an evergreen that will mature into a 50 foot monstrosity near your house.Just keep that in mind while shopping.Also another point is that just because a certain evergreen is used MAINLY for shaping does not mean you HAVE to shape it or prune it into anything but it's natural state of growth.So just because you see certain types of evrgreens that are usually shaped,that means nothing whatsoever about it's growth rate or shape if it were left on it's own.So do not confuse the shape as opposed to the natural state of growth of any evergreen.Here are some links for evergreens in our zone that you can either prune or not.Hope you find just the right evergreen you are searching for!If you want more info,go to Google and type in "evergreens for zone 6"

http://www.naturehills.com/new/product/trees_subcategories.aspx?catname=Evergree...

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_seasonal_zones/article/0,1785,HGTV_3631_3644621,00.h...

http://gardencenter.southernstates.com/garden/hollies.shtml