Need help designing a hedge row

I am creating a hedge row on the side of my house which separates the front & back yard. I am in zone 5 (Chicago suburb) & it will get afternoon sun. I am going for a natural look as the arbor will serve as an entrance to my Japanese garden. I have approximately 16' on each side of the arbor & have already purchased 2 black lace elderberries, one dwarf korean lilac & one butterfly bush. I need help in selecting other bushes / shrubs which will help fill the voids. My wife doesn't care for the vibernums and would like something either flowering or with interesting foliage (or both), maybe fitting our asian theme.

The butterfly bush can get huge so be prepared to either move it or keep it trimmed to fit. My neighbors took a couple of years to take hold but now is reaching into my yard.
Look for plants with flowering in different times of the year. I like forsythias because they weep and I don't have to worry about mowing near them because the branches cover up the center of the plants. They grow quickly and are easily propagated for use in other parts of the yard. A rose bush maybe would look nice.
There are so many good types to choose from, but you want to consider shape also. A round bush next to a shorter stubby one might look lopsided.
Look on someo f the mailorder sites. I like Lazys's site because it has links to pictures and closeups of the flowers.

A number of bamboos out there and a bit of bamboo barrier keeps them inplace. There is a fig (Ficus carica 'Chicago') which would be unique. An Arctic Kiwi on your arbor would make an amazing spring display if a good male was selected mixed with something else later blooming like a Clematis. There are some nice Osmanthus that would make a nice evergreen hedge if you can find ones for Z5. There quite a few nice coloured foliage cultivars out there.

If the butterfly bush in question is Buddleia davidii, I believe it'll die back in the winter in zone 5 so while it probably won't get out of control and need to be moved, it may not really serve the purpose of the hedgerow.

Several of the plants being suggested probably won't suit your purpose in your climate. Why does she dislike Viburnums?
Guy S.

To Guy's point, there are many, many species of viburnums, many of which look nothing alike. Is there one particular species she doesn't like--maybe there would be another one that would work for her.

One viburnum I like which doesn't have the same look at many viburnums is Viburnum Trilobum (American Cranberrybush Viburnum). I also like Rhododendrons, black chokeberries, Henry Garnet Sweetspire, Japanese maples, fothergilla, and most conifers. First, what is the exposure, soil condition, planting bed width, ultimate height you want, etc? Do you just want one line of shrubs, or taller ones in back tapering down the height with shorter ones, etc? How important is winter interest seeing as our winters go on and on and on and on... Hows about a pic of the area you are trying to design?

A hedge, maybe a Japanese Yew!
Its evergreen and its Japanese!

Will

I was thinking golden threadleaf cypress (or is it false cypress, I see it listed both ways) for winter interest or maybe a blue spruce.

Variegated Aralia, mahonia, holly, boxwood, witchhazel,
I have a hard time thinking in terms of a hedge as Japanese. My only exposure is from public gardens I've visited. They are very spare and architectural using many natural elements like stone or trees with interesting bark or shapes. Lots of weeping forms or very horizontal forms.

Depending on the height you want, there is a Taxus baccata repandens that is very horizontal.