you dont much describe your property .... but there can be significant cost reduction if you are physically able to do any of the work yourself ... e.g. if you can use a chainsaw.. and if you can burn on your property ... you could pay to make them fall down ... and remove only the huge trunk ... and you do all scrub cleanup ... you can also have them cut them flush to the ground.. and skip the stump grinding .... etc ... you might also get some ideas by contacting your county extension office ... or using google to find any state publications relating to such ... you county soil conservation district office.. might also be able to help you in regard to the soil erosion ... but that is all based on your willingness to invite the gubment to your property ... ken

ended up getting a good deal on boxwoods and planted those. those $2 ebay flats would take forever to grow and look like a hedge. And a 2 ft border of vinca minor sorry I don't see a way to quote or even italicize your post, so I'll just reply in ALL CAPS. - Here (not sure about your location) one needs to think about where and how snow will be removed. Plants lining the drive can be in the way of snow removal or can be damaged by removal of wet, heavy snow. ALREADY THOUGHT OF ALL THIS. THE DRIVEWAY recently HAD A RAISED STONE /brick BORDER INSTALLED about 6" tall. snowblower will feel that and not go into lawn/vinca. especially a single stage blower with soft rubber paddle vs a dual stage with metal auger can damage brick if not careful if didn't actualyl know it was there though. it's actually better IMO to have vinca there if there were no raised brick border because if some were chewed up by a snowblower, it'll just grow right back in spring vs turfgrass might need to be RESEEDED if crown is damaged enough. - Depending on number of cars and drive width, is there room to get out of the car when parked if the drive is lined with plants? If the drive is particularly crowded with vehicles, for instance for a family gathering, is there room to walk up the drive to the house without having to avoid the plants lining the drive, or is there a pathway to accommodate foot traffic? I hate having to step out onto plants other than grass, and stepping over a 2 1/2' hedge would be inconvenient for all but the most physically fit and casually dressed. YES THIS IS WHY I put the hedge 3 feet away from the edge of the driveway, so car doors can open fully without hitting the hedge (if cars are parked that close to the driveway edge. the vinca border right along the driveway is low-growing vinca minor, it only grows about 6" tall especially if trimmed down once or twice a year which also promotes denser growth. And UGH! Keeping 75 feet of vinca (times two sides) in bounds would be something of a chore if it is happy. It sends out long runners that root where they touch, and I am constantly fighting to keep it out of the lawn and adjoining beds, etc. and it will try to grow out onto the driveway with the potential of being a trip hazard if it loops around and reroots. That's a lot of regular trimming. Pachysandra might be a better choice. pachy (and english ivy) climb and vinca doesn't. And it's quite sunny and vinca is the better of the 3 for sunny areas, and it fills in the quickest. It can be put around a hedge or other plants and not take over them as long as they're over a foot or so tall. With weekly or every other week mowing any vinca runner can be cut back in literally like 10 seconds while edging the driveway with a string trimmer. The vinca border has a bed edge/clif cut out of the lawn and just run the string trimmer vertically over any runners to keep it out of the lawn. Yes if unkept the vinca can creep into the lawn but I see this situation all the time with other groundcovers and it's not that hard to keep in place. Also trimming a 2-3 ft tall hedge is a cakewalk for me. going up on ladder and trimming branchy stuff becomes a chore but a simple hedge trim like that is no problemo.

The sail shade is tricky - but they are effective! You may want to look around and see if you can find a size that would fit - or if you can extend the connection line on a side or two to make it longer. They look great overlapping or layered too. I considered hopseed bushes as well - they look really nice, grow quickly and don't litter much at all. The only thing is they can get wide, so you'd need to stay on top of them in terms of trimming for your narrow space. I ended up deciding on the bamboo because I didn't want a bush look and we have a fairly long space. And the price for the bamboo you were quoted is a good one! We paid $150 each and I think they were 15 gallons and were about 5' tall. Also find out about delivery and planting. You may be better off with large planters or troughs and put whatever you like that will grow tall and reasonably dense in there - you'd get more height immediately and it would look good too.

Summercloud - We do give the climbers some help - about once a year my DH gets on a ladder (or two) and ties up errant canes. For the largest, heaviest ones, he uses hardware which is supposed to be for hitching horses. It is a metal plate with 4 holes for screws, and then a heavy round link is suspended from that - that is heavy duty enough to hold the weight of the heaviest ones. He is a contractor, and is very careful and knowledgeable about how to attach the plates to the shingles without damaging them. The roses don't damage the shingles, but at the very top of the wall of the house where it runs into the soffit, some have tried to grow up through the roof (banksia lutea did that, and the little cane which stuck through the roof bloomed, which is how we noticed it 3 1/2 stories up!). For your shed, I agree with everything BirdsLoveRosesSoCalCoast said, except that I think you should get LOCAL advice re smaller ramblers or climbers which would work best in your climate & damp & wet conditions. California is so dry and hot in the summer that I cannot give you any specific recommendations. Just remember to find out whether the roses you may consider are once blooming (like Vielchenblau), or repeat blooming, so you are not disappointed. Your local Rose Society is a good source of info. Or, walk around your neighborhood/town, and see if you can find roses eating small sheds like yours. Jackie