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I know you'll probably end up thinking "So who died and put him in charge of privacy landscaping?"

Although I never knew her, her nickname was "toad".  She was born Mable Moors in the 1890's as the tiny half of a set of twins, and survived against odds living to be 93.  Mable Moors spent 50+ years of her long life in a 1920's colonial in Wauwatosa, WI.  A widow for the last 40 years, she left the bushes along the back of the lot to grow wild.  After her passing, I was the energetic first time buyer who restored that home.  To open up views into the adjacent wooded wonderland of Honey Creek Parkway (a green belt), I trimmed and removed what seemed like acres of honeysuckle and twisted saplings.

Next time you're driving along a busy street, take a moment and compare the privacy offered by the landscaping.  Since most homeowners whose back yards (or front yards) abut the busy street try something to get a little privacy, you'll find a lot of different examples to compare and critique.

The "privacy winner" is usually buffered from the street by a thicket of bushes and trees grown wild, BOTH in the Summer and Winter. Most often the BEST privacy wasn't planned or even planted.  Nature took over where the homeowner let it, the thick tangle of deciduous shrubs and trees does a tremendous job.

You'll notice a berm that has been neatly planted, then mulched and trimmed regularly adds almost no privacy unless the berm is extremely large (8'-10'+ high). Evergreens grow only about a foot a year, so unless you have "ten's of thousands of dollars" to have large mature trees trucked in, only the next generation will experience any privacy.

This is why I recommend you consider recreating the best examples of "natural" privacy. It also works about 20 years quicker than the alternatives!

THE PLAN: A 10 foot border of thick shrubs and trees along the edge of the lot, near the busy street or where ever else you need it.  I like a "lazy meandering" shape with a flowing edge.  Use a garden hose to help plan "on the spot", and to visualize how it looks.  You may wish to add 5 feet to one or both sides of the bed if you want a softer, more maintained looking transition to the privacy providing section. This helps if you suspect someone might complain about an unkempt appearance during the first year or two. You can also leave a grass strip along a curb or other street edge to help. I've thought a width of 2 passes with the lawn mower looks great.

THE PLANTS: In metro Milwaukee I recommend hardy, quick growing shrubs like honeysuckle, lilac, red-twig dogwoods, etc. as part of the privacy border.  There may be other good choices?  For the trees, I like sugar maples about 1.5 inches in diameter. They recover from the transplant quickly and provide lovely fall color.  If you plan on adding a transition section, consider some spring bulbs, daffodils are great, and other flowers and ornamental shrubs in these edge areas.

THE HARD PART: If the area you'll be planting is currently grass, you can kill it with some of the new environment friendly chemicals or cut it out with a sod cutter.  Heck, if you don't plan on buying too small of plant stock you could even leave it in.  DO NOT MULCH in the privacy section of the bed, NO plastic, NO landscape fabric, NO bark or wood chips, NO gravel or stone, NO KIDDING!!! Plant the shrubs in ZIG ZAG (important!) patterns in groups of odd numbers (3,5,7,etc.).  Then plant a tree or two set to mimic natural variety, then more bushes etc. You might want to line up the trees with the view from your patio/deck/picnic table area to any 2 story homes or other higher objects you want to screen out.  Remember not to be too regular, it just won't look right. 

WHAT CARE?: NO trimming, NO raking, NO anything in the privacy section of the bed.  Putter all you want with the transition sections.  I like bark mulch, not wood chips.  The bark stays put, the woodchips end up all over - trust me it's worth the extra dough, I've tried both.  Gravel and stone are terrible for plants in the beds, and I think they look unattractive (and cheap).  Remember NO MULCH in the privacy section.

PATIENCE: The first year or two the privacy section can look a bit "weedy." Give it time, if you weren't too cheap and bought plants with a decent sized root ball, it won't take long before it's filling in and looking marvelous!!!

That's what I think, but... who cares what I think???

Note: If you're not from the Milwaukee area I should mention that tall privacy fencing is often considered "rude", and landscaping is used as a "green" fence. Fencing is also usually prohibited, or severely regulated, by the subdivision or community rules.