Hi Jen, I'm also in zone 3 in BC so I know some of the challenges. I don't think you need to choose between privacy and pretty as you can definitely have both. I wonder if you are new to zone 3 or if you understand this zone. You must have lots of deer, as we do, so you might research deer resistant plants. I'll post a link in case you haven't yet seen Freda's blog. She posts on the Cottage forum here at GW and is in a much warmer zone altho it will give you some ideas. Trying to fence out deer is costly and not always attractive so we live with them by using plants they seldom like. Deer usually don't like aromatic plants so if you use lots of that type you might be able to use some others without the deer noticing. Anyhow Freda has lots of good ideas for deer proofing on her site. When I first moved to this cold climate I joined the local gardening club and received a lot of good information about plants that grow well here. There are actually a lot of very hardy perennial plants that will do well for you and many can be grown from seed at low cost. You might use local stone as edging and for low walls and should be able to find this free in your area. This info is likely known at the garden club or just ask around, many people know where rocks are available. We're planning a day trip to find volcanic chunks to use in landscaping and already have some nice big flat stones we use in a path. For paths that need snow removal in winter you might think about using something other than grass as it won't survive long-term such treatment. We used concrete and a mold from Lee Valley and there has been almost no frost heaving over many years. For our long (500') driveway we use gravel (and refresh yearly) as it's in an area grazed by livestock so paving is not an option. Take into consideration where your water lines are as you don't want to drive over them excessively in the winter. I recommend you take a lot of pictures, measure your land and locations of natural features and buildings and make a sketch of your land, also just sit and look at various areas, look at lots of inspirational pictures so you begin to have a vision of how you want it to look and please don't cut down any trees immediately. Doesn't make any sense to cut down trees then have to plant more as they are really expensive. The trees you have are hardy and so are a very valuable part of your landscaping. Try to work with what you have and you will eventually have a very natural but enhanced landscape. Of course you will eventually remove trees but make sure you look carefully to remove the right ones. Some of the smaller trees you have would cost $100. each at the nursery so value them as such. Keep in mind that some of those large aspens (alder?) may need to be removed eventually as they tend to rot from within when they get as large as that. My DH removed one this year before it fell on our house. It probably would have lasted another couple of years but who wants to take that chance? When the woodpeckers take a great interest in that type of tree it's a sign there may be insect infestations in the rotting wood. Most of all I hope you will enjoy the process of designing your property. Take your time and it will be very worthwhile. Here is a link that might be useful: deer garden inspiration

Anytime I see two less than 4' tall retaining walls very close to each other, I become suspicious that this approach was used to escape meeting retaining wall codes - and not having to use professionals (engineers and soil experts). Typically, a 4' retaining wall (aka, the above ground portion/height) is only part of the height of the wall (the footing is under the ground). Stepping two walls, as you describe, then also requires certain distances from one another - based on soil, wall design, wall height, etc. . . Usually those pushing for taking this approach do so for cost reasons - not for performance reasons . . . and also so that they can do the job (versus what is frequently the better/more secure approach). Of course "customers" like this cheaper approach - at first. While you say your county/State has no code/regulations to retaining walls, I think that only applies to walls that are less than 4' . . . and probably the reason why you have two walls, each at the "proverbial" 4 feet level, combined to retain 8 vertical feet of soil (and more importantly, water saturated soil). What is being done about water control? Drainage? Is there a drainage system built into the wall design? Is the land above the 1st wall getting watered daily? Water weighs a LOT and is responsible for roughly 90% of retaining wall failures! The other 10% is poor design, miscommunication, post-installation work in the area that puts the wall's retaining ability at risk. This is what you should do . . . find a very good firm who builds real, full height retaining walls and is licensed. Ask if they have an engineer on staff or how they handle the engineering on their projects. If they can answer that question satisfactorily, then ask them to come out, review, make a recommendation, and provide a quote.

decide the exact details of what you want done and call local companies to get bids. There are too many variables to guess a price for something unseen from a distance.

I wouldn't be too quick to jump on the bandwagon that if recently purchased they are just "landscape timbers" and not railroad ties. Home Depot and other home improvement stores DO sell used railroad ties (location dependent). In fact, HD advertises theirs specifically as being creosote treated and that they bring "a piece of Americana to your landscape"!! For only $18.97 each! LOL!! Not something I would recommend......they will continue to leach creosote forever until they rot, which can be a very long time. And the leachate will be sticky and gummy, just as one would expect of creosote. And they smell in hot weather - a strong chemical aroma similar to petroleum.