A southwest exposure in zone 7 is going to get a lot of HEAT. Would not do alberta spruce unless you water, water and want to deal with mites. For larger upright shrubs along wall between windows, maybe: Greenspire Euonymus, or Spartan holly, Steeds holly, Blue Maid holly -- these will require pruning -- for height ...and Hoogendorn holly, Carissa holly or FirePower Nandina below windows.... or maybe a bed of variegated Liriope although that may not grow tall enought to hide the water stain. Also possibly Abelia 'Rose Creek' or possibly Euonymus 'Emerald 'n Gold' or 'Gold Splash' (a larger leafed version of E 'n G -- if you can find it) below windows for a golden contrasting color. This post was edited by dave_in_nova on Thu, May 22, 14 at 10:12

I also have seen reports that 'Smaragd' Emerald Green do not go brown in the winter. There are some other arborvitae cultivars which are reported to brown in the winter. That person may have gotten the Emerald greens confused with those cultivars. It, also, could be that in your area the Smaragds get so stressed in the winter that they do turn brown. I have a screen of thuja 'Green Giants' which all winter stay a nice color for me situated on the north side of our neighbor's two story house. But my friend has a 3 foot high row of the same cultivar of my trees planted along the south side of her 7 foot tall privacy fence. Her trees while they were trying to get established did change color last year. Not exactly brown, but more of a burgundy shade. They greened back up the following spring and summer, and we are still waiting to see if hers will stay green over the coming winter.

Hollies come to mind, as do Thujas. I am reluctant to suggest berberis ssp., as various ones are now listed as invasive in some areas. Can spruces cope with your climate? Pines will get very tall, in time, and then are bare at their feet, so not them. Juniper ssp.? Will pyracantha grow in your area - it will take shearing into a hedge, or can grow unchecked, but you might want to check invasiveness? Clumping bamboo? I would suggest yews only if no livestock have or will ever have access to the area - it's poisonous to cattle and horses, although deer don't seem to be bothered. They're not evergreen, but the osier-twig or yellow- or red-twig dogwoods might do, they are thick-growing. And if you cut them to the ground every few years, they would stay thick. Any of the native shrubs that make thickets would be good - the mower could keep them in check where you didn't want them. Forsythia comes to mind also, or one of the native roses - NOT multiflora!!! Certainly the forsythia could be had inexpensively enough by taking cuttings from an established plant in the summer - water well. It could be "planted" as thickly as you wanted, and had cuttings for, so should fill in quickly. The roses might do the same.

The NCSU link is a good one - HOWEVER, I would avoid a couple of the suggestions: mimosa is pretty invasive, and may make the "Noxious weed" list soon, if it hasn't already; all of the Callery pears, Cleveland as well as Bradford, have invasive tendencies, and are prone to splitting apart after 10-25 years; and if fireblight is prevalent in your area, hawthorn, as a member of the rose family, is susceptible to it - it won't kill it, but it's unsightly. I know the list comes from a respected source, but sometimes these lists are simply copied from old lists and not updated as new information comes in, and sometimes the left hand has no clue about what the right hand is doing!