Thanks so much for the advice, Chas045. I'm not that worried about my dog: she will stick really close to the boys and will not make an effort to dig through a hedge. So, I really just have to have enough of a barrier to stop the boys long enough for me to notice...

So, does nothing but white pine grow in acidic/clay soil? I'm a total newbie at this, so please forgive my ignorance.

One point: ugly but practical would be an electric fence with wire and short T posts; not really all that painful.

Now back on subject: I guess the conifers all would grow directly in clay, but they probably all grow much better in amended soil. I would guess that all gardeners in the Piedmont clay area grow plants in amended soil and most plants grow very well. The clay holds nutrients and water better than other soils. Without amendment, most roots can't grow well (or at all), but the clay allows a mixed soil to retain the water and nutrients longer which makes plants that can take a freeze and high summer humidity (and annuals) to grow great.

bitten,

Just a suggestion if you want something that grows fast and would work great, without ammending the soil at all, hedge roses. They are beautiful, grow fast, have flowers, do not ammend the soil, you can trim them to keep them nice, and they aren't "foo foo" roses, like the hybrid T's.

You would have to water them in the heat of the summer if you don't get any rain for over a week, but other than that, they are easy to take care of.

I know Jackson and Person sells them, but so do many other places, research online hedge roses, and see the pics. They should give you good coverage in about 2 years, with proper watering, mulching and sunshine.

Butterfly, I love your idea! Both my husband and I have a fondness for roses. Two years is a bit of time, but hopefully I can keep the kids within the planting boundaries, at least...

Do you have a HOA telling you what you can plant? You might want to check the covenants just to be safe. If this was up to me I would fence a small section now with some sort of temporary fence. Then I would plant my border and wait for it to fill in. You could plant fast growing plants that handle the clay AND slower growers that you love and then just remove the fast growers as the slow growers fill in. I would still want a wire fence barrier to keep other animals out of the yard (dogs, cats and wildlife will walk through cactus so don't think of thorns as a barrier). I planted Leyland Cypress along one wall of my garden to act as a wind break while I wait for better bushes to fill in. Leylands grow fast and are easy to prune back to keep short or chop down to remove. I also planted Maiden Grass (Miscanthus chinensis) a tall clump forming tough-as-nails grass. It filled in very fast. It can be invasive so you have to stay on top of it to keep it under control. Deer don't eat and they don't seem to like walking through it either. It seems to grow anywhere I plant it in my yard. Both Leyland Cypress and Maiden Grass are dirt cheap and available everywhere.

If your house is being built you might still be able to add fencing to your contract and mortgage amount. That would give you time to consider your landscape boundary plantings so you could source and plant them in the optimal time of year which is Autumn.

I have a back yard hedge of nandina, and I love it. Beautiful year round, easy maintenance.