Oakrunfarm and Ducter, I'm in PA, and last summer spent $27 per foot for 54" high Delgard Guardian. I went with 2" posts, 5/8" bars, 4" OC. The price also included two fancy gates (one 4' and one 8'). Price was product plus installation. I too had some topographical challenges - heavy tree line on 30% of job. I shopped it among 3 companies. These guys were the best - Fence City. Common name - don't know of other locations. Hope this helps. Bill

Hey Kelly I don't mean to hijack your thread but I work at an Arboretum (tree museum) so I spend a lot of time thinking about trees, among other things. So I went out to water some trees tonight and I remembered another tree you might like, it's called "Sweetspire Sweetgum." "Sweetgum" is the common name of the tree, scientific name Liquidambar styraciflua (one of my favorite Latin tree names to say) and the cultivar is named "Sweetspire." It is so named because it is bred to grow in a tall spire form. Usually folks don't like Sweetgum, even though it is a lovely small (ish) tree with magenta leaves in the fall, but it has spikey seeds that are a pain to have on the lawn because they interfere with mowing not to mention walking in the yard barefoot! But because of this, they have bred seedless varieties for the nursery trade, and now I see that they have bred them to be more "spire shaped" which in the tree trade is called a "fastigiate" shape. I don't know what your criteria are for a tree, I factored in you want something to get tall to block the view, and maybe white flowering, and not taking up too much space. But it's hard to say what "too much space" might be for you, because there are fastigiate oaks and maples that will work against your fence but over time will have more of a presence in your yard. Heck, one of my best friends has a yard in suburbia ringed by hemlocks, and they are huge, but it does create a wonderful sense of privacy in her back yard! But if you just want a fastigiate shape and aren't picky about flower color or leaf color, etc., then there are some other options. Forget sweetbay magnolia BTW, I just remembered they get wide, not tall. As far as the crabapples, some are big, some are small, and some are prone to diseases. Luckily you can research your choices. What you need to find is a really good tree and shrub nursery where they grow quality trees and will advise you properly. I have to drive a ways to find mine, but tree folks abound if you look around a bit outside your comfort zone. I always advise folks to start by calling their local Cooperative Extension Service because they have all kinds of resources to share. For example, two weeks ago they put me in touch with a national directory of arborists because I need to have someone come out and diagnose a sick tree on my parent's property. Anyway, here is a fabulous Internet resource, theMissouri Botanical Garden, which is one of the premier show gardens in the US and they really share a lot of great info in their Web site. Make sure to refer to the scientific names of your trees (Latin) when you buy at the nursery and check for them. Here's an example of why that is important--"Ironwood" and "Musclewood" and "Hornbeam" are all three common names for the same tree, and then there is "Parrotia" which is also referred to as "Persian Ironwood" and is a problematic invasive on the East Coast. That's probably why your nursery refers to Carpinus caroliniana (Latin name) as "American hornbeam" so as not to get them mixed up. Like I said, I had an American hornbeam in my yard and just loved it. It has nice fall color, aesthetically pleasing multiple trunks, great form and provided me with shade eventually which was a welcome respite in my hot south facing tiny yard. The only thing it doesn't have is showy flowers, but you could combine it with dogwood for a nice effect. They have a similar shape and form but different bark. Another thing I combined with Ironwood was a red japanese maple, in homage to the beech maple forests of my north country homeland. Ironwood is in the beech plant family. The only downside I can see is I'm not sure if it will really get tall enough to block the second story of your backyard neighbors house. For that you would need something extremely "fastigiate" in your situation. But it gets at least as big as a flowering pear eventually. Don't be afraid of planting a small tree, they make up for small size by growing vigorously right out the door. Larger trees look great upon installation but can sometimes suffer from transplant shock which sets them back several years. Here's the sweetgum, it will get bigger, it's just a baby. I also watered a sourwood which is another nice tree option for you, (smells great) and a yellow wood which you might be able to get away with in your zone, not sure if LI is zone 5 or zone 6. Probably kind of on the border but where you are on the Island may influence what will grow well in your yard. I'm sure there are plenty of top of the line nurseries out your way. Cute isn't it!? ;) Close up of leaves. I am worse than a new grandmother with her baby photos!

The Vegetable forum might be able to help you with pollinators. I'm not sure what grows in your zone, but as far as your seating question, I'm a huge fan of Adirondack Chairs! We have a couple and love to sit out at night with a glass of wine and look at our fire pit and the city light views. They make them in all colors and many with wine holders. Ours are not wood, but they look like it and they weather just fine! Another thing you could add is a fire pit. Ours is propane. We got it for $99 through Hayneedle.com. We hide the propane behind a shrub, and the little pit puts out a lot of heat! We loved it so much, we now have two fire pits! One is in a pine grove by our picnic table. We love the propane. No sparks! No wild fires!! Re your view: Is that a driveway with cars? I'd definitely put a hedge there, but your slope seems like you'll just see those cars anyway. You could try planting vining veggies on your fence, but it might provide too much shade for the boxes.

Haha, yeah we have to reseed every year. It also doesn't help we have squirrels and some sort of creature that constant digs holes to get under the deck. A turf lawn in this area would be seen of as something completely out of place, we are very rural. Even the local high schools still have grass. We are working on a moss lawn in the fenced area, but it's slow going, We are focusing on the part that cannot be seen from the road. but is seen by every person that comes to the house. The house cannot be seen from the road at all except for in the winter, and even then it's obscured by so many trees you can't see it very well. The rocks are mainly because my husband wanted to put rocks everywhere, and I talked him into just there. Also, I'm not completely positive we can actually grow anything under there, let alone add rocks or a ground cover at all, so that is something we have to look into at a later time. The ground there is a ridge and furrow setup with netting. We had an issue with water seeping into the basement along one part of that area, but that was solved with laying plastic and adding another drain. The well is directly under the screened porch. Would planting a tree that close be an issue? The existing tree in the image is about 25' from the well cap.