Lucinda, The white-flowering shrub to the left is Spirea prunifolia (bridalwreath spirea). The yellow-foliaged shrub is a variegated chinese privet (on the invasive plant list for my state, which had I known at the time, I probably would not have planted it; however, I've not seen any problems with seedlings either). Next down the line, flowering in red, is a Quince (some heirloom variety). Behind the quince is Viburnum burkwoodii. You can't see it from this angle, but we mirrored the other half of the screen with plants of the same species but different cultivars of those species...another quince (C. 'Texas Scarlett'), another Spirea (Spirea vanhouttii), another Viburnum (doublefile viburnum), etc.

Why? They're a lot easier than clematis to get started, and are actually beautiful. In fact some are being sold now simply as an ornamental. It can take years to get the standard clematis to any size, however a grape vine can be substantial by its second year. If you want rampant vining, hops and sweet autumn clematis are also rapidly growing and can fill a space quickly. Your idea of a living privacy screen is surely valid and it works.......but do you have any idea how long it's going to take to achieve your desired results? Will your child be an adult by the time your hedging gets big enough to screen him from the grouchy old man? We are rural and I started years ago planning to protect our privacy from the influx of sub-division of farms in our area doing strategic plantings. You can still look out our windows in summer and not see another human habitation.........but it didn't happen overnight. Your's wont either.

Thanks (everyone) for the feedback- very helpful. Some additional details below: So, Math was never my favorite subject. I went out back and measured the distance of the fence from corner to gate (which is where the privacy is really needed). We're at 28 feet total. To get to the young maple (which is a natural transition point) it's 20 feet. So, we're looking at the hedge being somewhere between 20-28 feet depending on how we want to taper/transition. The Boxwoods are about 1.5' wide. I'm thinking we will space them about 10" apart...that should give us coverage along the fence with a little wiggle room. It will add a bunch of immediate privacy and some room for the hedge to establish and then connect...and it sounds like a season or two should do the trick. Once we transplant the current grasses/plants and remove some pavers, we should have a width of about 6 feet to work with, reduced to about 4.5 feet at the Hydrangeas. Hoping this is enough space for the hedge and to texture some plants in front. Specific to the responses above: Steve- good thoughts on spacing and thanks for the Geranium and Hosta suggestions. We have a lot of Hosta in our front and sprinkled through the back. We will definitely use that to complement the boxwood hedge. The raised bed idea was two-fold: improve drainage for the hedge and make sure they don't compete/hurt the Hydrangeas. I was thinking a base of peastone/gravel before backfilling the bed would solve both problems (but making sure the depth of the backfill matched the current depth of the boxwood pots). We'll religiously trim the boxwoods as the current height works for us (another foot would be OK too). Beyond that, I'd need a ladder to trim and would like to avoid it...realize this may be a pipe dream after a few years, even with regular trimming? Digger- the Boxwoods are Common/European (Buxus Sempervirens). Based on the feedback here, I will space them a bit and get closer to your 18" on center suggestion. We brought the Boxwoods home last Sunday. Haven't watered them yet since we've had ample rain. It doesn't sound like watering the pots will be neccessary unless we hit a dry spell...and that seems unlikely with the New England spring forecast. I'll keep checking the root balls...I was going to build the raised bed using pressure treated 4x4 for the posts (sunk in ground). 2x4 treated cedar for the side boards. I was planning on building the box without digging down and sinking any of the cedar. We're on a light slope so I'd build the top of the box first, elevate it and level using wood blocks, then skill saw tapered pieces to ground level to run with the grade. Remove the blocks once secured. Add some aluminum spanners throughout to prevent bowing and backfill the bad boy. Final depth would be slightly above the depth of the pots in order to put drainage stone on the bottom and backfill with dirt. We run soaker hoses throughout the garden to handle watering...as far as the boxwoods themselves, we looked at nurseries, but couldn't find anything in the 6' range for under $400/piece. We found the current ones at Home Depot for $99. Still cost us a fair amount, but seemed reasonable for an instant 6-7" privacy hedge. The boxwoods themselves came from a nursery in CT. I suspect you could contact your local HD and make a request for however many you want...that's what we did (Waltham store). Thanks for the VT boxwood link too! Oracle- I didn't even consider the sunlight factor or wider bottom versus top. More reason to space them further apart. As I mentioned above, we're more like 20-28 feet in needed privacy, so the 10 boxwoods should balance better. We can certainly return some if all 10 aren't needed. Thoughts on a distance from the fence? We have 6 feet to work with for most of the hedge row, but we'd like to add some plants/shrubs in front to layer the garden. The Hydrangeas are 4.5 feet from the fence to center and we don't want to touch those...so we're tighter on space for about 8 feet of the boxwoods that will sit behind the hydrangeas. Do you think the boxwoods will hurt the well established hydrangeas given our space constraints? The berm idea is also interesting. I like the idea of less work, particularly if it provides a healthier environment. No standing water in the garden area. We're not bothered by the Boxwood smell, aside from the 'cat pee' driving our dogs wild. They'll be thrilled. Can't wait to chase them out of the gardens on a regular basis this summer... Based on the feedback so far, maybe the raised bed is overkill. Yes, it would look nice but it will take some time/money to build and there is a benefit to getting these in the ground sooner. How about Oracle's berm idea? It would add some texture to the garden and presumably help with drainage too. More than anything, I want to make sure we don't hurt the Hydrangeas. It would be a real bummer if the boxwood row doesn't take well, but I'd much prefer that over having the boxwoods thrive at the expense of the hydrangeas. Attached is a picture that gives a sense as to the current spacing between the fence and hydrangeas...you can see the fence line at the bottom left corner. Thanks again for all the suggestions. Would welcome any additional thoughts.

Ficus Nitida will not grow reliably in our zone (I'm also in zone 9 in Fresno). They would die on a cold winter. For a hedge, I would recommend some drought tolerant shrubs, considering the water restrictions that are going into play throughout the state. Toyon makes an attractive hedge, as do coyote bush and some ceanothus (Ray Hartman, Mountain Haze, Julia Phelps and Concha varieties). Coyote Bush (baccharis pumilaris - the standard variety, not the low-growing varieties) is has very aromatic foliage. Carpinteria californica is a bit slower growing, but would also make an outstanding, although informal, hedge. Others that come to mind are Myrica californica (Pacific Wax Myrtle) and Umbellaria californica (California Bay Laurel). This last one can be allowed to grow into a small tree as well. Some small trees would look nice planted in a line as well. Brachychiton populneus is an attractive evergreen that requires no summer water once established. Arbutus unedo, or Arbutus unedo 'Marina' are very beautiful small trees as well and would cause no trouble for you and your neighbor. (I would argue that your neighbor isn't particularly concerned with root damage since they planted what looks like 3 coastal redwoods along the fence line.) You will need to take those trees into consideration when selecting what to plant because, depending on what orientation (north, south, east or west) they are from your yard, they may shade your [future] plants. Good luck!