glad to hear 8ft is enough. The large walkway I imagine will be used for more than just the kids walking to school. I'd like to think that with all the effort and money put into this yard that I'll be making daily walks through there!! I choose flagstone because my husband is handy and I really like the look. I also consider mulch but imagine that would be a muddy mess and I've done rock at my other house and rock + kids + grass/garden = disaster...and completely dead lawn! I will likely shape the beds this summer and get some shrubs and trees in there to start and leave the "walkway" grass until I get a feel for it. I've redone a to-scale drawing that is nearly 100% accurate. Each square represents 1 foot. The gardens in the bottom left are going to my food gardens and I put measuements along the gardens by the fence stating 8 feet and 10 feet but you can't really see it all that well. The pathway is also measured at 5 feet which I think is a good width for 2 people to walk side by side...opinions on that? The garden in the bottom right will like be skyrocket junipers or some other tall narrow conifer to block my kitchen view of my neighbour's bedroom window. and the small garden in the top right is the area in which this post was originally started. I've extended the bed out by a bit so I can fit some tall, narrow conifers as well as some other plants, and hopefully the Japanese maple that is there now (I'll bring it forward of course - any idea on how tall this might get though?). I'm still not sure what I want for trees/shrubs along the back fence. I would like some privacy from the rear neighbours but its doesn't need to be privacy from a dense evergreen. A few suggestions for that area would be great. The garden along the left fence, I don't really need any privacy but maybe I want to repeat some of the same trees/shrubs/conifers along there as will for unity...suggestions for that would also be fantastic. Also...I have the large evergreen in the middle of the center garder...should add more shrubs to that area as well? If so how many? I have a few hostas in there right now and I think there was some ornamental grass from the previous owners...I also plants a butterfly bush in the fall time but that can be move as I only plants in there because I wanted to get it in the ground and I had dug up a shrub there a few weeks before. I appreciate all the help! Keep the great advice coming!

Thank you both so much for your suggestions! I tried to take some photos to show the light conditions now that the leaves are out. This is in the morning, and there's some sun filtering through, but I can tell you there's almost complete shade from the stone wall at the back to about 15-20 ft. in front of the large maple tree all day. From the picture in the next post, you can see there's shade well into the parking lot as well. However, I'm really glad to hear you both think 10 ft. should be sufficient height. Yardvaark, you make a good point about competition from the small maples. So, I think we'll take those out, and possibly the smaller of the hemlocks as well. Then, put in a mix of evergreen and deciduous shade-tolerant shrubs/small trees that reach 10-12 ft with staggered layers for depth. I'm also somewhat relieved you said 'it's not a formal solution'. That means I should just relax since I can't really make a mistake! Lazygardens, I've wondered what the huge rhododendrons people grow around here were - I guess 'rhododendron maximum' is it! Regarding the fence, it's a good idea. I'm not really a fence person, but if we put in smaller, slower growing plants it's going to take a while to screen with greenery, so the fence may be the best short-term solution. Then we can take our time building up the plantings. Yardvaark, I really like your idea of testing out a few small varieties first to see what does well and then increase from there. Cheaper that way, too! Let me know if you have any additional comments/suggestions based on the new pics. Thanks again for your help!

radock03, A few questions first. How long and wide an area are we talking about? What's your soil type and elevation? Other than screening, what do you want the plants do (edible fruit, wildlife habitat, etc.)? Are you looking for strictly evergreen/conifer or would a mix with deciduous plants be ok? Will you be able to water the trees/shrubs at planting and once a week during the growing season till established, which might be a year or longer? Would you be able to water the new plantings during a dry winter? Not an issue this year, but in the future it might be. Fast growing usually equals weak-wooded, which might be an issue if this is an open, windy area. Wind and heavy snow can damage plants, particularly fast growing plants. I'd steer clear of a monoculture (all one plant type). If water access is an issue, it will limit your selections. Sorry for the multiple questions. I don't want to start making suggestions till I know a bit more about your goals. If you're ok with starting with small plants, CSU recently sent out their tree order forms. This would be a great opportunity to try out some native plants and you could get 25 - 50 seedlings for the price of one tree at your local nursery. They also have one gallon trees for $9. I'll include links below with the order form, current available inventory and a link to your local conservation district. CSU will ship the trees to you, or you can get an order form from the El Paso/Woodland Park District and pick up trees from their location. CSU Tree Order info. Updated inventory list El Paso County Conservation District If you are looking for larger plants, more instant gratification, the info above might not interest you, but I thought it would be a good starting point. Barb

Thanks Ken. We are in Cincinnati, OH. It is not my property but we have permission to plant. I am attaching a photo of now, with the trees bloomed and you can see there is quite the canopy . I was thinking 4-5 ft transplants but open to ideas and flexible on cost. I assume as the trees get bigger they will steal sunlight but for the first few years shade is imminent in the summer. Keep in mind this picture was taken in the morning and after noon sun is behind my house so much more on this area in the afternoon, there are just the existing trees you see here that will shade the transplants until they get larger. Willing to try whatever, just looking for some good pointers on what to try first. Thanks!!