Summer Wind,
A few answers to a few questions:

On one side of the yard in particular, fast growth is the most important
consideration. My side yard slopes away from the house, so a taller fence
is not an option at the bottom of the slope. An ultimate height of 30 feet
or more would be ideal.


Is 7 feet a reasonable height for Green Giant Arborvitae at most
nurseries, and how expensive are they? Could they be planted now, or will
I need to wait until after the danger of frost? I've read that they are
relatively maintenance-free, and I find that appealing, as I won't have a
lot of time to invest in pruning them.

Most Arborvitaes that I have handled in the past will typically be most
widely available as 8' shrubs. You can expect to pay between $100-130 a
plant.

If you can find a nursery still open this time of year, go ahead and plant.
Otherwise, wait till spring. In either case, watering properly will still
be an issue come summer.
Green Giante Arborvitae will reach a height of 40-60 ft with a spread of
12-18 feet

I did a search on Dragon Lady holly and it looks like a possibility for
other parts of the yard. How fast does it grow?

Dragon Lady will get about 12-15 feet tall and 8 feet across... It can grow
2-3 feet a year once established ( most shrubs take about 3 years to become
fully established).

Most common size available is a 15 gallon potsize at a height of about 5-6
feet and about $120 a plant.


I don't know how much to budget because I don't have any experience in
this area. I suppose the first step is to determine how many plants I'll
need, and I'm still working on that.

Determining the number of plants for a privacy screen or hedge is simple.
Measure the length of the line to be screened then divide by HALF the
expected mature spread of the shrub.
Ex. say You go with the Giant Arbor with an average mature spread of 16
feet.. 24(length of line) / 8 (half of 16)= 3 plants planted on 8 ft centers
( trunk to trunk distance)

The reason you go 1/2 the spread is so that the screen will look like one
nice solid mass when mature and not like just a row of shrubs.


Thanks for the information on moving the pear trees

You are much welcome SW

Thanks,
SW


Anthony B.