GardeningRANT

Man vs. Nature
In the first photo, we see a gentle neighbor's planting of a variety of plants to create a visual "wall." It's not serving much purpose, set at the end of their driveway: it doesn't hide any part of their yard from outside eyes nor hide any outside ugliness from their view. In fact, across the street is a nice vista of horses in fields. But this is a perfect example of Man's desire for order -- look at how the plants are all set in a very straight line.
The next photo is of the yard next door: The house is set on a corner, and their entire, deep back yard runs along a well traveled road. Their deck, and all the views out (and into!) the kitchen, living and family room windows are onto this road. About 6 years ago, this family planted a wide variety of evergreens, grasses, deciduous trees and shrubs. The plants follow the edge of the property, but also follow Mother Nature's rules: their randomly staggered placement gains you a better privacy screen and allows for interesting edges and a more natural looking garden. (Note: the planting is well within private land ownership- not too close to the road, an important consideration if you don't want your local government cutting the trees down.)