At three feet high and to feet high neither Privet nor Forsythia are going to work without constant pruning and the Forsythia would be unlikely to flower. The width, especially is very difficult.

Are you hoping to grow something within the hedge? Be aware of the shade, dryness and nutrient depletion at the base of a hedge. Do you want evergreen or deciduous? If deciduous are you prepared for picking the litter out of it frequently? What climate do you have?

what do you mean.. sharp edges ....

one trick i use.. walk up and down the street.. and snap some pix.. of what strikes your fancy ... and we can ID it...

roses might work there... if you dont mind a little pruning ...

one other issue ... will snow be piled there in winter??? .. that may limit options ...

ken

For a formal, neat and clean-edged hedge I would suggest going with something along the lines of a Taxus. There are yew varieties that are just slow growing enough to be easily kept in line with pruning, but wouldn't leave you waiting until Judgement Day for a fine, full hedge. 'Hicks' might be a good choice. It's full size is too large, but it's slow enough to control at the size you want. It will do fine in your zone and it likes full sun to part shade.

Hope that gives you something to consider - you could also look into some of the Ilex crenata varieties for a more formal hedge. Those smaller leaved hollies are easily shaped. Both they and the yews are evergreen as well.

Best of luck,

Ging

Thanks for the recommendations. The house faces south west so I expect no problem with sun. I am prepared to trim every two weeks to maintain control of this hedge. Won't that be often enough?

You won't need to do it every 2 weeks. With formal hedges frequent trimming is more like 3 or 4 times a year.