There are lots of cultivars of arborvitae (Genus: Thuja), so you need to check out the characteristics (height, width, color, and growth rate) to see what will work best for the area you are trying to landscape.

Steve's Thuja 'Green Giant' is a rapidly growing, pyramidal shaped evergreen that gets really tall and quite wide. Great way to fill in a large area fast.



https://www.thisoldhouse.com/g...ja-green-giant-trees

Also Thuja occidentalis 'Techny'. They are a bit more blue in color, grow nicely but not as fast as Green Giants, and are a little more squat (wider at the bottom and also not as tall).



https://www.arboretum.purdue.edu/explorer/plants/674/

A lot of what you see at nurseries are Thuja occidentalis 'Emerald'. Used a lot in typical suburban landscapes because they don't get as big as Green Giant and Techny.



I have some Technys in my back yard, and my neighbor has a nice row of Emeralds. There's a great Green Giant down the street. I'll snap some pics and post those later.

There's something to be said for a mixed hedge for a lot of reasons. You can get spring and summer flowers and/or fall color that way to have year round interest. If a disease strikes (think Dutch Elm Disease or Emerald Ash Borers), it won't kill off your entire hedge; you'd only have to replace a portion of it.

I like multiple groupings of various kinds of shrubs, not all in a straight line.

Might be worth paying a landscape designer or architect to come up with a plan for you, even if you execute it yourself over time.

Visit botanic gardens at various time of the season, including winter, and see what looks good and appeals to you. Local garden clubs can be a wealth of information. They usually have a garden walk around the third week in June. A great way to see gardens in your area, and also to get to know some of the gardeners. We love to share plants and information, doncha know....

If you see a plant you like, try to get its botanical name. As I said about arborvitae, there are lots of cultivars and there may be something you really like about one in particular. For instance, I'm a fan of DeGroot's Spire arborvitae. Not your usual suspect, it has a charm of its own.

Personally, I'd live in the house for a while and see where you think you need the visual barrier. And it's good to live through at least an entire year to see what things are already on the property and whether you like them or not. Will help you figure out how to change it to suit your lifestyle and landscape design aesthetic.

Unsolicited advice: Your lot is so big, one of the first things I'd be on the lookout for is identifying the perfect spot to install a labyrinth.

https://www.gardendesign.com/baltimore/labyrinth.html

I'll stop now. Well, at least for a little while.

All the shrubs I mentioned get quite tall

quote:

Personally, I'd live in the house for a while and see where you think you need the visual barrier.

Yes, this is definitely good advice. I actually was on the phone with a local nursery (and she gave me the prices for the Green Giant, which she said does well here, and ... the Emerald one) anyway, she said rather than plant now, waiting till fall reducing the amount of initial watering needed, so that's another consideration I hadn't thought about.

Also, we probably will pay a landscaper, both for advice and probably for some work as well. Having someone walk around the yard with us and explain things will be very helpful.

quote:

labyrinth

I bet Mr SK would love that!!

Pique, thanks!! I like WTG's advice about doing a mixed hedge, so we'll look into the options you mentioned.

Oh, and I'm with jodi on the fence, especially a privacy fence. If you think you want a fenced area for a dog, do a smaller area near the house and don't try to fence in the whole property. And don't do wood or solid; there are nice aluminum fences that are no maintenance and I think way more attractive.



See various fence styles here to compare:

https://www.inchcalculator.com/cost-to-install-fence/

The mixed hedge could have both deciduous and evergreen shrubs. And maybe a specimen tree somewhere as a focal point.

Oh, and a landscaper and a landscape designer/architect are very different beasts. Most landscapers are guys with smelly gas powered garden tools and who can dig holes and plant your stuff. They rarely know much about selecting and caring for plant material. I see the landscapers around here massacre beautiful shrubs by pruning them incorrectly and/or at the wrong time of year. I've seen some real horror stories.

You need someone who can really evaluate your site and provide a design perspective.

The nursery is right. Fall planting is actually much better for many plants.

Just caught a whiff of a nearby Judd's viburnum and came here to start posting some of my favorites for your consideration. Hope others chime in with theirs, along with pics from their gardens!

Judd's viburnum - Viburnum x juddii

Maintenance free shrub with a spicy clove scent in April that fills the air. Just heavenly. The bugs don't eat the leaves, but the rabbits chew off the new shoots that come from the ground. I put a low wire fence around the base and it lets the plant fill out. If you don't, then they can be a bit naked on the bottom but are still totally wonderful and worth planting. Not a huge shrub, but might look nice with some evergreens in the background. Fall color is mixed, sometimes really nice, sometimes a bit boring.

2020 was a good year:



https://mortonarb.org/plant-an...ants/judds-viburnum/

Thanks for all the suggestions WTG!

I like that fence btw, and the idea of doing a smaller fence if we need one for a doggie.

BTW, I really like those green giant trees, but we might have a hard time keeping them reined in. The emerald ones might be the ones that are already there.

Also, point taken re landscape designer. I think the place I found might fit that criteria, but I'll be looking for recommendations first

I think your idea about adding some bushes up near the corner of the house is a good one - your lot is really big, and it will take a lot along the road to make it feel private. But if you extended the beds that go around the house in an interesting manner out on the top of that rise off the corner of the house - you could put some really nice mixed flowering and coniferous bushes that would act as a private screen for your deck. You could even build ann interesting wooden lattice fence like structure out 20 feet or so, annd grow clematis, or some other flowering vines, it wouldn’t have to be solid, but would make things more private. And it looks like there is a downspout there, a good way to get everything some water.

Oops, forgot the picture. Ignore stray red mark. But a bed here at the top of that hill from the backyard would probably be enough.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:

Yep, that's pretty much right where I was thinking.

Because, I think you're right, getting a line of greenery along the road would probably be super expensive. Maybe we can plant more things little by little but yeah, there would be a lot of distance to cover doing it that way.

The trick to hiring landscape designers is the same as any other trade. Insist in references and the drive over and take a look at their work personally. As soon as I looked at our designer’s most recent project I knew I had found the right guy for the job.

Does Mr. SK have any ideas as far as using that unique basement entrance to create an area for an outdoor summer studio? I know I would - I use my garage shop that way but all I have to look at is the house across the street. I can imagine enhancing it with some potted greenery, a water feature, a comfortable chair and table setup.

Maybe I’d set a big bed in the turf as a focal point to view from the studio. A fine big tree with companion plantings underneath. Perhaps something referring to landscapes in Japan.

Koi pond?

quote:

Do you see yourselves lounging/entertaining in the back yard?

That’s a good question. I see us using the deck more than the actual yard. I would like the yard to look nice. But for example, I don’t see us setting up a fire pit and hanging out there late into the evening… But if I didn’t feel like I would be noticed from the road, I would probably walk around back there. I spend a fair amount of time in our backyard at our old house.

We cross posted. Your thoughts on my question above?

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:

quote:

Do you see yourselves lounging/entertaining in the back yard?

That’s a good question. I see us using the deck more than the actual yard. I would like the yard to look nice. But for example, I don’t see us setting up a fire pit and hanging out there late into the evening… But if I didn’t feel like I would be noticed from the road, I would probably walk around back there. I spend a fair amount of time in our backyard at our old house.

That’s good info.

If you mostly see yourselves using the deck perhaps you start with improving your view from the deck, and improve the sense of privacy when you’re on the deck as well.

Walling in the yard when you’re not likely to use it might not be the best use of your landscape budget.

I know nothing about this, SK, but found this link in my news feed this morning, fwiw.

https://www.marthastewart.com/hedge-plants-8628956