"Warren" wrote in message
.net...
We had grown-up in Wisconsin, and while our memories get more and more
selective as the years go on, our memories from growing up was that
everyone had some evergreens in front of their houses. Pictures we have
seem to confirm this was the de facto rule in Wisconsin.

I would say your memory is right on there. I would say the norm here is to
use only evergreens for foundation plantings. And, I would say, a majority
or significant minority of those with only evergreens have one type of
evergreen sheared into a hedge along the foundation. A few people use a mix
of evergreens and deciduous shrubs, and in the neighborhood I live in, there
seem to be a lot of houses that have just a big patch of native prairie
perennials around the foundation. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of
this last look, precisely because of the way it looks in winter.

The joke about the Illinois/Wisconsin border was cute by the way!