laag, that is exactly what I meant. I did not mean to replace one's landscape every 5 years. We just need more conversations on the order of, here is a good place for some instant gratification; over here is where you plant your beech tree for your, or someone's, grandchildren; here you want some quick impact but don't use that ornamental grass x because you'll never be able to wrestle it out; and so on. The other thing is, I don't think a knowledgeable gardener has to plant his or her yard JUST so that it will be beautiful for the next buyer or so that buyer doesn't have to do anything to maintain or rejuvenate the landscape. Let the buyer beware! So I see a balance between responsibility vs. freedom. Irresponsible might be knowingly planting something in a way that it will destroy the foundation in 5 years; responsibility AND satisfaction can come from plantint a nice small oak that you may, or may not, get to enjoy as a shade tree, but you know it's the right plant for the right place, so you nurture and cherish it, and someday you or someone else will get the benefit; freedom is planting some large evergreens for a screen that you just need now, that might have to be thinned later by you OR someone else-- In between all this is acquiring more landscape and plant knowledge or advice so you are avoiding totally daft creations--for the evergreen screen, maybe researching it a bit since there are choices that are more or less painful down the road-- but not merely existing to create a legacy.( How do you like your garden? Oh, I hate it, but in 20 years someone will really like it.)This is all still compatible with planting "real" trees and things. In reality, no matter how carefully you plan, it will not necessarily fulfill that dream in 15-20 yrs anyway and certainly without knowledgeable maintenance. Here is a funny thing about mature neighborhoods. In many of them, the trees are way too big for perfect (or even good) aesthetics with the small homes and lots--but the neighborhoods are beautiful in fall with glowing maples, oaks, gingko. If we followed a roadmap for scale, everyone would have had to plant only dogwoods and redbuds and Japanese maples. In some neighborhoods, hardly a home is sited on the lot in a way that a nice shade tree can be placed to provide both proper shade and not dwarf the house. So were those people visionaries, planting trees that in 20-30 yrs would be breathtaking, or irresponsible for not finding the perfect species that would not exceed 20 ft, or whatever? I agree with the shrub myth, too. In my current home, I have some ginormous azaleas that I HAVE crawled under and seen, gosh, there are actually 4 shrubs here and if I could possibly rip out 2, I wouldn't have to prune so much. But I'm not sure it can be done now(well, maybe anything can be done with the right tools and risk-taking). So one of my convoluted points is that even if one person plants the "perfectly spaced for maturity" landscape, or whatever, it will still never be care-free, and a succession of subsequent, generally plant-ignorant and/or plant-disinterested homeowners (I think that's fair; it's not meant to be holier-than-thou) will likely screw it up. As in, beds with lots of space between plantings have to have regular attention to mulching and weeding ("look at these idiots who planted here before us--they just left us these puny shrubs in a weed farm!). So one of the myths is that humans have some kind of amoebic shared mind and will carry on the garden vision of the previous homeowner. All that said, I LIKE being well-warned, in print or otherwise, about the characteristics of a tree or shrub or whatever, and find myself doing a lot more research before trying something (can almost get paralyzing) so that I can make an informed decision about placement, maintenance and so forth.

This is a long thread I just stumbled upon so I didn't do my due diligence and read through all the comments to see if my recommendation was already suggested so please forgive me if it was. I would plant 'American Pillar' Arborvitae along the entire fence line and give it a couple of years. It's cheap (I found them for $7.50 a pop for an order of 100 plants last year), narrow (3-foot at base when mature), tall (30-foot max), fast (3-foot per year, once established), densely evergreen (no see through branches), cold hardy (to zone 3), disease free and long lived (no known problems with a lifespan of it's ancestors measured in centuries). What more can one ask for? Here is a link that might be useful: American Pillar Arborvitae

I keep reading negative things about the photinia, so now I'm thinking about the little gem magnolia again. I would rather not have to deal with leaves falling, but maybe a small trickle of leaves falling year round will be better than a tree dumping all its leaves in winter and not having the privacy benefit of the tree again until the next spring. Can't I keep it from growing surface roots if I do long watering sessions once or twice per week so the roots go deep? They are a bit narrower than I had in mind for creating a couple of shady spots on the patio, but I assume they will cast a shadow larger that the actual spread of the tree, so it might be fine. One of the reviews said it grows in compact spaces and are good for town-homes and to separate closely spaced homes. Kind of sounds like it should fit my requirements. "Design Ideas: Although it is labeled as dwarf, this very columnar evergreen will reach over 25 feet tall at maturity. A great plant to separate multistory city homes on narrow lots without crowding them. Makes a great evergreen screen to block unattractive views, increase privacy or absorb sound. With its pretty flowers, it makes a great accent tree for small space. Ideal for town houses and condominiums."

I would not put a dwarf alberta spruce in that spot by the steps for a number of reasons. In addition to the problem of being too small in contrast with the large oak, it will need to be removed as it grows and crowds the walkway. Even before it actually encroaches over the walk, it will not feel welcoming since the walk is somewhat narrow and having something tall right next to it will feel crowded. They can over time get to several feet wide, and your spot just doesn't look large enough. Finally, the Missouri Botanical Garden doesn't recommend that it be planted south of zone 6 since it suffers in high heat and humidity; it is quite prone to spider mites among other issues when it isn't happy. I'd be more likely to plant a groundcover perennial that won't sprawl over the walk and will flower at some point but remain tidy all season. If you really want something taller, add a vine that isn't large and use a trellis that keeps it close to the porch or even wraps it around the end of the porch so that it doesn't crowd the walkway.