I recently purchased my first home. The house is located in the middle of town. I grew up in the country, so I am used to having a private yard. This backyard has been neglected, so I am working on clearing out the yard, and starting working towards landscaping goals. My first year goal is to get some plants around the perimeter of my yard, to make it more private.

I have included a photo to give you an idea of what I am working with.

Behind this area, is the town's main stop sign, and road. There is also some storage buildings to the left of the stop sign that I want to block out. I am located in Zone 7, in Northeast/central Arkansas. So our summers can get pretty hot and humid. I am looking at planting some privacy hedges along the bank in this photo. I want to block out the view, but also provide a solid backdrop/wall so that the plants I plant in the foreground will really stand out. I have a pretty large collection of Japanese Maples, and will be incorporating them throughout the backyard, along with conifers, and just other pretty shurbs and plants.

I was thinking about planting maybe 3 Thuja Green Giants in this area by the bank. To the left of them, I have a blue leyland cypress that would block out the storage sheds. This will add some color interest I think with the green hedge. I will be cleaning out the rest of the trees and overgrowth in this photo. We own the bank/ditch. So if the hedges grow a little over it, it is alright. This area is also at the bottom of a slight slope in the backyard, so when it rains, water does run down to this area. After I clear out the dirt mounds to the right of this location (outside of the photo), I was planning on putting a weeping willow, for two reasons. I feel like it would help soak up some of the extra water that runs down, and the other reason being that I have always wanted a large one since I was a child. They alway seemed so magical to me! So I was just wondering if the Thujas would be appropriate for this location, and if so, how far from the bank would you plant them. Or is there some other suggestions on a privacy hedge you would offer? Thank you.