i would split the difference... 7 feet ... on center ...

BUT .. and there always is one ....if the center is 7 foot tall ... and it is a perfect round mound .... thought they may be touching at the ground.. precisely in the middle .... wont there be a big open space above the touching??? think of your windshield wipers.. and the space in the center... which you never look out ...ergo ... you wont be hiding anything.. better include that space in your plan ....

perhaps a small tree .. which would lend nothing to the ground level .. but add the counter point.. 6 or 7 feet up ...

make any sense???

ken

Thank you, Ken.

You bring up a very good point--one I had not thought of! I will definately be making a few changes to my plan!

Are the shrubs that you chose going to grow tall enough?
Mabey adding a few tall wide spreading shrubs also would help and look "natural" if you staggered them in front of one another.
I am not real familiar with the height of the shrubs you had listed. Mabey you don't need tall privacy.
I am in the same situation and planted different shrubs, so good luck!

Butterfly4u,

All of the shrubs I chose have a mature height of between 6-8' and 8-10' with the exception of the spirea which I'll place in the corner (the only spot I don't really need tall privacy.)

I was actually thinking of staggering them after I thought about it more last night.

I'm curious what shrubs you chose to plant and whether or not you are pleased with the effect and the privacy they offer.

I have one emerald green arborvitae, then 2 rose or sharons, (one lavender and one blue) then a "Grace" smoke tree or bush.
The arborvitae and the Rose of SHarons are growing slowly but surely, so I also planted a native honeysuckle with red flowers on the ugly chain link fence behind the shrubs.
That is one 20 foot side of my yard.
The back ugly chain link fence has a honeysuckle,(which provides pretty good privacy even though it is young, the hummingbirds love it) an Encore azela, which is ever green, a Royal Purple smoke bush and in the other corner is my new little stick like Golden Spirit smoke bush.
The smoke bushes are extremely fast growers, my "grace is about 12-15 feet high already and only 2 years old.
The fall color is so beautiful that people want to know what it is, it is striking.
THe other fence portion of the yard, the 20 foot coming back has lattice attched to the horrible ugly old fence so you can't see the fence, just the lattice.
I have a clematis, then a nice little rose garden that takes up alot of the space, and then another clematis.
Cleamtis love the vinyl white lattice to climb on.

I am going to have a nice fall blooming garden this year.
(I hope)
If I remember, I will post a pic.
My garden is small, so I have to plant shrubs that give me the most bang for my buck. Fall color is a must.
GOod Luck with your shrubs!
Remember, you can always transplant them if you don't like the look of them later on.

butterflyu,

Your border sounds lovely. I would love to see a pic!

I'm so happy to hear how quickly your smokebush grew! I will have to do a little research on 'Golden Spirit'. I choose 'Royal Purple' for my border. I hope it grows as quickly as yours! I am really looking forward to having more privacy!

I've been re-working my plan. I've decided to stagger the shrubs in my border and added Sambucus 'Sutherland Gold' and 'Black Beauty' to the back of the border.

Keeper,
I totally understand the need for privacy.
I have absolutely very little privacy in my yard which really discourages me from wanting to spend any amount of time in it.
I truely wish that the shrubs I have planted would grow a little faster.
If I put up a fence, I would have more privacy, but would be looking a yet another ugly fence. My yard is too small for a fence, I am claustrophobic and will feel closed in.
I am going to take a pic when my fall colors are out in my shrubs.
I will be back and post it.
The shrubs you have decided on sound gorgeous!
GOod Luck!

In zone 5, purple leafed smoke bushes tend to get a lot of winter die back and are best grown as cut back shrubs. This gives a great 6-8 flush of new growth but no "smoke". The straight species makes a very large shrub in zone 5, and I have 'Golden Spirit' which is a fairly narrow--I'd almost call it fastigiate--shrub, well suited for growing a purple clematis through.

Magnolias make great choices for shrub border privacy because their foliage is so dense. And of course you have the fragrance! My M. stellata 'Centennial'is in one of my borders, and I really love it. 'Centennial', with a strong central leader, tends to be a little more tree-like than other stellata cultivars, though it's clothed to the ground. You might want to look at the Magnolias offered by Rare Find Nursery--many, many hardy to zone 5 to choose from. Other magnolias I have and love are M. virginiana (Sweetbay magnolia)--an open and airy magnolia, M. 'Daybreak' and M. 'Sunspire'.

Butterfly4u: Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing the fall pics!

LaceyVail,

Thanks for the tip about the purple smokebush. I wasn't aware of that. No smoke doesn't bother me and I was thinking of using it in front of another shrub (probably Sambucus 'Sutherland Gold' and the Burkwood Viburnum) so it still might work out okay.

I love Magnolias but didn't even consider one because of slow growth. I would love to add one to my yard! How fast have yours grown?

I wouldn't call magnolias slow growth, at least not the ones I've had for awhile. The 'Centennial' is probably 8 or 9 years old and came to me as a small whip. It was moved after a couple of years in my nursery bed when the shrub border was ready to plant and lost its leader that winter. Even so, it's now easily 12 feet tall and 3/4 as wide. The 'Daybreak' and 'Sunspire' arrived one year ago as strong whips and put out a lot of new growth their first year.

The sweetbay is maybe 9 years old and was small enough to bring home from a local nursery in the front seat of my car. It's now 15 or 20 feet tall. And, oh, the fragrance of those magnolias!

Thanks for replying. No, I wouldn't consider that slow growth either. I'm so happy to hear that! I will certainly consider it now!