Privacy shrub - which to pick?

We just bought our house, but the neighbors have a dog who barks and frightens my kids whenever he is outside. He is not a rabid dog but certainly isn't friendly , and he chases my kids back and forth like prey. I doubt he could ever get over the 4 foot chain link fence but I am considering adding a privacy hedge to help my kids ignore him. The trouble is that I have never been a big fan of huge evergreen shrubs, and anything too tall would throw my whole narrow backyard into shade. It is somewhat shady already from a large oak tree. I like English cottage gardens and flowering shrubs like roses, but I am not sure any of those plants would provide enough of a screen, especially in winter. Does anyone have any shrub recommendations for my zone 6/7 garden?

rachelnj, does the fence belong to you or your neighbor? If it's yours then you can grow vines on it like a climbing hydrangea that can live in sun or shade. Or if it's your neighbor's fence you can plant a row of tree peonies that also do well in sun or shade. I recommend searching for a tree that grows 3-4 feet or else you would have to prune it.

You said you don't want big evergreens but there are some narrow ones and it might look nice if you planted a row of evergreens, perhaps alternating thuja green emerald which grows about 1.5 ft. W x 6 ft. H with green mountain boxwoods which grow about 3 ft. W x 5 ft. H. We have both species and they do well in part sun. However, dogs tend to want to urinate near trees and shrubs so I would consider that when deciding how close to plant near the fence. There is always the option of a reed fence but we got one and half the bark peeled off the first winter in zone 5b. - DoGooder

Thanks for the ideas. It is the neighors' fence. I love the idea of tree peonies but they wouldn't do much screening in winter, right? I wonder if azaleas might work, come to think of it.

rachelnj, azaleas lose all or most of their leaves in winter in my zone (5b), which is one level colder than your zone. There are very few plants that have all-year greenery in the northeast. Evergreens and boxwoods are some of the few exceptions. Even evergreen shrubs that keep their leaves during cold winters such as rhododendrons still look winterized and sickly with their leaves curled into stick-shapes much of the time.

That's why I chose tree peonies because at least they have wood stems and trunks that provide some privacy because regular herbaceous peonies die to the ground in your zone. I'd be interested in anyone else's ideas for cold-climate evergreens other than conifers and boxwoods. - DoGooder

Try one of the clumping forms of a non-invasive ornamental grass.

Several to consider are the taller Panicum virgatum selections (Switchgrass) - there are some in the 5' range.

Another bigger plant (to 10') is Miscanthus giganteus (Giant Miscanthus). This will screen out about anything you want.

One cut-back in spring to remove winter stems, and you are back in business. About as low maintenance a plant as you can get, that won't take up much room.

You could screen out the pesky critter with your own opaque fencing, as noted above. Others on this site have successfully used a sectional bamboo style product.

Maybe a "bark-activated" sprinkler misdirected to its general area would help train "Pavlov" to be more sociable...

http://www.hammacher.com/Product/75520?promo=search

I don't have one but the company has a lifetime guarantee for all their products.

In that cold a zone I think you are going to have a hard time finding something that will hold its leaves all year.
Few questions:

Are the kids out there in the winter? Maybe you do not need year-round screening?

If you are allowed to, then adding something to the fence like the bamboo screening or shade cloth can help a lot, then you can have a variety of plants on your side which may not be an all-year screen, but will be there most of the time and are nicer looking.

If the only way to make this work is with conifers and boxwoods, then look into the different colors and textures of conifers (grey, blue, silver, yellow...) so there will be some interest even if it is 'just background greenery'. If there is room, then a conifer that stays a bit narrower and a row of flowers in front could work.

If you wish to go down the route of English type gardening then my first choice would be to recommend you look at some of the Hilly family of shrubs, these are as tough as old boots, definitely evergreen ALL year round and once established and reached the height you wish, then you cut off the top growing tip, prune the side shoots each spring too and you will have a what we call a FENGE, a cross between hedge and fence,

There are over 30 - 40 different types of Holly (Ilex) different coloured leaf, berries and form, there are also some that are prickle free especially for gardens where kits are, you get green, yellow, white tipped leaf, yellow, green, red berries that will keep your kids amused watching the winter birds feed on the berries and in spring, watch lots of smaller birds build nests within the hedge, with Holly, you can plant spring bulbs under the hedge to add even more interest, because these plants over the years become impenetrable for most animals other than a raging bull, then you have a great evergreen FEDGE.
This multi coloured row of Hollies make an excellent backdrop for all types of plants, shrubs and many old English Gardeners have those shrubs as backdrop to their plantings.

Just do some research on the different types of Hollies as they do become confusing in as much as there are female plants with names like Yellow King, don't ask why but these are female plants needed for fertilization of the male type called silver queen and is MALE, also look at the different types of foliage as there are many plane green, others have yellow - white edgings all around each leaf, then there are bright Yellow markings too and these really brighten up a dull winter day looking outside and wishing the sun would come. look for the types that are either prickle free or NOT got sharp prickles,

You don't say how long the fence you wqant to furnish with shrubs is measurement wise and Holly is a reasonable cost for hedging especially IF you use a hedging grower for purchasing the plants, they grow faster than people think and are easy to control regarding size / height,
No matter what type of shrubs you choose, remember to mix male and female to get flowers or berries for interest, People might tell you the dangers of berries in the garden with children but, to be honest, ALL plants can cause tummy upsets IF eaten unless edible like VEG, the kids need educated re what is OK and what is not for touching, eating or playing with, it will be a few years before berries are a problem but just be aware.
Lastly, no mater what you choose as a hedge or barrier, before your plants arrive or are ordered, make sure you have the trench well prepared by adding as much humus / manure (well rotted) that you can lay your hands on, many horse people will give the well rotted manure away for free as they have an endless supply, anyway, the trench should be a foot wider and deeper than required just to give the new plants a good start and wont require amending for many years if prepared properly and it saves you cash by not having to replace dead plants.
Good luck and best regards.
WeeNel

I agree with do-gooder re the arbor vitae. I had the same need for privacy and also wanted to hide a chain link fence that separated my property from my neighbor. I planted 15 6' emeralds in 2007 only 18” from the fence. His dogs were never able to reach them. Most of the trees are now over 12’ high, with a very upright, neat habit and it's great to see that beautiful bright green in the dead of winter. But arbor vitae won’t grow well with less than 6-7 hrs of sun per day – 3 trees were over-shadowed for several years by a maple. With less than 4 hrs sun per day, growth was alarmingly stunted (I actually thought neighbor had poisoned them as those particular trees are pivotal to blocking his view). We had to take the maple down a few years ago and they’ve recovered nicely, filling in and up - they’ve picked up at least 3’- 4’ in height. I clipped the tops of all the trees a few years ago to encourage fill-in and I'm very happy with the result. I live in zone 5 (b, I think). I let them get taller than you might want because I have an elevated deck (that neighbor will see the last of this year). And the bonus – neighbor never knows when I’m in my yard now so it was easy to catch him dumping weeds over the fence. I imagine he wasn’t happy to see it all come flying back.

There are also Dwarf varieties of some evergreens, if I remember correctly.

But I hope your problem has been solved by now.