Thanks for the reply, have decided to slow down and try a mixed hedge of different plants. Will include several lilacs, a spruce or 2, some deciduous shrubs and trees, a mix of evergreen and deciduous. If the dust gets unbearable in the meantime we'll have to put up a solid section of something like fence for the short term while the plants mature. Thanks for the help! Snows.

You are definitely going for the right look for a foundation planting, namely a layered series of different textures with evergreen at the back. But I agree that a total of 5 feet from foundation out is not enough width to get that job done. You have enough sun to work with and you have a vision, so why not do it up right: expand the bed 3-4 feet, move the roses out a few feet, and then put in some spreading yew or a globe arborvitae-type thing about 2-3 feet out from the house. You'll have to trim the yew or whatever you put there, but it will give you the look you want. Yews are incredibly overplanted on the foundation, but for the back row of a layered planting, I think they work just fine. Put a low layer in front of the roses, maybe some Blue Star Juniper, then you can keep the layered thing going on during the winter. The Blue Star is fairly slow growing, (especially living on the east side), so don't expect it to fill in quickly. Instead, cough up the cash and plant several. If you think widening the bed is daunting, just lay down wet cardboard on the turf and cover with lots of mulch. Then cut out wide holes for your plantings. The grass will be long gone in a year. Boxwood could work against the foundation too, but it grows like molasses. Just my thoughts, based on having been in a similar situation. Get what you want the first time around, so you don't have to do it again later.

My standard hedge shrubs for deer have been boxwoods and hollies. Have both the common box and dwarf English in full sun and the deer hate the smell (as do some people)--I really don't smell it in the ground and the dwarf English are very close to house foundation. There many types of hollies available that might be useful as long as you are okay with pruning. (Dwarf Burfordii, China Girl/Boy,)--I wouldn't use "Nellie Stevens" as they get big. One of my favorites is the native Inkberry "Ilex glabra" I believe--very nice conical shape. Have fun!

My two recommendations, based on my own experience only (in Austin), would be ligustrum or boxwood. Although these are both "part sun" plants, mine live in basically full-shade conditions (the shade is from cedar elm and ash juniper, so it is not the dark shade like from large oak trees). The boxwood grows very slowly in these conditions, but stays green and healthy-looking. The ligustrum can get a little leggy, but if you prune in the spring it will fill out within the year. Ed.