I'm thinking I don't want to put in 80 feet of arbor vitae. It's the most logical choice. If I select the right cultivar I can guarantee that the total size of the plant will be about 2 feet in diameter. The height also can be selected for. Arbor vitae have deep taproots which would be perfect for stabilizing the hillside. And lastly arbor vitae are cheap and available just about everywhere. I still resist the idea. It's sooo.. Bourgeois to have the edge of my driveway lined with evenly spaced identical green towers. I want this last yard project to have panache or at least a bit of "wow" factor. I'm going to go with the evenly space evergreens and do everything I can to add a bit of aesthetic color somewhere in the project. The deciding factor is the ease of maintenance that I know from past experience comes with arbor vitae, that and the fact that arbor vitae at the top lip of my hill will help prevent disaster from happening. That's the one time I come home to fast for my driveway and leave the pavement, bounce over the rocks and plow through the cedar fence and drop in on my neighbor below. The drop off is both at 75 degrees and 25 feet straight down. In 20 years I haven't been worried much, but it's almost a lead pipe cinch that one day it will and probably to some innocent visitor. One other redeeming thought is that after the neighbor's cedar fence rots out there will be a nice trimmed, green privacy fence to shield their backyard windows from my 2nd floor view.

So tomorrow it's off to Home Depot to get 20 A. V.