Is the space wide enough so that when the shrubs are full width there will still be room to open car doors and get out without having to brush against the shrubbery? Will there be enough room to put snow if you get enough for that to be a consideration? If you end up with a lot of salt on your drive and this will run off onto this planting bed, I don't think that either of these plants are very salt tolerant, and I'd think about getting something else.

As far as light levels, morning sun is perfect for hydrangeas if you have a way to water them when necessary, as they aren't tolerant of drought. If there are 6-8 hours of sun or more, the lilacs will be happy, but without enough sun they will grow, but not bloom as well.

For spring planting, you want the soil dry enough so that it won't over-compact and destroy the pore structure as you plant. In my area I wait until after freeze thaw cycles are done, though light frost is OK. I don't know if either the soil moisture levels or freezing temperatures are likely to be a problem for you in zone 7 in April or not.

Those are definitely important things to consider before planting. How large an area is it? Level or sloping? In addition, hydrangeas prefer acid soil while lilacs (in my limited experience) do better in neutral or alkaline soils. I dump ashes from my woodstove on my lilac every year to neutralize the soil.

A slow grower shrub you might also consider is daphne depending on the drainage. Weigela is another pretty spring bloomer that's relatively low-maintenance and there are several dwarf varieties available with attractive foliage. Mine grows well & blooms profusely in a part sun area. While I do water my hydrangeas during dry spells, none of my other shrubs get any supplemental water.

Caryopteris/blue mist shrub only grows to about 3 ft. and it's also low/no maintenance. It blooms late summer/early autumn too plus it attracts butterflies. It does want plenty of sun. According to my notes, mine bloomed 3rd week of August right through 2nd week of September.

A couple others you might check out that could adapt to your growing conditions are Spirea japonica and Pieris japonica. The pieris does best in part shade from what I read.

Lilacs are nice along a driveway, because they don't sprawl, the way weigela and spirea tend to do, and can be left to get tall without getting wide. On the other hand, they have a fairly short bloom period and are a little ... boring (!) when not in bloom. They DO like a lot of sun, and can get nasty looking mildew, so you might consider something else.

If you would like to screen the driveway, either so you don't have to look at the neighbor's house or so he doesn't have to see your cars, then most hydrangeas might be a bit too short.

I'd normally recommend viburnums, many of which do well in part shade, but there are some new pests that are threatening these plants, so it gets complicated.

You might want to go to your best local nursery, and talk to the people there about what's going to be available this spring that has a nice long season of bloom, tolerates part shade, and is easy enough for a new gardener.

Thank you for the replies. Lots to consider. There's about 25 feet of space so I don't think that will be too much of an issue. But I will probably go to a local nursery and see what they suggest. Thanks!

If you want privacy year round, then you should consider plants that don't lose their leaves in fall. Besides the obvious conifers, there are other shrubs that stay evergreen. Narrow hollies, such as "Sky Pencil" and such, as well as Rhododendron (since you have 25 feet), camellias, which will get tall but not too wide, and if you like the look, bamboo is a great screen (but the clumping type - NOT the running type! or you'll have it everywhere and so will your neighbor!). All of these will be fine with morning sun and some shade later. Despite what the books say, I have not had any issues with camellias getting morning sun here. Maybe it's more of an issue further south, but here it doesn't seem to be a problem.

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