Hi Paulie,
I'm in the same boat. My husband and I just bought a home with road front property a couple of years ago and I have been researching plants for privacy screening. I've been thinking about using Forsythia because it's pretty cheap,easy to propigate and grows really fast. This will make a very thick wall and can become a bit invasive but in our case that is what we are looking for. The only thing is that it is deciduous so you will only have three seasons of privacy until it gets really thick.

I planted spruce many years ago and have never regretted it. Tall, impressive trees and the branches sweep the ground so they totally block the view. If you want something smaller, try Alberta spruce. Deer don't eat either of these which is a big consideration. They do eat pines, yew, juniper.....

I would go with spruces, that is what we use to create privacy and block the sound of the road, which they do very well. I would just about recommend anything over arbavitea (sp?)the deer strip it clean of foliage during the winter.

We have an apartment building looming up the hill from my back yard and needed privacy when we bought the house in 1980.

I planted Siberian Elms every 6 feet and hemlocks between them. The idea was the elms would provide fast deciduous cover while the slower growing hemlocks matured. The plan was to cut down the elms once the hemlocks reached the proper height.

What actually happened was the hemlocks did poorly planted on a hill and never took off. The elms are enormous and from spring to fall I don't even see a hint of what's beyond them.

I love my cryptomeria japonica. Fuzzy soft-looking and -feeling evergreen, fast growth, part shade acceptable, deer don't eat them. Different varieties grow to different heights. Some to only 8 feet, others to 30. They aren't cheap, but they're real troopers!

When I was little, I lived across the street from a lady who had planted different varieties of lilac (white and purple) as a privacy hedge along her driveway. It was so gorgeous in the spring and the leaves were quite dense during the summer into fall.

As lilacs mature, they will often become "hollow" so there is a little room inside the bush. Great fun for kids. Lots of good memories!

violet~*