We've been hard at work with the fall landscaping of the house and grounds. This year was a first for me. I had never used a professional landscaper to help with the grounds. However, the price they quoted me was incredible. They did the job for what I would have paid for just the materials alone. Take a look at the "new" front beds.

Although it may not look like it; two truckloads of topsoil and two truckloads of mulch went into those beds. Now they are raised to the right height.
We also (finally) managed to find some bamboo. We found a new
non-invasive breed. It's marketed by
Bamboo Select as "
Green Screen". We got the Fargesia Robusta species, which is a fast growing and very sturdy variant. It's clumping, so it should only grow to a 6' radius per plant. Depending on how it grows, we'll build a perimeter with them. It's natural, looks good, and will give us a 15' tall privacy screen without needing a fence.
Here's our new addition in the back corner of the property: