Do you want something evergreen, or will deciduous shrubs do?

From the word sculpted, I take it you want a hedge that will be sheared, not something mounding like cotoneaster or informal like a compact Ilex glabra (native inkberry). Is that right? They're both dense and evergreen and take full sun, but that might not be the look you're going for. Is cherry laurel hardy in zone 5? That's also very dense and a pretty quick grower, at least here in southern New England.

Thanks for the post.

I'm not opposed to an evergreen, but would prefer a deciduous.

The cherry laurel would work well for what I'm looking for, but it's listed zones are 6-8 and is listed as needing moist soil.

Another preference would be a non-poisonus variety. We have a young daughter and plan on having more children in the future, so this would be a plus.

Any further suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Hedge of spireas will fits with all parameters:
- Sandy Soil
- Full Sun
- Desired height of around 3-4'
- fill in rather thickly that could be sculpted relatively easily ("sculpted" = sheared, I assume)

For row of 50 - 75 feet you don't need to buy 20-25 plants (25 x3'=75'). They are easy to propagate and say original 10 plants will produce enough cuttings to plant in between. In 3 years it will be a full grown hedge.

Lots of garden plants are poisonous, which may be why mother nature has given children a built-in aversion to eating anything green. I'd like to see some statistics on this, but I'd put money on it being a non-issue; it certainly wasn't a problem with my kids, or my dogs and cats over the years. I'd stay away from plants that generate a lot of pollen or that can cause skin reactions (ivy, rue) but other than that, unless you're going to tie them up outside and withhold meals, I'd really bet they'd be fine around ANY garden plants you choose.

This may not be a problem in your zone, but some spirea is a pest here on Cape Cod (zone 7) because it reseeds so freely - and the seedlings are darn hard to eradicate.

Thank you both very much. This is quite helpful. I think I could find a variety of spirea that will work well for what I'm looking for.

Take this into consideration. Twiggy shrubs such as spiraeas are notorious for catching and holding leaves and litter. Do you want to spend hundreds of hours hand-picking leaves from that long hedge? Even one drove me crazy and I finally removed it.

The best choice is a low, dense evergreen, such as Taxus x densiformis. Unless you have deer. In that case, a low fence or wall is the only solution.