I agree it's good to mix it up but I might be tempted to limit my mix to mostly evergreens in that location. Otherwise, you'll have months of naked sticks not blocking any views much at all. You'll also need species that aren't terribly sensitive to car exhaust (as well as the salt mentioned, definitely a concern) or you'll have brown, naked spots so common to roadside hedges. Investigate how far away from the road you need to plant for your hedge to not be in the way of maintenance, mowing, and snowplow piles. Sorry, I have nothing more specific to offer but after thinking about it enough to write this, I might just go with a fence.

Thanks Purple. As you can see there's not a whole lot of room (probably 8' max) for width.

I was considering an opening for the walk, then maybe 2 or 3 hydrangeas, 2 or 3 smaller rugosas, 2 or 3 larger rugosas, then lilacs the rest of the way out. Assuming, of course I can find some that might survive.

Or maybe a full row of smaller evergreens/conifers with some low rugosas in front?

I am stumped. I don't think the budget will allow 264 plus feet of fencing.

Thanks Purple. As you can see there's not a whole lot of room (probably 8' max) for width.

I was considering an opening for the walk, then maybe 2 or 3 hydrangeas, 2 or 3 smaller rugosas, 2 or 3 larger rugosas, then lilacs the rest of the way out. Assuming, of course I can find some that might survive.

Or maybe a full row of smaller evergreens/conifers with some low rugosas in front?

I am stumped. I don't think the budget will allow 264 plus feet of fencing.

What I've seen done around here in those situation is there is fence right in front of the house, then some hedging continuing the line. A courtyard garden would fit nicely between the house and the fence. I'd also consider changing the porch so the steps point to the side.

It's a tight spot. I like your ideas, mad. You can always plan to add more fence later if you decide you want/need it.

Which direction is this?

The highway runs east and west. There is full sun all day. I will have to google courtyard garden to see what you mean.

Thanks.

So when you look out of your house on this side, you are looking south, right? Is this the primary area for hanging out in the yard? Do you want to hang out in the yard or just want to block the view? Is this the front door? There's just a lot to consider.

I think it's really a tough spot that needs a "bigger picture" goal than what kind of greenery might block your view. There's also a landscape design forum here on GW if you'd like to solicit opinions there also, just be prepared for the possibility of a much more lively/volatile discussion over there, just don't take it personally.

Yes, this is the front door and it does face south. We have a larger deck on the west side where we actually spend a little time, although not much yet due to the highway noise, view, etc.

Should I forget about the hedge and just focus on privacy on the west side? I know that the front of the house can seriously use some plants too and finding a way to cover the AC without blocking flow would be a good start. I have LOTS of ideas for the border around the house, just hate to spend another summer dreading going out to work on them:(

Thanks!

Any hedge will be quite wide--at least 12 feet and possibly quite a lot more. I too would go for a handsome fence and a courtyard garden inside.

I love the IDEA of a fence (instant cure and all) but this much fence is not an option. I am still looking for pics of partial fences in the middle though. I found a dwarf blue spruce that might work if it will tolerate the salt.

Maybe smaller shrubs mixed with small spruces?

Thanks again.

I don't know if these pics match what others had in their minds' eye regarding a partial fence, but found these on google:

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The mound under in the above pic is a good idea if there are regulations about fence height.

Your taste and budget would dictate the particular style of fence, but these pics represent what I was thinking. A section of fence that blocks most of the view, which you can add to at the ends later if you want, or add shrubs. But either way, it would give you some peace without using much of the limited space directly between the house and the road.

This pic shows that all parts of the fence don't need to be the same height, saving money on the shorter parts that aren't as necessary for view-blocking but might help the fence look more complete and finished.

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I feel for you. Across the street from me is a bank and a gas station. I've realized that people really don't care or pay much attention what I'm doing in the front yard, it just feels like it. It just takes some getting used to. People probably aren't noticing or watching you as much as it feels like. Is there a traffic light nearby that causes traffic to stop there at all, or is traffic just flowing by?

Shrubs may be a better solution here than a fence anyway since someone would eventually slide into your fence and drive off leaving you to repair it.

Here's something I didn't consider when I planted a mixed shrub row for "privacy". You sometimes have to go around to the the BACK side of it to mow, weedeat, prune, pull weeds and such. From what you've said, I don't think you're going to want to spend a lot of time between your shrub row and the highway so you need to keep it simple and make it as maintenance free as you can, especially since it will be so long.
When you start mixing shrubs and they're all different shapes and sizes, some vase-shaped, some sprawling out along the ground, some with bare branches at the bottom, it can make it more challenging to maintain.

Bare sticks in the winter will still give you SOME privacy and you most likely won't be out in your yard as much in the winter anyway, so you don't necessarily need evergreens across the front. I would check with a local landscaper and make sure you get something tried and true for your area that's easy to maintain.

I think it would look better to leave a much wider open area instead of just having an opening for a walk; screen your yard, not your house. It's just an opinion so don't take it too seriously if it's not what you want. It looks like you have a very pretty home and I wouldn't want to cover it up.

Thanks so much for all the helpful ideas, photos and suggestions! These are definitely helping me figure it out bit by bit. I like some of the partial fences too although since this is such a long straight stretch I don't know how we could get it to look "on purpose" without putting in a berm or something.

I assume a tall berm would have to be retained somehow, right?

No matter what gets planted or installed I plan to leave an entry/opening as wide as the front porch. From where our property line starts at the highway we have 28' from there to the house, so surely there is something that will work that I just haven't found yet.

Thanks again!

Any fans of "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"

We're in a tight spot!"

Is the driveway to your house on the same side coming in from the highway?

I think since you have white trim on your house, it might look nice to have a white gate, and perhaps just one section of white fence on each side of it, with roses behind, then tall shrubs the rest of the way out on each side of that, maybe lilacs.

Could you do something like this? I like the way the roses are peeping through but on the house side of the fence where they would be easier to maintain.

Here is a link that might be useful: white gate and fence with roses

Because you are so close to the road, you need to have plants that are both soil salt tolerant and will also tolerate having salty mist on the leaves and branches. Around me, the native white pines along the highway are all a nasty-looking orange for half the year or more from salt mist killing the needles, even 30-50 feet from the road. It's quite unattractive!

I don't know what part of the US you are in, so I don't know what kind of soils you have, but I'm attaching a list of salt tolerant trees and shrubs from the Morton Arboretum in Chicago. That part of the country tends to have soils that are a bit on the alkaline side and more clay, unlike my acid coarser soils here on the east coast. Some of these plants will do well in either area, but others have a preference for certain soil types, so read up about them before you buy. (The tree list is first followed by the shrub list.)

I notice that Rugosas are on the list, but regular lilacs aren't. I'd stick with the plants that are noted to have high salt tolerance due to your site.

A couple of other thoughts:
- Plants won't block sound at all. For that you need something solid like a berm or a fence, and I don't think you have a wide enough area to make much of a berm.
- If you decide to do a fence for part of the distance, be sure to think about the color and material and how it will stand up to dirt and salt splashed onto it and how often you want to have to clean it.
- I have often seen just 4 fence pieces used to designate an entry, on each side one parallel to the road and an attached one at the start of the path, perpendicular to the road. It sort of frames the entry and gives a tidy end to the shrubs. Like the linked photo below, but with 4 fence pieces instead of 2 fence pieces and an arbor.
http://www.woodysinc.com/catalog/arbor2.html
Or this with fewer panels
http://www.walpolewoodworkers.com/fence-gates/fence/nantucket-picket.aspx#.UEIHNxysFcw
- What is the right-of-way for the road? You probably don't want to install something that is on public property and can be removed next time there is road work done. Replacement could get expensive. Is there a drainage ditch by the road that will get retrenched periodically?

Let us know what you decide to do.

Here is a link that might be useful: salt tolerant trees and shrubs

The link below lists common lilac (syringa vulgaris) as having a high salt tolerance but some other websites say it has a moderate tolerance.
Perhaps a soil test would be a good idea.

Here is a link that might be useful: Coorado State University - salt tolerance

I would go for a fence that supports thick, fast-growing vines, with some shrubs than can be trained as vines. These can quite interesting, colorful, beautiful. And this can be accompanied by free-standing evergreens.

Loved the pictures and I think that might work for me. It might even give me an excuse to get a really wide arbor in the center.

The driveway is to the right of the house (to the left in the photo). I am not even thinking too much about that side yet.

I have been haunting Morton's website for a while now, just not having much luck with finding anything that will flower long enough to be worth looking at the bare sticks all winter. I would also be happy with smallish evergreens/firs/spruces if I could find tolerant varieties.

The setback here is clearly defined for us by some soon to be cut down dead cedar trees that are about 8 feet back from the road. Apparently they don't like salt either:(

Thanks for your ideas and patience!

Maybe I'm a bit paranoid but I would go with the second photo purpleinopp.

I like the idea of a solid masonry fence that could help stop traffic, not just traffic noise. Repairing the masonry would be a lot better than repairing any other structure a car or truck might hit, or worse.

The trellis above it looks nice, offers protection from idiots throwing trash out their windows at highway speeds and helps block sound but allows sun and air.

If it was me I'd build a 4' tall masonry planter/fence plant some dense tall shrubs like arborvitae or maybe laurel to help block some of the sound. Even just a 2-3' wall would give me some piece of mind.

The shrubs won't block all the sound just minimize it. If you're going to leaving a 28' wide opening then you probably won't notice much of a reduction in sound no matter what you do.

If the property is 1 acre, I don't know why they would put the house so close to the highway.

How much traffic does it get? Is there commercial traffic allowed on it?

I don't want the OP to think that she will get any noise reduction from shrubs, so a quote from a website on traffic noise. http://www.trafficnoise.org/
Barrier Walls
Constructing or increasing the height of a barrier wall could result in a noticeable decrease in traffic noise. However, certain guidelines must be met in order for the wall to be effective:
Material
The wall must be solid with no penetrations in order to be effective. Any penetration, opening or gate can degrade the effectiveness of the barrier. Concrete walls are preferred, but other types of walls can also be effective. A barrier does not have to be a wall, it could also be a large earthen berm. A common misconception is that typical landscaping or vegetation can act as an effective barrier for traffic noise. Unless the vegetation is 100' thick and very dense, it will provide very little if any noise reduction.

Tom - The house is an older home, and when built the road was most probably narrower (so the house wasn't quite as close to the road), had less traffic, and may have been a dirt road, so much quieter than the current paving. My house was built before cars and sits only about 15 feet from the road. Looking at the style, this house may have also been built before cars.