It's too bad they put that sidewalk essentially right through your front yard. It creates a very small planting area, especially when you consider that any bushes really need to be planted 3-4 feet away from the house. You might try something like a forsythia which will get big quickly, is easy to get (just get a baby from one of your neighbors), can be cut down very vigorously and ruthlessly, will look pretty from early spring on , but is just bare branches in the winter. Again, not evergreen, but maybe some lilacs, instead? I like the size and form of my Donald Wyman lilac and could see it in front of the single shuttered window. The form of the lilac, though bare branches in the winter, is prettier than some. A winterberry might work really well there, actually, if the area is not too dry. And even possibly, blueberry bushes...although passers-by might eat from them! For evergreen, you could try rhodies or azaleas. As to conifers, I'm sure there are many featherly, light alternatives, I don't know what they might be, though.

Consider Degroots Spire arborvitae or North Pole arborvitae.

Privet is fast growing and will get tall, but it is a lot of work to keep under control if you want it to stay "slim and trim." It will want to grow out as well as up, so guess who will be forever clipping and coaxing it into the desired shape? :) In the tall/skinny/no pruning category...Greenspire Euonymous, Sky Pencil Holly, or Green Tower Boxwood won't get as tall as you want, and no instant gratification there either. There are plenty of big shrubs out there...Mock Orange, American Holly, etc, but again, they will naturally grow wide as well as tall. Bamboo is a nautral choice for a fast growing screen. Just keep your eye on it, because it can go wild! Have you considered just buying the tallest thuja you can? Or a more work intensive approach: you could build a simple raised bed along that fence and re-plant...it could give you 2-3 extra feet. And thinking of options like that, the "sit back and wait" approach sounds better, right? ;) This post was edited by jadie88 on Sun, Oct 20, 13 at 16:01

Judy- Warning. Warning. Warning. Many here in the Southeast despise Elaeagnus. Authorities differ as to whether E. x ebbingei or E. pungens reflexa are worse regarding this problem: If sheared, they must be sheared WEEKLY for about 8 months of the year, like Medusa's head. Do not EVER let shears touch your Elaeagnus. Virgin Elaeagnus (those never touched by shears) are lovely. But the long, running, shoots it produces in the growing season will need to be deep "pocket -pruned" down into the canopy of the plant, to an established side-shoot. Use hand-pruners like you would prune a rose with, for this duty. Depending how neat you want the plants to look, this will need to be done from one to eight times a year. That is not a happy frequency, but it sure beats weekly. If Elaeagnus have already been power-sheared, you may need to hard-prune them almost to the ground (6-8" is tolerated by these vigorous plants). Do it in very early Spring (probably the last week of February for you.) Then let them grow back and treat them like virgin shrubs. As to the difference between the two species (actually I think ebbingei is a hybrid, one of whose parents is pungens reflexa), I believe the hybrid ebbingei to be better-mannered and therefore more desireable.