Hello,

I have a 15-foot stretch of chain link fence that runs along my neighbor's driveway in my backyard. I'm looking for something to plant that will provide some privacy for my backyard. While I love my neighbors, I don't fancy looking at their car, kids' toys, etc. and I'd prefer if my backyard was screened in by some plants vs. installing a costly privacy fence. I was going to plant some arborvitae, but then I read that those don't do so well in shade at all. You see, my backyard faces east and the fence is on the north side of my backyard (so northeast corner of my house). There's also a giant maple tree that hangs over most of my backyard. Although the fence line is probably in the sunniest spot corner of my backyard, escaping the shade of the maple tree for the first few morning hours, most of the sunshine it gets is filtered through leaves and by mid-afternoon, the house blocks most of the direct sunlight as the sun moves to the west.

Any suggestions? My backyard is pretty tiny, so I'm looking for something that would grow fairly upright and not spread out from the fence more than a few feet. Bonus points if you can find something that's evergreen, but I'm open to all ideas! I live in Zone 5b.