I planted a Green Giant last year, and it's growing fast here in western PA, but I wonder if it would ultimately be too big for your yard. Hard to tell the scale from the pic, but I'd bet you'd have to give up a good chunk of your back yard to let it grow as big as it wanted. And I agree that one tree wouldn't look good there. A grouping of trees would look better.

If your main goal is privacy though, why not go for instant? Are fences allowed in your development? That would give you immediate privacy at least on ground level, and you could then landscape your yard however you wanted, without needing to go "large." And you can landscape easily enough to minimize the impact of the fence. Just my thoughts...

Do you know this neighbor? It looks like they planted a tree on their side near the big tree. Perhaps you could plant a tree fifteen-plus feet toward the middle of the yard on your side, and ask them to plant another tree fifteen plus feet over on their side, then you could plant a final tree at your other back corner. The trees wouldn't be all lined up, it would be cheap, and you could plant shrubs in front of the trees later when they grew a bit. My neighbor and I have done this on our loooong side fence and it has given both of us privacy and maximized our yard space.
Renee

dave11,

I hadn't thought about anything being too big since there isn't anything out there. The width of the yard is about 75' and I think 50' from the closest part of the house so you're right, a fully grown evergreen would eat up quite a bit. The only fences allowed are black chain link (not much additional privacy there) so I just left it open.

Renee,

No, I haven't been in the house long so I don't know any of the neighbors in the back. They did plant a tree near the big one (not sure why that particular spot). I like your idea since it wouldn't be one big hedge but what do you do in the winter without any leaves? Do you have a photo of your side fence?

Note the low area at the back property line acts a drainage way, so when you do plant the tree, don't block the drainage.

You could do a hedge row, personally I'm not a big fan of those.

I'd probably do a mixture planting along the whole property line. I'm in Central Illinois too.

Not knowing the sight lines from your house, but just looking at the picture, I would plant a big type of evergreen tree, somewhere to block a sight line. I would pick one that gets tall and wide like a white spruce. I wouldn't plant it right on the property line, or right in the middle. Pick a sight line that you want to block and set the tree in that line, approximately 15' offset from the back property line. Whatever you do do not set it square in the middle of the lot...

I would also randomly stagger a few other trees around back property line that included one tree that would be large in the future(ie white oak tree), and then one or two smaller trees (ie red bud tree, pagoda dogwood, serviceberry). I would tie all of the trees together, including the existing tree with prairie planting of grasses and flowers that are native to the central Illinois. (All of the trees that I mentioned, except the spruce are native to IL) I'd extend the prairie planting about half way up side yard to create a border planting, leaving a semi circle of lawn grass from the back of your house.

We have chain link covered with Algerian Ivy between the properties. Some trees are deciduous (black locust, honey locust, Chinese Tallow Tree) and others are not (Pepper Trees, California Redwoods). I don't think any of these trees would be good for you, and I certainly would NEVER recommend that anyone ever plant Algerian Ivy!

It's hard to get a shot, because it is a side fence on a very skinny long lot, but here it is from my side:

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I think Joepyeweed's recommendations were excellent. Smart choices in terms of upkeep, hardiness, and most importantly, beauty!
Renee

Hosenemisis with a screen name like that how do you keep the grass looking so green?

Fordsn - think long-term value and plantings. The area needs generational trees not shooting stars like green giants. Take a sketch of the house or even your picture and block off those areas that you don't want to see in it (don't do the entire neighborhood...) and add blocking for those area where you want more privacy. That will provide a first round plan for where screening trees/plantings need to be placed. These will take awhile to grow, so don't do anything in your backyard you would be embarrased about if it was put on the internet.

While you are adding in regions you want to see blocked on your photo or sketch, add a few circles for what areas will be used for different activities like gardening, playsets, horseshoes, a pool, storage or whatever you like to enjoy outside.

I would still recommend putting in a fence for the safety of any animals or children you might have in this area, even if only visiting ones. Also, if you should ever consider any climbing plants you'll have something to anchor them to. It will also lend definition to your land, making it easier to place your plantings correctly.

Ingrid

I would put a mix of deciduous trees, which will views from houses to yard and from house to house, and evergreens, which will screen views from yard to yard, depending on how much privacy you want from where to where.

Find out exactly what you are and aren't allowed to do along that swale.

I suspect the neighbours planted their new tree in anticipation of the big thing coming down, which also looks to be on their property.

KarinL

First off, I'd like to say that I really appreciate all the constructive comments.

Joepyeweed,
Thanks for the great suggestions. I like the concept of using native plants. I'm not sure I totally comprehend what you mean by prairie planting. Does this utilize a raised bed with border and mulch?

Renee,
Thanks for posting the picture - I understand what you meant now. Nice space btw!

Rhodium,
I might need to rethink privacy and just block specific sightlines as you mentioned (since I'm not going to be doing anything out there worth watching anyways).

Ingrid,
I've thought about the fence but right now it's just not in my plan. As long as I don't plant right up to the property line it should be feasible to put one in later if I change my mind. There's always the possibility the HOA will lift the ban on fences other than 4ft black chain link in which case I'd probably do the whole wooden fence thing.

KarinL,
What you are saying is lining up with the vibe I'm getting from the others. I did have to go look up the definition of 'swale'. It's hard to tell from the picture but the property behind me (lot #3) rises up at least 3 feet - there is a drainage easement on the north side of my lot (#304).

I hope the big one doesn't come down soon since it's doing a nice job of hiding the house in the back and to the right!

A prairie planting usually does not incoporate a raised bed... (not that it couldn't) but typically their goal is low maintenance. Depending upon how the plan lays out, you may provide a border, either as a mowed path, a mulch path, or a transitional grass, something taller than turf, but not as tall as prairie grass....

There are lots of resources on the web about incorporating prairie plantings into landscapes. I probably would start with Wild Ones...

Here is a link that might be useful: wild ones

Putting together clues from the photo, text, tax map, and standard construction, is this what you have? The house looks a bit far back from the street, could the backyard depth be more like 55 to 60 ft? Are the light blues indicating surface drainage about right?

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Joepyeweed,
Thanks for the link - I'm working my way through all of that information. :-)

Pls8xx,
Nice work! The surface contours are fairly close - probably a bit steeper in the front yard due to the way they did the final grading. I put together a Sketchup model of the house on top of the 2D plat I got from the developer - it says 46' from the property line to the nearest point of the house (+/- a foot or two). What are you thinking?

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Don't paint yourself into a corner!

Since you gave us no detail or even a photo of the house, my depiction of it on the lot was one big guess. How did I get so close?

Modern lots almost never have a front building setback less than 25ft. And a developer will resist increasing the setback on 75 by 133ft lots as the backyard gets squeezed and the longer driveway cost goes up with length.

Normal construction on lots with some cross slope is to put the drive on the high side. The house is normally set near the setback to minimize the drive cost and the shape of the front of this lot works better with a house with a protruding garage.

Starting from the back with the 50ft given to the house, adding my guess as to house depth and a guess of the garage protrusion, I have a bit of extra space to the setback. It made me wonder if the 50ft back yard was a measured dimension or a guess.

So now I have the whole lot and the first thing I look at is the drainage. In the backyard I'm guessing the water now flows across the yard over a wide area as sheet flow without any problems of erosion. Regardless of what you do in the backyard, water will have to continue to cross the back yard.

Consider the outcome if you start planting trees. Suppose in the future you build a nice patio and take up a good part of the 50ft yard. In the profile below note that the grade from the patio will have to slant down and if the trees are planted on a downslope from the property line, then you have concentrated all the drainage to a much smaller area. This could result in wet spots or erosion. You would be faced with the lesser of two evils; live with the problem or tear out the trees and regrade.

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It's better to consider the whole of the backyard and any future uses. Make sure the grade and drainage support your long range plans before you start planting grass and trees.