birk's Profile

Best Get a Cohesive Design:
If you plan on staying in your place for a while, pay for the consult. You can do the labor yourself once you have a cohesive design. You can possibly save money by DIY-ing pieces of the design, doing the labor yourself and by using discounted plants (donated perrenials, end of season perrenials, etc.).
A cohesive plan that includes plant suggestions, hard scaping, and engineering (i.e. drip irrigation) will be well worth it.

Check Out BHG this month:
I believe it was this month's Better Homes and Gardens which featured a house that had a street corner lot and little privacy; there were lots of privacy ideas listed (my favorite: lattice work with clematis [for sun] on one side and ivy [for shade] on the other).

Raised Beds and Grasses:
Also from last week's Chicago Tribune Home and Garden Section, using raised beds might be a solution. You can integrate seating for entertaining (which also could double for a bench while eating al fresco) and add height to your plant choices. Perhaps using bamboo or native grasses can get you a bit of privacy quicker and cheaper than a tree. Also, by using raised beds you can control the soil quality and assure your plants a good start.

Best of Luck

"It seems that we live in a place of hypocrisy..."

"...their magical sky ladies..."

"...freedom from religion."

"I wasn't aware..."

Really!? Guys... Really?! Do you really think that this is the forum for a "debate" on religion? Take your incendiary language elsewhere.

A heartfelt thanks to kristin, Nora Rocket, shurraycmu, and polkadot for either reminiscing or describing the aesthetics of shrines without waxing polemic.