Options for Natural Privacy Barrier

Question: We live halfway between Johnstown and Utica, Ohio. We are hoping to plant some fast-growing landscape plants/bushes/trees/whatever to create a natural privacy barrier near our property line because our neighbor's house is "right there." I'm guessing we'd need to go 25-30 feet wide and at least 15-20 feet tall. The property line is the yellow line on the one photo. The photo itself shows how wet the neighbor's land gets near the line. Our side also gets wet, but not really standing water unless it's an especially wet season. The other photo shows a 24-inch deep hole and the water lever during mid-March of 2022 (wet spring). It appears it becomes clay-ish fairly quickly. I guess I'd say it's partial sun/shade, as there's woods to the left and right, but it's in a small clearing so it gets direct sunlight for part of the day when the sun is more directly overhead. Thank you.

responder: Best Regards,  Replied April 21, 2023, 1:41 PM EDT
response: Hi, Tom!  Can you tell me the orientation of the yellow line in your photo? North to south, east to west?

responder: The Question Asker Replied April 21, 2023, 5:13 PM EDT
response: As you look at the photo, the left side is northeast and the right side is southwest. If you need any other information or any other photos would help, please let me know. Thank you.TomOn Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 1:41 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Best Regards,  Replied April 23, 2023, 3:53 PM EDT
response: Hello, Tom! Thank you for your question to Ask Extension/Ask a Master Gardener. Creating a natural privacy barrier sounds like a good idea for your property. From your photos, I think I see the three challenges you mentioned. First, the space quite wet. Second, it is a fairly large space at 25-30 feet. Third, there is limited sunlight. (I appreciate the additional information about orientation.) I can't be certain from just photos, but I’m guessing that the reason there is a clearing is that it is a low spot that is too wet with too little sunlight for most plants to survive.  There are some plants that can survive wet, shady environments. The following article from Penn State is one I used to research your question. It has an excellent list of plants for wet environs. I hope it is of help to you. https://extension.psu.edu/trees-shrubs-and-groundcovers-tolerant-of-wet-sites This would be my suggestion:  If the property slopes upward toward your home, you might want to bring your planting site in that direction, rather than trying to plant in the swale that exists between your property and your neighbor’s. Even a slight rise will improve drainage, and the soil might be less “clay-ish”. If you need to keep the barrier closer to the property line, you might choose to raise the level of the soil by creating a berm or a raised bed.  To provide a barrier 15 feet or taller you will, of course, need trees! Evergreens might be your choice for a year-round privacy barrier. An American Arborvitae would be a good choice. It will grow eight inches to two feet per year, depending upon conditions. They are readily available and reasonably priced. This would be an excellent time of year to plant. The next best time would be late fall, a few weeks before first frost. There are other ideas for trees in the cited article. Once you have your trees planted, you could place shrubs to give continued visual barrier at the base of the trees. Here is my go-to list for native Ohio plants; I like that it gives growing conditions, bloom time and more. BTW… There are many native plant sales throughout Ohio during the growing seasons, including some at Chadwick Arboretum in Columbus. https://chadwickarboretum.osu.edu/sites/chadwick/files/imce/pdf/NATIVE_chart_grow-condition_pollinators_2020.pdf I hope this information is helpful to give you a start. If you need any clarification, or if this answer has generated further questions, you can reach me by replying to this email. I would be more than happy to do additional research for you and to discuss any questions you may have. Best of luck with your privacy barrier! I’d love to know how it works out for you.