I have a tendency to agree with harry shoe on this one. Arborvitae might be a good choice for a screening but be careful which variety you get or even which individual plant you get. Some arborvitae have a single leading trunk while other have multi-leading trunks. The ones with the multi-leading trunk will have a tendency to split and part of them begin to bend over, making the plants ugly. My Husband used to bind them together with bungy-cords to keep them looking uniform. I think when we moved, we left a dozen or so bungy-cords behind. Leyland Cypress might be a good choice and will tolerate prunning. But they are also a larger plant. Arborvitae is a narrow tree with a narrow root system and the right tree would be less work. I like the idea of the cherry laural too, but that would be more work to keep them in line, especially if you have a narrow space.

Without a doubt, my garden vision would best be described as an extension of my personality. It's not all that uncommon for me to be referred to as weird nor for my reply to be a simple thank you. My garden isn't often painted in such a harsh shade but more so in a never seen anything quite like it tone which I generally acknowledge to be a compliment ;-) My motto has almost always been that necessity is a mutha and my garden began under that premise. The landscape was a disaster both cosmetically and structurally. My conscience would not allow me to put my wife through the embarassment any longer and some erosion/water torrent issues required urgent structural changes to a hillside. In an attempt to begin to solve the hillside issues, I started with an 80,000 lb pile of rocks that would soon become the foundation for my 3/4 of a decade 3,000,000 pounds of hardscape garden vision. As that first pile of rocks began to be placed and transformed into a koi pond and rock garden, my vision started to take shape. Knowing absolutely nothing of landscape design or what style was what, I simply decided to take advantage of my odd lot shape and changes in elevation and try to change scenery and style around every corner. Virtually every section has a water feature, a different pathway surface, different specimen type plants and my own fence and gate designs. Some sections are a bit more formal, some more natural but all are filled with a lot of color, both in foliage and flower. Along the way as I was getting closer and closer to it all coming together, I started to recognize the amazing contribution that roses were making to my overall scheme, especially when it came to my constant quest for late summer color. That's what brought me to these great rose forums. While I consider that a great thing, I suppose some who grow weary of my gallery postings might beg to differ. Nevertheless, I am now somewhere between 60 and 70 roses and counting and can finally begin the task of perfecting my care techniques for them.

I agree that solid privacy fence is probably the best option, even if he/she just does that one section of view. Another thought of mine was to plant a tree like swedish columnar aspen. My initial thought was that you can keep it narrow at the base and then let it grow wider near the top, but this probably wouldn't work, since near the bottom is where they want the privacy and these trees are somewhat just bare trunk near the bottom. Cedars wouldn't work as well, unless perhaps thuja occidentalis 'degroots spire' cedar but even then it would take a while to gain any height (not to mention expensive to try to make a hedge out of many of them, might as well buy a section of privacy fence). Maybe lattice and an aggressive yet dependable vine like virginia creeper? Dropmore honeysuckle? The only downside with any vine is that in early spring, late fall and winter there would be no leaves so poochie would be able to see through. Hard to believe he/she doesn't bark when he just hears the kids as opposed to seeing them. I'm no dog trainer but perhaps the owner has to get involved and start scolding him when he growls at the fence? Somehow make him understand the kids are not in his territory? I wonder if he's one of those dogs that's just left outside alone all the time, which can lead to behavior problems too. Anyways, I hope there's a solution as I can't imagine it's pleasant for the kids to be growled at in their own back yard, nor for the neighbors who probably listen to the dog barking. Glen

I'm apologize in advance for my very looooong response. :-) We purchased 25.67 acres in June 2009, and didn't start our home until April 2010. We had almost a year of time to plan, prep the land and get permits and permissions in order. In hindsight, another year would have been great. Take advantage of the time you have to judge things like rainfall, groundwater, floodplain if you're near water, etc. This will help you determine ideal location of home, depth of foundation, etc. It will also let you see where windows would take advantage of sunrises/sunsets; where winds and snow are coming through the trees, etc. so you can make house plans for that specific location, or plant trees now as a windbreak or snow fence. One of the first things we did, was get permission IN WRITING from township regarding building permit, roadway permit, fencing, etc. We also contacted the Conservation Authority. Much of property is considered significant woodlot, as well as being protected due to bordering cold water creek with abundant wildlife. (You mentioned being near/adjacent to National Forest, so this may apply to your situation.) We also asked the Conservation Authority for WRITTEN PERMISSION on what we could do with the land, where we could build a home, etc. We were so fortunate that our Conservation Authority suggested applying for grants for reforestation. Although over 20 acres is already forested, they planted over 4000 trees, with at least 3000 being norway spruce. Since we began with the grants only weeks after buying the land in 2009, we had a year to work with the forester to determine which trees the deer or rabbits loved and which they avoided. Now, we have over a year of growth and they are coming back to help us apply for more grants to continue planting. WE DIDN'T PAY FOR ANY TREES OR PLANTING. Well worth the time to research any grants available to landowners! We began clearing trees at the building site ourselves. (my husband has at CAT backhoe, so this saved us lots) The first major thing we did in 2009 was put in a well. If you can't get good water, building may not be possible. As 'brickeyee' suggested, we also hired an engineer in 2009 to do our site plan, which included test pits for perc. He was able to do two pits in two different seasons. This allowed us to see where the groundwater was during spring and fall, which helped us determine the foundation depth. We also knew the type of septic system required, which allowed us to get quotes and set a budget for our future septic system. We started to build relationships with the utility people. This paid off. My husband was allowed to do the trenching - which saved us thousands of dollars. I have to stop typing now. Good luck. Sounds exciting!