The patio and where north is, needs to be shown on the drawing. If you can, put pictures directly in this thread as it's inconvenient/awkward trying to get back to them later. Can be added to new comment.

@Yardvaark sorry. I just updated original post with images, where the patio is, and North. Thanks.

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any suggestions for what kind of materials would be good for the 20' and 12' heights?

july/august.. might not be the best time for planting... see TIMING at this link :

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

do study that whole link ...

but that give you a couple months to prep everything out.. and be ready for fall planting ...

windbreaks are a big deal in farming ... and you should be able to find all kinds of info on such thru osu ... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=windbreak+osu&t=ffcm&ia=web

do NOT limit your job at the property line ... one or two deciduous trees.. in mid lawn.. will make that view disappear.. much faster than a single line of plants on the property line ... this will all happen in tree time.. which is counted in years.. or decades ... so be patient ... but plan 10 years out ...

if you can not get the stock you want in fall ... you could order in stock for late winter/early spring planting ... dont compromise ... in a decade long project.. waiting 6 months.. is not really a big deal ...

do you have that famous OH clay.. and do you know how to deal with it.. have you perked your soil .. drainage and how to transplant into it.. is the issue ... it is vastly apparent.. from the huge farm.. the soil most likely isnt lacking in fertility ...

ken

yardvark said: (Not much height is needed to screen out the business portion of the farm.)

==>>> maybe from the patio/ground level .... but from the elevated family room... i THINK that changes ....

oh.. and do understand.. lawn irrigation is not proper for trees and shrubs ... so if you are planning irrigation... take that into account ...

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 thanks for the reply.

july/august.. might not be the best time for planting

- We're waiting until late August/early September to plant. We're also working with a landscaper so he'll be taking care of the planting.

do NOT limit your job at the property line ... one or two deciduous trees.. in mid lawn.. will make that view disappear.. much faster than a single line of plants on the property line ... this will all happen in tree time.. which is counted in years.. or decades ... so be patient ... but plan 10 years out

- Good point. I would like to mix in a couple deciduous trees as well. If you have any suggestions for what type of tree that would be great.

but from the elevated family room... i THINK that changes

- This is true. The house definitely sits higher than the field.

At the north side where windbreak is, an example of 20' height, evergreen, could be Eastern Redcedar. It could be continuous if that was your preference, and a half-circle bed of tree form large shrubs with groundcover below could be placed in front of it in order to add interest in front of the windbreak. Along the side yards, 20' height could be the same evergreen, or it could be some large tree form shrub, such as burning bush. It will get close to that height. There could be various options so tighten your parameters in order to home in on something specific.

Just make sure to install your lawn irrigation after you plant your trees. Nothing worse than a sprinkler hitting the trunk/bark of the tree. It promotes the growth of fungus and other problems. That's what happened at the house I inherited. Plan, plan, plan . . . THEN install. Saves you a world of heartache later. Contact your local cooperative extension, I'm sure they have all kinds of resources for you. I live in your neighboring state (Go GREEN!) and we get all kinds of WONDERFUL resources from OSU, including a monthly newsletter!

Don't plant trees too close to the fence.

Yardvaark, please stop using burning bush/Euonymus alatus as a suggestion for an example of a large shrub. It is an invasive in most parts of the NE (spreads into wild areas via seed carried by wind, water, or critters where it displaces native plants), and that extends as far west as OH. It is also a selfseeding pest in the garden and the owner and near neighbors will do lots of weeding of seedlings IME. Use one of the large panicled hydrangeas like PeeGee or Pink Diamond or something else in the right size range like Amalanchier as an example. Or use the native Euonymus americus AKA hearts-a-busting.

I don’t know what is planted in the field or what the farmer uses for weed removal. If there is a chance that there will be herbicide sprayed, you will want either a low solid fence or enough of a setback that your woody plants won’t be effected. Ideally there would never be overspray, but I wouldn’t want to chance the investment of time and money.

See what kind of deer population you have. Many arborvitae are a valued winter deer food and end up looking like lollipops because of that with lower bare branches. In the various areas I lived in Ohio (Cuyahoga, Green, and Lorain counties), deer were a definite consideration, so in general you want to keep this in mind and either plant things they don’t much like or plan to spray a repellent or fence them out.

Think about the look you want. A solid line of one kind of shrub has a formal look, but if a disease or pest effects them, you may lose the whole line, and if one needs replacement, it will not match in size for a long time. If you do a mixed planting as Yardvaark is suggesting, it will have more resilience if there is a problem because few pests will effect the whole variety of plants chosen. But the look will be less formal.

Consider whether using some densely twiggy deciduous shrubs like some of the larger forsythia or ninebark/Physocarpus, or one that can retain dried flower panicles in the winter like Pinky Winky panicled hydrangea will provide enough wind block and sight line privacy for your wishes or whether you want to only use evergreens. Do you want a range of color such as gold and green or varied texture such as a mix of conifers and broad leafed evergreens like holly/Ilex? Or do you want a look that is more like a wall of green?

And as Ken suggested, having trees closer in to the house will be useful in the near term. Consider whether you want mid-yard trees to be flowering midsized trees or larger shade trees.

Sorry Babs. I use it as an example because people know it. It is really up to the user to determine if they are where it is a problem. If it is, they can use that example to find something LIKE it, that is not a problem. I personally think it is a beautiful and stately plant, as a tree form, and think it is fine to use where it's not a problem. Love Peegee, too. (I wonder it that is somebody's problem somewhere ...??)

I don’t believe that any of the panicled hydrangeas are an issue anywhere in the US. And since many folks don’t do the research and run with suggestions, perhaps you can use that as your example from now on? : >)

I will try :-)