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.

here is a photo of mine which has been growing since 2000.(sorry for the poor quality pic) started with a one-gallon, maybe 18"-24", and it now stands at 8' tall. you can see the form is pyramidal. the site is very bright with some direct sun; there is a mature pine just beyond the shrub that provides shade during mid-day. this view is facing east/southeast. it is not perfectly full of foliage in the center, on the east side, most likely since that is the area that receives less sunlight. i have not pruned it at all. it is standing as a specimen and i also wanted it there for screening the view of the neighbor. the site linked below say partial shade is preferred by this plant. Here is a link that might be useful: red hollies hybrids

Dwarf Burford has really wicked thorns and may not be freeze free in your area. Heller's Holly comes in several sizes from 2 feet to 6 feet depending on cultivar. I would recommend a native like yaupon holly. It comes in dwarf, tree or weeping varieties. It will tolerate heat, humidity, some shade and acid soils. Plus it looks more natural in the woodland setting you are building. Did I mention the weeping variety has lots of berries in the fall and winter. Mulch with some oak leaves and it will look totally natural.

sweetpea82, if your Bradford Pear is already splitting, I'd have a tree removal company come and take it down immediately. You don't want the tree to split and take half of your porch down with it. I cannot understand why people are so vehemently against Bradford Pears. It's okay if people don't like them, but some people do (otherwise, they'd never be planted). I have 4 Bradford Pears lining my driveway, and I absolutely adore the shade they give. And their beautiful fall colors are incredible every year! They're not messy trees with only the fall leaf drop which is relatively fast, beautiful on the ground for a few weeks (due to the colored leaves), and then makes for great compost when cleaned up. I will admit, I did not know about their short life or splitting when I planted them (they were recommended because their root system could be planted next to the driveway and foundation). But even though I now know what will happen in the future, I can at least enjoy the trees while they're still young enough to be healthy. I don't agree that they'll split in only 6-8 years. That's not at all what I've read, seen in my neighborhood or experienced myself. From what I know, they'll last between 15-20 years, depending on how sheltered or exposed to the wind they may be and whether or not a high wind tropical storm or hurricane passes through (but these storms cause damage to a lot of trees, not just Bradford Pears). I planted my Bradford Pears about 12 years ago, and so far, so good. From what I've understood, the splitting normally occurs when the trees reach the latter stages of maturity. While young, they maintain a beautiful pyramid shape. However, when they fully mature, the canopy will open up which then causes the branches to start hanging outward from the center of the tree. This is when the splitting usually occurs. The tree cannot hold the weight of the outwardly hanging branches, and the pressure causes the tree to split where it forks at the trunk. As far as planting a crape myrtle so close to the porch, be careful to pick one that is disease and pest resistant. Many crape myrtles can be attacked by pests, most especially aphids which are then "milked" by ants. This causes honeydew to be dropped from the tree, causing sooty mold on the leaves and making a mess of everything underneath the tree. There are times in which I've watched my crape myrtles look like they're "raining" or "crying" as the honeydew is dropping off the trees so much. To remedy this, of course you can spray the tree, but the question then becomes whether you want to be spraying your tree so close to your porch. Depending on the layout of your lot and porch, you may want to consider a larger, more permanent tree further away from the porch that will give you a lot of shade in the long run. You could plant a fast growing, short lived tree close to the porch now while you allow the permanent tree to grow large enough to give you the shade you want, and then remove the temporary tree later on. I have two beautiful Live Oak trees in my backyard which give me the most glorious shade for my patio. Even though my patio is covered, the sun will still heat things up in the Summer. By planting trees all over my front, side and back yards, my entire property is much cooler in general so my patio is not only shaded, but the air all around my house is cooler. The other benefit by having large, permanent trees on your property is that as they grow larger, they won't just shade your porch, but they'll shade the roof of your house which will actually help to lower your air conditioner bills in the Summer. I have also found that the shade creates a wonderful gardening environment with dappled shade cooling off the plants, giving them some protection from the scorching mid-summer heat, but still allowing enough sunlight to come through for flowering plants to flourish. Furthermore, if you ever wish to sell your house, permanent trees raise the selling value of your house and help your house to sell more quickly because the trees create a more desirable environment overall. You may want to contact your county's Extension Agency for a list of recommended trees in your area. Consider how big the trees will grow at maturity (height and width), what diseases and/or pests they are susceptible to, and whether their roots cause known problems (such as you cannot plant a Live Oak close to a sidewalk, driveway or foundation because the roots will crack the concrete and Crape Myrtle roots tend to rise to the surface and can sometimes sucker quite a bit), how fast the tree grows, and how long they usually live. You may also want to look for a university close by that's into agriculture which may have a list of recommended trees. I find that Texas A&M University has a lot more information than my local county extension agency. One other tree I just thought of that you might want to consider is a Holly tree. Look for the ones that are known to grow well in your area. Many of them are gorgeously dark green year-round and have a beautiful display of red berries in the fall which is very attractive to many birds. The one caveat is that their flowers in the spring attract a lot of bees. While the bees cause no harm, many people are afraid of them so you may not feel comfortable having them so close to your porch. Also keep in mind that a large number of bushes can be grown in tree form. The basic Ligustrum, which is usually used for hedges, can be grown into small trees (ditto on the bee issue in the Spring). But look around as there might be a bush that, when properly shaped, can grow into a tree form to suit your needs. If you want immediate shade, you can buy a more mature shrub/tree and have the nursery plant it for you. Just stick with container grown; never get a tree that's been transplanted from one of those huge spade trucks. The transplanted trees take longer to recover from the transplant than it takes for a smaller, container grown tree to grow. The only exception to buying a mature tree is the Redbud as it does not like to have its roots disturbed, and the more mature the tree, the more risk of it dying when planted (not to mention, they're short-lived trees and you don't want them to only have a few years left after you plant them). Okay, I'm sure that's way too much information! LOL! Hopefully, something I've suggested will be helpful. Whatever you end up doing, I wish you the best of luck!