Sorry for the delay, we're just back from an extended road trip. The conservation workers are busy popping something like 2,000+ starts all along our creek, and even along a seasonal drainage creek that feeds the main creek. My husband noted (to them) that they planted quite a few right in the middle of his access roads and he would end up mowing those plants, and they encouraged him to just pull them out and relocate them elsewhere. Most of the plants are live stakes, so easy enough to do. I plan to check out their handiwork when they are all done and reposition some of the road plants to help out with my screening project. I didn't want to interrupt their project and become a pest, so have just let them go about their business. I did ask for a list of what they have planted (just the names, I don't really care about the numbers) so I can figure out what things are as they (hopefully) grow. I am so far quite amazed at the sheer number of plants - they must allow for a significant attrition rate. They did say a second crew will be out a couple times this summer to weedwack around the new plants to give them a fighting chance for sunshine. And they've all been flagged.
In response to Kate, the area I need to screen is down a fairly large hill from our house and yard, not nearly as noticeable in the summer as the winter. But, as junkyards tend to do, this one is growing. I just noticed a new orangy thing (riding mower?) that stands out quite clearly. It can be as wide as I want it to be - I'd like to plant the fence line itself pretty heavily, then fan out with perhaps 3 or 4 staggered rows.
Here's a couple photos. This is a flat area to the right of our main access road out back. It is used primarily as a staging area for dragging logs to be cut into firewood, and also houses our perpetual burn pile, so not a real attractive area to begin with. The junkyard does not enhance it...
