Looking for Barrier Shrubs

I have a wooded natural area on one side of my yard. There is Mahonia, Huckleberry, Sword Fern growing in there. I love my neighbors, but I'm looking for some 9-10 foot shrubs to go in there amidst the (dying) Hemlocks, Bigleaf Maple, and Fir to provide at least a summertime privacy barrier.

I'm leaning toward Ninebark or Leucothoe or Calcanthus or Ilex - any suggestions?

Is it just the Hemlocks that are dying, or all the trees you listed?

Just the Hemlocks. They are short lived and apparently all three on my property are on their way out. And there are some younger first getting ready to take over - it will just be 20 years before they're anywhere close to the Hemlocks. The Hemlocks are huge - I'm sure it's going to cost thousands to get them out of there.

The other trees are good and healthy. I don't think anything can kill a big-leaf Maple around here.

The tree limbs all start up at about 20 feet on the trees. So it's not dark shade. But it's consistently shady all day long.

Katie, I have several shrubs which have turned out to be rather dense hedges which could be effective for screening. You might plant several different types of shrubs for variety sake. This might not sound like a logical choice, but I planted several deutzias 15 yrs ago in what was once a fairly sunny spot. It's now shady all day long and they have remained surprisingly dense despite the moderate shade. They continue to flower better than I expected also. Neviusia is a fast-growing thicket which is also shade-tolerant, though mine is only about 5ft tall. Bottlebrush buckeye is big and bushy with very showy bloom. You mentioned calycanthus - several nice new hybrids / cultivars (Hartlage Wine, Athens, Venus). Tardive hydrangea? Or one of those big lacecap hydrangeas - like Blue Wave - they can get really big. Onandaga viburnum - reddish foliage w/ beautiful white lacecap flowers? Lots of choices! You know, of course, that I have pictures of most of them, if you need them...

And you know that I love to see your pictures. :-)

I do like the idea of using several different shrubs. I don't want it to look like a real barrier - just to be dense forest on that side. My garden preference is for a tended natural look, so using a bunch of different things will help.

I don't have any Deutzia, though I often admire the blossoms. I can't get enough Hydrangea, though I'm partial to the serratas, which would be too small for this purpose. Viburnum is a great idea. I think I saw the Buckeye for the first time last weekend - funny that it should come up again.

I'm excited to her a new name - Neviusia. I'll have to look that up.

So I moved a Dart's Gold Ninebark into one spot. It's pretty big and this is the wrong time to transplant (but my neighbors have manure for me and I had to get it out of the bed that I want to redesign and add manure to). So I unceremoniously took it out of one spot and put it in. It's very sad today, but I'm hoping that with oodles of support and compost, it'll hang on through the summer. I'm looking forward to adding more of these others. I'll keep you posted . . .

Okay. I think I need one of each. :-D The Neviusia is a fantastic shrub that I'd love to have. Any idea who is selling them?

Here's one of my bottlebrush buckeyes (aesculus parviflora).

And neviusia. My single shrub from 10 or so years ago is now probably 15 wide and 5ft deep, 5ft tall or so. Densely shrubby. Here's a pix of the flowers. Not terribly showy, but nice. Vigorous. Would be great for screening.

Viburnum sargentii Onandaga.
You can't tell it from the picture, but the foliage generally has a reddish cast.

Sadly, my hard drive just crashed - with all my pictures!
So you get a reprieve!

I'm trying to remain calm.
I'm not the greatest at computer stuff, so I'll have to figure it out. Arrgh!
More likely, I'll bribe one of my nieces / nephews to help me out.

Sooner or later, it usually works out OK.
You know I'll be a cripple if I can't post pix ... !

Oh my gosh. So sorry! I replaced my hard drive several months ago after having it blue screen on my several times. I didn't lose anything, thank goodness. So maybe you're still okay - just have to wake it up.

These are great shrubs - I'm planning locations for them all tonight and then will do some shopping. :-)