you mean smoke bush? .. if so.. where did you come up with the 20 years??? .. a latin name will hone us in on what you are talking about ....

in your pic.. where is the property line??? .. maybe where the yellowish lawn on the right.. changes color???

ken

I meant smoke tree, or cotinus coggygria. I read that they life span is only 20 years in the SF Gate site, this is the link http://homeguides.sfgate.com/care-smoketree-86478.html.

Yes, the yellow line is where my property line is.

Be careful of arrow wood if there is a problem with viburnum leaf Beatle

Thanks for including a photo, some goals, and your location! In order to answer the question we need a bit more information.

Do you want year round screening?

Are you interested in a mixed hedge or all of one kind if plant?

What kind of maintenance are you willing to do?

Are deer an issue for you?

Here's a link to my responses along with others to a similar question asked a few weeks ago. I've included photos and specific shrub comments and recommendations.

As far as your list above, both the Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum) and the hemlock have potential insect problems, so you should research whether there are problem in or near your area. I ripped out V. dentatum 'Blue Muffin' since it was seriously infested with viburnum beetles and I didn't find it attractive anyway, and I am a fan of most Viburnums.

In your area, depending on the particular microclimate, you may or may not have cold damage some winters to the smokebush. Here the purple ones often die back to the snow line, and many parts of the midwest have less snow and have had really cold winters in the last few.

Since your hedge will be surrounded by lawn, having a well-maintained edging (either cut or a strip of some type of edging) on both sides of the hedge along with a good layer of mulch will help with maintenance.

Pyriacanthas, hollies for year round interest. Shrub roses, maybe?

An idea for a nice, quick growing shrub would be limelight hydrangea. It is quick growing, hardy to zone 3, and in a few years you will have a 5-6' plant, usually. They enjoy the usual dip in the landscape at the property line, that I think I can see, due to it holding a bit more moisture. They are also tolerant of clay or compacted lawn like that typical of a neighborhood setting. They are deciduous, but if you leave their blooms on through winter they may give you 4 seasons of privacy.

Your suggestion about Amur Maple is a good one too. That may work well to block your view of your neighbors' houses.

Also, a nice serviceberry tree may do you well there for some privacy and year-round interest; most are hardy to zone 2-3.

Also, due to the large evergreen in your neighbors yard, you have a very nice green backdrop on which to display the ornamental characteristics of your shrub/tree choices. Keep that in mind when you are selecting shrubs/trees for color or blooms; then thank your neighbor later :)

It may help with your planning to sketch where you will place your plants, including the Amur; great choice by the way.

I changed my mind. I just found out that the Amur Maple is in the invasive list in IL. I think I will need to go with the Witch Hazel and maybe add some Serviceberry around for a prettier fall color.

Some witchazels have a more open habit and some have a more vase shaped habit. You might want to research which ones are which. I don't think I'd use them for a privacy screen though. Serviceberries are nice.

If you go to NHbabs link you'll see what she suggests is a mixed shrub border. Is that entire border what you're workiing with? A mixture of deciduous trees and shrubs and conifers makes sense. If one plant dies from a disease or is afflicted with a bug your entire planting won't be affected as it would with a planting of one kind. You can have a few beautiful specimens and fill in with less expensive plants. Different plants have different growth rates; the faster growing ones can fill in for the slower ones. You can have multiple flowering times You can plant for wildlife and pollinators. Also, remember deciduous plants won't provide a lot of privacy after leaf-fall. So having conifers is a must.

I would do a mixture of evergreens and deciduous- for your area Paperbark Maple or Three-Flowered Maple would be stunning small trees with little to no disease issues. Other choices would be Cornelian Cherry Dogwood, Royal Raindrops Crabapple, North Wind Maple, numerous Magnolia cultivars, Redbud etc... Try something a little different rather than what everyone else has.

Vernal Witch Hazel would be an excellent choice for a large shrub, as well as the Limelight Hydrangea mentioned above (or see if you can find the new Firelight Hydrangea, which is similar to Limelight but has flowers that will turn a deep pink-red late in the season. Other ones I would consider would be Bayberry, Fragrant Sumac (will send runners though) Golden Spirit Smokebush (will live more than 20 years if it likes your spot), and Guardian Blackhaw Viburnum.

Would not do Amur Maple (invasive) or hemlock or the viburnum.

Definitely include some conifers- Mac's Gold Spruce, Big Berta Spruce, Sester's Dwarf Blue Spruce or Zafiro Dwarf Blue Spruce, Macopin Pine, Columnaris or Tannenbaum Mugo Pine, and hundreds of shrubs you can choose from as well. I'd go to the Morton Arb or to Chicago Botanic and see what trips your trigger.

No on the bald cypress - it's a huge tree and is at the northern edge of hardy for you and so during winters like the last couple may have damage. Go for one of the smaller fully hardy conifers, whatever you can find locally. Make it an evergreen since otherwise you will have little privacy on those lovely early spring days before there are leaves on anything and it will give you something other than twigs to look at out the window in winter.

A couple of the shrubs may underwhelm you as both have only one season of interest (just the flowers) and no fall color.

-Have you seen potentilla in person? If not, look at one in bloom before purchasing. I had a couple at a former home, and wouldn't plant them again as they are really boring IMO. A second type of Hydrangea paniculata would give you far more bang for your buck.

-Rose of sharon leafs out later than most shrubs and has a reputation for doing a lot of seeding (which requires weeding), so if you decide to use this, be sure to get a sterile variety.

Sorry, I meant Golden Threat Cypress and not the Bald Cypress. It says that is a slow grower that can be kept 3 feet tall with pruning.

I am considering a Rose of Sharon without seeds. I heard it is very invasive and it does not have fall color, but is supposed to bloom from summer to fall. The same with the Potentilla, it blooms from summer till first frost. I see them in bloom in the Park, and I like the yellow flowers, but of course I would prefer hydrangeas over Potentillas. Though, I could use them to fill in space, since they are small.

I like the Elderberry suggestion as it is a fast grower, and produces fruits for birds.

Glad to see that you will be using the gold thread false cypress not bald cypress. Emerald Green arborvitae gets to 15'. Do you want something that tall? There are smaller arborvitae. Also, do you want all of the evergreens the same or some color texture variety? It may be good to have the same evergreens to provide some consistency since most of your other plants are currently one of this and one of that, though you have two shrubs with reddish leaves.

You will have some consistency with several arborvitae of the same kind, plus two purple shrubs, so if you add a second Hydrangea paniculata or another of something else, it will give you enough repetition, I think.

@NHBabs: I would love to see some photos of -your- screening border. It sounds lovely!

nugsandnibs, I put a link to some photos on a link on my first response to this thread on June 17. Here it is again: click on this link.

Here are a few more photos:

December 2012, looking west down the back side of the bed.

October 2013 looking Northwest from the midpoint of the front

Back side July 2014 - things have gotten large enough to make a quite effective screen

That is Hydrangea paniculata 'Quickfire', and it blooms from about the first week of July until a hard freeze in the fall, changing from that bright white to a deep rosy pink. There's a fall photo of it in the thread I linked above.

I'd plant a couple of small to medium sized shrubs (there's a Hydrangea 'Little Quickfire' that might well work for that) in front of the hawthorn to fill in below the tree's branches and the break up the straight line.

In planning how close to plant, I look at the ultimate width of the plant and divide by two. So with your Diablo ninebark, leave 5-6 feet on each side (12/2=6). I like to plant some a bit further forward and some a bit further back so that visually they overlap more even though there's still enough space between them.

Re the Miscanthus. While I love the big grasses, bear in mind you will be cutting it to the ground every year in very early spring, and it will be several months before it regains its size.

Hello guys,

It is me again, hahahaha.

Well, this time I want to share the result of my hard work in gardening and your help, with good advices. I feel that I had accomplished what I intended to.

Thank you so much for all your help.

Here are some pictures, after 2 years, of my mixed border.

And now you may get the neighbor to spring for the arborvitae backdrop you wanted, to screen the playhouse! Sorry -- your garden is lovely, truly. But if you could just tuck that plastic playhouse in a wooded copse or stand of tall grasses or thicket or drape with vines, it would preserve the natural beauty of the commons you all have going there.

Lots of interest, great bed depth, and nice crisp cut edges. Well done! It looks like you met many of the goals you had, and are off to a good start. Thanks for coming back to follow up. (and I don't have any problem with the play house; I would want the clear sight lines to where my kids would be.)