Are you thinking of a 'tree' or a 'shrub'? What height are you open to?

I actually do use two of the plants suggested to you..., the Laurel and the Japanese Holly. There are other hollies (Nellie Stevens, Inkberry, etc., but again, depends on what height you considering). There is also Little Gem Magnolia (which though a dwarf, can still be perhaps too big for your intentions). Aucuba japonica is nice but might appreciate some shade if it's too hot a location. There are clumping, NON-INVASIVE bamboos, but nothing is going to develop over night..., typically plants (even relatively FAST growers) will seem to sulk for a couple of years, then take off!

Thanks! About 6', to fill in the horrible hole, would be good. I'm open to a tree or a shrub.

Thanks for your response!

I'm in Middle River, MD, just southeast of Baltimore. I want to cover up the naked trunks.

Here's the scene of the crime from two angles. It looks even worse in person. I had him throw down some mulch in a fruitless attempt to reduce the eyesore, and that mulched area shows most of the diameter of ground that used to be hidden by the beautiful lower limbs of the tree.

That pink shed used to be hidden by the tree, as did the cinder block wall on the neighbor's property, as well as the chain link fence. I want all that hidden again.

Also, I don't have a photo of the angle, but the tree used to block the view of the house from the street, and vice versa. I want that privacy back.

In the second pic, you can barely see that there's a patch of weed trees that are now visible (they used to be pretty well-hidden by the devastated arborvitae), so those will be coming out and now I'm going to need something to put there as well.

I see the gap under the arborvitae as an urgent need. It's about 8-10' wide and the delimbed area is about 6' high. There is 5-6' of open space between the trunks and the walkway.

OK, that helps. First I would say you are in zone 7A, or a cold 7B at best. So that will revise shrub selection. I'd select zone 7A shrubs or more cold tolerant.

Then I would suggest spreading shrubs (no trees) -- maybe 3 to 5 planted evenly spaced out in that area to establish more quickly.

I'd suggest Otto Luyken Laurel. Schip laurels would work but grow more upright and you'd likely be shearing them in 4 to 5 years - and every year after, unless you don't mind. How much maintenance are you willing to do?

Ternstroemia might still work, no to Loropetalum except maybe ZhuZhou's Fuschia, one of the hardiest -- you are too cold for most of them.

If you tuck the shrubs more underneath the canopy for some shade, you could do Aucubas, as long as you keep them well watered.

Euonymus 'Silver King' might work if deer are not an issue.

But honestly, I'd probably just remove the unsightly Arborvitae and put in something fresh. A nice upright holly perhaps - like a x Koehneana, Mary Nell, Virginia, Scepter, Oakleaf or Nellie Stevens, or maybe an Umbrella pine, Photinia, large Schip laurel, or Cryptomeria, smaller Southern magnolia, like Teddy Bear or Alta.

Thank you so much for your help! I'm now thinking about removing the poor tree. An umbrella pine would be nice there, or maybe just get the same type of arborvitae as the current tree. However, if I lose my nerve, is there any reason that some dwarf spruce wouldn't be a good choice to fill in the naked ground?

doesnt look like an arb to me.. on these pix ... but.. whatever ...

ken

There was an ID tag on the tree, but it got cut off! I just googled to try to figure it out, so it could be something else. It has flattish, thready leaves and it smells distinctly akin to cat pee at certain times of the year. I'm not knowledgeable about trees.

Here's an update for those following along. I had some landscapers come out and give me ideas. Also, ken_adrian, one of the landscapers said the destroyed tree was an unusually large Russian cypress. I googled, and the tree does not look like the pictures I found.

One suggestion was to put a fence along the front of the yard to regain my privacy, and then leave the destroyed tree in place for now, place a weeping Blue Atlas cedar in the open space as a focal point, and install a shade garden using ferns and hostas along with some other plants to create an interesting space. I love BA cedars and the idea of a secret garden is appealing. The expense of this plan is a concern. I had the first quote on the fence installation and almost fell over, and that was just for a boring standard fence, which is not what I would want.

The least creative, but most practical, suggestion was to rip out the destroyed tree and replace it with a Leland cypress. I guess I could get by without the fence if I did that.

I haven't decided what to do. I'm waiting for some more quotes to come in. Thanks for you help, everyone!