Hi Alina, Congragulations on your new home. I feel the same way about a privacy fence. I think they are ugly in fact. I have the same problem you have, but I have chain link fences around my little rectangle yard, which means no privacy. I just ordered the Hydrangea quercifolina "Alice" today online. Hopefully it will max out at around 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide when mature. They are fast growers also. I am excited. On one long side I planted 4 Rose of Sharons real close to each other for a hedge effect, they grew about 2 feet last year, so I am looking forward to more growth this year also. I love the flowers on Rose of Sharons. On the other long side I planted 2 clumping bamboo plants that have not grown in height. They are slow growers til they are around 4 or 5 years old. They look tropical and stay green in the winter. I was thinking about a holly also. They will stay green all winter too and they are pretty. I saw one I liked at Home Depo but they wanted 80.00 for it and it was small. Hollies are not fast growers at all. It will take many years til it is of a screen size for me. Home depo has Emerald Green Arborvitaes that are about 4 feet tall for 25.00 each right now. I think I might buy one of them also, but they grow REALLY slow. They don't get wide, just tall, (good for small yards). Good luck with your selection. Why don't you buy both, you only live once. I am looking forward to the worry of pruning and trimming my bushes and trees rather than living without any screen at all, if you know what I mean.

A fence won't do it, I need at least 11 feet of height for privacy. I have no worries about the leaves on my feet, it's not a walking area and there is a ton of virginia pine and american hollies in the vacinity. Not to mention spiders, mites, ticks, etc. The question is really which is better in No. VA: Nellie Stevens hollies or Thuja green giant. The screen must be dense. I thought the stevens hollies would get me that, but the thujas grow faster. They do get 30 + feet, which would put them up with the scrub pines and give the poplars a run for the money. It would be an easier decision if I could get a definate value for stevens holly growth rates. I've seen a range of 6" to 2.5 feet a year and a mature height of 6' to 30' depending on the web site.

So you have part sun / part shade, but open to the sky - that's good - sandy soil - pretty easy to work with. There are hundreds of plants that could fit the bill, holly alone comes in many forms. I like to mix evergreens for an informal hedge. It is nice to have color contrasts & different flowers &/or fruit IMHO. Given your site I am tempted to say plant camellias and michelias. They are not the most forgiving plants, but the payoff is fantastic - lush evergreens with flowers that will blow your mind. Michelias are kin to magnolias, but most are more compact & smell great. Upright holly is about as easy as it gets, and you can mix leaf color, size, & shape, even berries - most are red, but some are yellow or black. Osmanthus - false holly & tea olive - are all cool. Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki' - a bright variegated version is a standout. Speaking of variegated, Aucuba japonica is a good one for shade areas. Mahonia bealei also likes shade, and has a unique look. Ternstroemia gymnanthera - Cleyera is a nice well-behaved evergreen, new leaves are a deep glossy red, then turn dark green. You should have Illicium parviflorum - Anise shrub. Chindo Viburnum - magic. Evergreen Azaleas - just pick a color. Podocarpus macrophyllus - another unique, upright evergreen. Pittosporum tobira - variegated or solid green, common, but they smell great & no fuss. These are just some ideas for a starting point. You could add some smaller plants under / between these, mix in some other flowering shrubs or deciduous trees for contrast, groundcovers, flower beds in front, etc, etc... It may take a while to find what you want & get it together, but it is SO worth it when it clicks. Please don't rush out and plant some ho-hum Home Depot junk. Hold out for interesting, quality plants & you'll be glad in the long run. Think of something new in bloom each week, birds in the bushes, etc. Way better than a straight bland hedge. Just my 2 ¢ Oh, lastly, you may want a soil test before you plant anything. One of the harshest mistakes is killing expensive plants in poor soil that could have been fixed with a few bags of something, or using the wrong plants for a site. My guess is your lot is fine, but better to make sure.

There are dwarf cultivars of the American, but I know zero about them. I do know the Nelly can grow 3-5 feet per year and saw some absolutely gigantic ones in town. I had even found an Edward male for her....hard to come by. I checked around here a few times for American holly and all folks could do is either get something called green leaf (I think that was it) or recommend Savannah instead. I sure could just move the hollies I already have, but thinking they will just be too darn big and limit the diversity I can have due to them taking up so much room. I was hoping to use the 3 Brodies in a grouping, since they'd make for some great cover, host the juniper hairstreak and, among others, attract cedar waxwings.