DIB4, your point about Bishop's weed is well taken. I would never use it in a yard where I had other beds to contend with. But if it's the ONLY bed and it's adjacent to lawn, then cutting the grass controls it on that side. Nevertheless, it serves as one super cheap, very pretty groundcover. How much the neighbors like it is another matter. In my home town, many people seemed to welcome it as "free groundcover." On the other hand, if one is really "into" their yard, and had their own plantings thought out, they wouldn't appreciate the uninvited visitor. It depends on a person's needs. esd, I think a good tree for the scheme would be river birch, multi-trunk. It's shade is not so heavy. It's fast growing (especially if given additional water) and the peeling bark is attractive. It's usually readily available. I would even consider a tightly spaced double, staggered row...like 5 trees across the back to give the yard the "grove" look. For a hedge, I'd consider Weigela, several of the viburnums, Elaeagnus, Lorapetalum or even red twig dogwood. If the hedge grew too large and needed to get whacked, this would increase its twigginess.

Man o man! What an assortment of responses! Thanks to all of you who have responded (even the sarcastic ones). I have to admit it was a lot easier to read the sympathetic responses than the sarcastic ones, but I did ask for it, remember, so I feel I should "take it". In the middle of it all, I really enjoyed reading about how folks grew up in neighborhoods, where kids ran around all day long. I was one of those too. Winning a 6-hour hula hoop contest (because that was how long the playground stayed open!!!) I was much skinnier then! Snow Cones and making pot holders and other stuff you tried to sell door to door. You could sell it too! Everyone knew who you were and would give you 50 cents or something for your "work". Roller skating down the middle of the street with skates that clung tightly to your shoes -- you used a skate key that hung around your neck on a string to tighten and release. So, your stories brought me to some really nice remembrances of my own. Thanks so much for that! Amazing how much you can enjoy memories once roused. That buried stuffed chicken tickled me to no end! Bad Dog! As to my problem with the neighbors. It hasn't gone away and in fact, is a little worse now because they've decided to stop mowing the lawn in front of their house closest to our property -- you would need to scythe it now it's so tall. However, maybe all of your stories and your support and your sarcasm, yes that too, has helped to make a decision. I've decided that you just can't have it all. I'm going to bite the bullet. I've had a long time of quiet and this is the new period of noise. At least in the winter, the windows are closed! It wouldn't kill me to try to be friendly and think of how nice it is that our neighborhood is diverse instead of how untidy the back yard is. (Although I cannot understand why they don't at least put their lawn mower away.) I guess I'm talking about a grin and bear it attitude. At least I'm not afraid of them..... (yet!) I felt so sorry for seeyouatmidnight when she relayed her tough situation. But she displayed a very good attitude, and she is positive. If she can have one, I can do it too. Everytime it gets noisy over there, I should go for a long walk. I could stand to lose a little weight!!!!! I think the idea of sharing my tomatoes is a good one. If you don't like home grown tomatoes you're simply not human. That might go a long way towards softening my heart towards my neighbors..... You gotta like who you give your precious tomatoes to! This web site is a truly amazing place. I feel like I can just about say anything here (within reason) and get some serious comments. The people who took the time to respond are all wonderful. Sheez, aren't we lucky to have this resource! It's funny but I think just airing this problem of mine and hearing all the possible solutions helped! It helped to hear that just about everyone has some sort of problem with their neighbor, or their's neighbor's dog, yadda yadda. I guess I don't feel as sorry for myself anymore. Thanks so much for pointing this out to me. I recognized lots of monikers of the responders and appreciate the sound wisdom that I got to experience. This does kinda feel like my home and you guys are all my neighbors. This is where I come to get my attitude adjusted. Kinda like happy hour without the two-for-one beverage specials. Thanks so much for writing and for trying to understand! Debra

Thanks for the comments I agree that adding more thuja would be ideal. It was just poor timing on my tree installers. They delayed the maple, and it went in the same time my fence (the iron in the pic) was going in. The two contractors were actually arguing over the space. Big headache. Once the maple was in, the fence was completed. After which I saw the gap. With the fence in, I don’t have clearance to bring in the bobcat used for the larger thuja. I’d have to go down in size and wait for them the grow in. The soil at the property line is pretty bad (a lot of gravel spilled over from the neighbors slabs, which the builder had installed). So that whole area would need to be dug out to ensure happy healthy thuja. I’ve got about 3’ of fence, then a 4’ gate, and then 3’ more until the wall. So I cannot have anything too wide or it will impact the gate. So that’s why I’m considering some sort of shrub closer to the pool, to aid in privacy. There’s about 10’ between the spruce bed and the maple, so I’m not adverse to increasing the size of the bed to add in other plants. Also considering some planting next to my shed/generator pad. Im hoping layers of shrubs will add to the privacy. There’s about 10’ from the spruces to the stone (on the other side of those chairs). It provides a sort of “entrance” to the decking from the grass. I am thinking that shrinking that gap (by planting around the stone and at the end of the spruces) could also help. Two similar round shrubs. The rest of the yard is barebones in terms planting. We have some city line hydrangeas along the deck, and columnar oaks and a single emperor Japanese maple along the other side of the yard. And some mature lindens along the back. So style is really up in the air and go in any direction. The fence is new, and mine, and I don’t want to replace it since I just installed it. Im not concerned about year-round privacy. Really just for the summer. So even some well placed broad-leaf hydrangeas or other shrub could work. Again, I am just clueless about plants. Again, thanks in advance for any help!

@K L: no i decided not to put bambo because of the mess it can create and how fast it can spread out if planted in the ground so i went with cedar i am excited to add more flowers in the coming spring. i havent fixed my front lawn though. I really cant come up with the type of flowers and plants that would look nice