Short back and sides

My friends up the road have Leylandii that needs considerably reducing every few years.  What a huge job it is as you can see!  They were half the size (width and height) by the end of the day and much neater.

Plans for our garden continue with Nick .  Last year we cleared much of it out, and this year I'm looking to do lots of planting in the coming weeks ready for the spring.  My homework is to search up plants that do well in shady dry situations as I've got a couple of large trees in the borders.  Any suggestions welcome...