I'd recommend Southern Wax Myrtle. The foliage smells divine. Grows fast if given adequate sun & water. Can be pruned if you want to keep it small. Birds love the berries.

And best of all, you can get large plants fairly cheap at some of the wholesale nurseries.

What do you mean by full northern sun, anyhow? Would gardenias do ok in that type of light? (everyone else) They would fulfill all your checklist, if the light would work. I know i have a g. radicans (prostrate version) that only gets a couple hours of direct sun that does great for me. There are some variegated ones that aren't supposed to want as much sun as the others. Some of the smaller osmanthus could work, too- also evergreen, fragrant when blooming and likes less light. If i were you, i'd do a mixed planting. There's strength in mixing it up- less disease issues, and gives the eye a more interesting look. Plus, if you lose one at some point, you won't have a had to fill hole- you can plug in whatever you wish.

Gardenia's are very adaptable provided you live south of Charlotte. If you live north of there you would need to get one of the new hybrids which are more cold tolerant but because they are new to the market they are more expensive. I have them growing in all but deep shade. They will bloom better if given more afternoon sun. They do best where the air can warm up prior to them being hit with winter sun.
Waxleaf ligustrum (privet) is an inexpensive alternative that grows fairly quickly and has fragrant flowers (mine are starting to bloom right now). They take well to pruning, are evergreen and are pretty much carefree.
While it is not so fragrant, 'Mohave' pyrocanthus (firethorn) is evergreen, flowers in late spring and has beautiful berries in the fall. It is thorny, keeping out those you don't want in and so far the deer have not touched mine.
I too, would like an explanation of what you mean by full northern sun? Typically, full sun is a southern exposure.

Waxleaf ligustrum (privet) is an inexpensive alternative that grows fairly quickly and has fragrant flowers

Smell is subjective, of course. I personally find Ligustrum to be stinky - that may also be colored by my distaste for the plant's invasive characteristics. Thanks to just a few specimens in the neighborhood, volunteers are popping up in yards all along the street.

'Otto Laurel' Laurel is a nice hedging plant and is readily available in nurseries.

Abelia is a nice evergreen plant. The relatively new cultivar 'Canyon Creek' might fit your needs.

do a search and see the impassioned pleas for noone to plant more privet! Ugh- awful invasive things, and to boot they are high on the allergen list so if you have allergies to plant pollen beware! I do like the fragrance of ligustrum, but am allergic to the pollen so i took out the ones that were intentionally and unintentionally planted on our property- many privets and the one ligustrum we planted before we knew of the issues.

I looked up Southern Wax Myrtle and that sounds good, the dwarf one anyway.

Full northern sun. hmmmm let me see how to explain this. my house faces north. On the side where I want to plant the hedges is on the northern side of my lot but the house is not on that side. Even though that is on the north side of my lot there is plenty of sun which I will consider full sun because it is sunny atleast half the day.

I do not want anything invasive. I am trying to get rid of ivy, wisteria, blackberrries and wild strawberries. It is killing my lawn AND trees. So I should have put that on the list too NO INVASIVE PLANTS.

Gardenias. I find them to be extremely slow growing. I might be doing something wrong but I never had any luck with them taking off. I have been here a year and a half and I think my Gardenias have grown a full inch IF I AM LUCKY.

Explain to me how exposure works please. are you talking about north/south of a house or what? How does an open space face in any direction? I have always been confused over this. EXCUSE MY IGNORANCE....I am just a wannabe gardener with heart.

No problem! It's just not usually referred to as a direction, unless to say full southern sun (hot sun, all day) or an east or west exposure, which would indicate sun in the morning (east) or late afternoon (west). Northern faces of houses don't normally get much sun, so normally you just say it's shady, or on the northern slope, and people understand that means shady. I guess that's why 'northern sun' confused me; they typically are non mutual, and sun never comes from the north side.

If you get at least 5-6 hours, that's considered full sun and gardenias should do fine for you, as well as the other plants mentioned. If it's morning sun, some things will be happier than if it's hotter afternoon sun. When gardenias are happy they can really take off, but they aren't as fast as some of your other suggestions. Since you particularly want evergreen, 5', fragrant bloomers, i'd include at least 1. The smaller osmanthus can be slow too. Bear in mind, anything that grows fast is liable to get too big and need trimming and a lot of it; you're better off to plant a few fast growers and some slow, so you don't have to do so much trimming in the long run or can even eliminate the fast but labor intensive ones once the slower ones get to the size you want. Constant trimming can get old really fast, and faster growing things can have a tendency to be weaker and more prone to breaking in storms. Look at your labels and do your research to be sure the cultivar you're getting tops out at 5' if you don't want to spend lots of time on maintenance.

Also, remember the past couple of years have been droughty and not much has grown, but with the rain this year things should take off better for you. Even so, don't expect anything to grow terribly fast the first year you plant it. The sleep, creep, leap rhyme definitely applies.

You can always erect a temporary screen like lattice or bamboo stakes and string and grow some annual vines a few years for fast screening til your shrubs fill in. Seems like there was another thread last spring that dealt with a very similar situation- you may want to try some searches on here and see what turns up for more ideas.

esh - are those 'Otto Laurel' Laurels somewhat deer-proof, or even maybe resistant?

otto luyken laurel is the correct name, I think. They are said to be deer resistant. They have already flowered here. No deer as I live in town.

token, thanks for correcting the name - yours is the correct one. I don't know if they are deer proof or not.

as an alternative I could use some really FAST growing flower bushes. I guess they do not have to be evergreenas it might be nice to see something looking dead come back to life every year. What about Azaleas? If I fertilize them to death will they grow really fast?

I forgot the Azalea is not fragrant. I was doing a search today by just putting in fregrant fast growing in a search engine and I came up with Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice. Anyone have any experience with this?

I found a nursery in chapel hill that has it in a gallon size for $18

If you live near the triangle you can come & get some allspice from me. Email me if you're interested. It suckers and my bush has gotten too big. It does loose its leaves come winter, but turns a nice yellow before they drop. Carolina allspice gets to about 5', but keeps getting wider as the years pass. Grows fairly fast once it's established. I also have some mock orange that needs to go- you just have to dig it. Again, is deciduous, gets to about 5-6', with a wee[ing sort of fountainy form, fragrant white flowers about now. There are deciduous native azaleas that are fragrant, and some do get big. They aren't inexpensive and can be hard to find, though. All of these only bloom 1x per year though, so bear that in mind. Another pretty bush that does get to about 5', maybe 6 or 7, is oakleaf hydrangea. Not fragrant blooms, but very ornamental and they last on the bush along time. Great color in the fall.

thank you tamelask. I have sent you a message.

I have planted 2 Azalea bushes on the side of my house. When I was in Fl I planted them every year and they never grew for me for some reason. I am trying it again. On the days it has not rained I have watered it and they both seem to be doing well. FINGERS CROSSED. Also they are in partial shade this year and i think in Fl the sun was too bright for them.

I have planted some Hydrangea's and Rhododendrons on each side of my house this year. I am hoping they take off as I love them both. I brought what the nursery said was a year old plant but they have already doubled n size in just a couple of weeks. hmmmm. doubled from 3" to 6.

In the back I planted some butterfly bushes and I am excited to see if they grow. I planted bare roots just last weekend and so far no progress is noted.

How about Rose-of-Sharon? They are a type of hibiscus that does really well around here. My great aunt had 3 different colors (blue, pink and white) that she had planted along her fence - they got VERY tall and bloomed beautifully all summer! I loved them so much that I planted one as a landscape plant when we moved into our new home 3 years ago and it was maybe 2' tall - now it is at least 7'. My aunt just would cut hers back if they got leggy (which I will need to do this year) and they did fine. Mine is on the north side of my house, in a garden bed that gets full sun in the AM but is shaded by the house for the hot PM sun. I have never really noted a fragrance, because the area is not close to a traffic zone around the house, but my "tree" is full of snow white blooms that look so refreshing when the days are blistering. Oh - I do believe that they aren't evergreens -but they do have some size even in winter so maybe that would help you. Another shrub that has beautiful color in the spring, can get some good size, is controlable (I have seen them left natural and squared off in gardens) and has nice foliage until winter is a forsythia or "yellow bells". They take the summer heat well and bloom a vibrant yellow color in early spring. Since I am a fledgling gardener, I have really limited knowledge, so I love reading these posts and getting more ideas of things to try in my yard too. Experienced gardeners, if I am way off base please holler - thanks!

I have white rose of sharon in the woodline it looks good when it is in bloom. I do love it. How can I get some of it out of the woods to plant in my yard?

Ms jay- they are easy to move when fairly small under a couple feet. past that and you can move the plant, but it's liable to come right back from the orig spot from the roots. They tend to reseed so if you look around you're bound to find some a good size for digging and transferring. I love rose of sharon, but they really ought to be planted where you can mow around or deadhead, b/c they reseed readily. I have the pink if you're interested when you come out for the other things.

well I jsut want everyone to know I went out to tamelask's place today and what an education I received. I had so much fun. Tomorrow soo as I get home from work I am going to put some of her ideas to work AND plant the wonderful plants she gave me.

Its nice to be able to talk to local people and learn how things grow in your own area.

Thanks Tammy!!

You are more than welcome! I thoroughly enjoyed your and your fiancee's company and am always happy to share with local gardeners! It's my way of paying back for all the times my mentor and friends have gifted me with plants, knowledge and friendship! Best of all it's a gift that keeps giving. I know that you in turn, will help someone else out at some point. :)

Oh that is without question!! I hope I get to be as knowledgeable as you one day. BTW...I just got in the house from planting most of it. I have a spot between lots that I will finish up later. Since the plants do not look like anything yet I put petunias around the base of them. That will also help to Calvin remember not to mow them down. As you heard yesterday he is lawnmower happy. LOL.

Hi everyone. Hi tamelask. Reporting after 2 years. :-). I am still working on my yard. I finally had a landscaper come in and draw up a plan for my yard. I hired a guy from Craigslist to come in and dig out my beds for me and I went to this nursery called Broadwell's in Angier, NC. Actually, there are three nurseries there together and OMG what a pleasant and inexpesnsive journey that was. I wound up concentrating on Japonica Camillas, Gardenia's, Hydrageneas and Azaleas. I also splurged ($45 LOL) on a weeping Cherry tree. My Mock Oranges survived and nothing else did so I had to start from scratch. I had to cut down some of my bad trees and I still have a lot of work to do! More trees need to come down!!
Thank you everyone for your help. As I am back in the swing of things You will be hearing from me soon.
Mock Oranges are still small but I am sure they will be taking off this year. The landscaper said that because a bed was not cut out for them they were competing with the grass. I have the bed cut out now but no photo for some reason.
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Glad to hear it's going well! And sorry the carolina allspice didn't work out- i think we dug them a bit too late. Later posters in another thread mentioned they don't do well transplanting unless dormant. If you still want some, come in the fall and we'll dig some more- i still have lots to give. I gave a bunch to another poster this spring before they leafed out and they took well. So glad you discovered the old stage/broadwell's hotspot of nurseries! Great stuff!
Once you get into perennials, if you do, be sure to ck into a nursery affectionately called bb's on here- it rhymes with fig floomers but with b's (can't post the actual name- they were banned years ago, not of their own doing). They are in sanford and have a huge selection and decent prices. There's a website- you'll find it if you google. :)

I vote for Abelia Grandiflora. Beautiful pink flower and they smell like honey. they have long arching stems that require little pruning. Beautiful. 3 gal $5.50 at a nursery in Raleigh.

Tamelask thanks for the info. I did find them but I found their website a little bit confusing to navigate. I think I am going to take a trip to Raleigh this weekend and they are on my list. I have to take a better picture of the Mock Oranges. Since the bed has been cut out they seem to be growing just a bit. Look much better than the photo.
Linda jo I looked up your hedge and it got raves reviews. Thanks... What nursery in Raleigh carries it? That price is right up my alley!!

Broadwell's should have abelia. Either that, or old stage, across the rd.

Yeah, the website isn't much, but it'll get you the hours and the directions, which is what you need.

msjay, I called Taylors on New Bern Ave and the price they listed online is wholesale. The Abelia Edward Goucher is $11.45 retail for 3 gal with 20% off for 10 or more. I called another nursery in Ral and they are $20! I guess they have gotten popular.

thank you for calling for me!! I am going to try the flea market this weekend because I want to find the Abelia and I want a weeping redbud. I saw where they have them at the flea market, which I have never been to before.

Thankd for the lookups!

Wow, one good thing about this forum is you can keep up with your stuff. Tamelask, it has been 3 years now and I FINALLY got some flowers on my mock orange...but no scent as of yet. Maybe next year!!
Thank you
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i've found mock orange to be like bubby bush in that you won't catch much scent if you directly smell the flowers, but it sort of wafts from the bush in waves. Mine took a few years before i got scent, too. I don't think it's as heavily scented as some others- and like bubby bushes it can vary. Glad it's doing so well for you!

How about Russian Olive? Any cons about this one?

thank you again Tamelask...late posting...Catherine I just so happened to have planted an Olive tree a couple of weeks ago. One of the vendors at the State farmers market had one.... Not sure if it is Russian or not but the tag says highly fragrant. i also brought me some Jasmine (the one with the white flowers), and some butterfly bushes. MY YARD SMELLS GLORIOUS. I planted something fragrant everywhere...