Please add your pictures directly to the thread. For some of us who post regularly, it's a time consuming chore to chase after them. One picture per post can be added.

It looks like the dangerous/unstable area to mow is right next to your driveway. I would suggest you remove the grass there and put a groundcover in along that strip about 18-24" wide. There are many kinds of groundcovers, some green (like ivy) and some flowering. The idea is to keep it low and provide a border in front. Ivy is easy to root if you can find someone who can give you clippings. I understand your idea that seeds will be less expensive to start your garden but you will have to be very very patient and it won't look good for a very long time doing it that way. However you should start SOME plants from seeds or learn how to take cuttings (much faster than seeds). GardenWebbers are very generous with seeds (Go to Seed Exchange and look for free offers.) Or buy some seeds and start them. I suggest marigolds because they are easy, colorful and reliable. When I first started gardening I didn't know the difference between a perennial and an annual and made a lot of mistakes trying to grow things in the shade that wanted sun and vice versa. Because you have such a large area to fill in I would suggest buying a couple of gallon size flowers that you like (perennials, so they'll come back next year) and then fill in with flowers like petunias that spread and are colorful. As time goes on and you have money to add more plants, or the perennials you start from seeds (in pots, not right in place) have gotten large enough you can add them in. Denise A gardener who loves starting from seed

I'm making the assumption that the physical barrier and time is more important to you than a stylish, trendy choice. I'm also assuming you want super-dense growth, not airy, see-through growth. If it was me in that not very appealing situation of homeless people pooping on the lawn, I would go with boring, plain, common, utterly reliable old Privet, Ligustrum Japonicum, available in 1 gallons at any Home Depot for about $5 each. Yes they are boring, and horribly common, but they are common for a very good reason: they make a dense, tough hedge FAST. Plant them at 3' centers and you'll have a substantial physical barrier in a year. Water them generously and feed them a couple of times and tip the stems growing outwards back as they grow. Ligustrum well watered and fed will quickly grow 6'-8' stems that arch outwards and wave above the rest of the original juvenile (baby plant) growth. Temporarily stake these stems straight UP or almost straight up with bamboo stakes, creating a strong basis for vertical growth. Cut them at the height you want. They will stiffen up and branch outwards. Then cut those outward growing side branches at the width you want, but reasonably you need to give them at least 30", a little more would be better. My experience is that the one gallons grow faster and stronger than the fives (at one third the price). Make totally sure you get FRESH plants that have just come in from the suppliers, not old stock that has been sitting around. If I had kids though I would also put a chain link fence of legal height (3'? 4'?) right next to the sidewalk, and grow the Privet inside that. Extra security when toys go rolling out into the street. Chain link lasts for decades. Better choice than wood and much cheaper than wrought iron or vinyl and guys who know what they are doing can install it in one day. Again I am assuming you are concerned with security first and style not so urgently and that you do not have unlimited money to spend. Almost any plant, if it gets a reasonable amount of sun during the growing season, can take winter shade. You will get better foliage density with more sun. I'm growing the Green Tower Boxwood also. I think it's a great, great plant for a screen, but it's going to be a lot slower (add 3-4 years) than Ligustrum to get really dense, and the initial cost of the plants is going to be a lot higher. They get tall fast, but they don't get dense fast. Something like that would certainly work but you have to balance out the cost & time involved as to what you want. Ligustrum planted from 1 gallons: 11 months later, nearly 6'. At about the middle of the second photo on the right, with the fence as the background, you can see the long arching stems they throw out when young. If you train those mostly upwards it will give you a narrower plant and more height faster than letting them just arch horizontally. Best of luck with your project!

i like felco for hand pruning .... what flora call secateurs .... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=felco+pruners&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images like any tool ... you get a better tool.. by paying for such .. i like these because they can be taken apart and cleaned and sharpened ... mine are about 30 years old ... and in those years... if i had bought cheap ones every year.. well.. these paid for themselves many times over .... hedge shears ... whatever ... i just got rid of all the plants i had to shear once or twice per year.. lol ... just go to bigbox.. and find a pair that is in your weight category ... and you like the feel of.. etc ... whatever feels comfortable ... ken