hedge in zone 6/eastern WA

Hi--I have not been on this forum in a long time, hope I am posting this in the right place!
Last year we radically downsized and we now have a small house on a small in-town lot. We are definitely not farmers--my husband has no interest in doing stuff outside, and severe allergies have curtailed some of my gardening enthusiasm. I pretty much feel sick through the month of June, but I still love gardening and permaculture ideas. Anyway I would like to do what I can with the bit of land we have while keeping it low-key and low-maintenance. I got really frustrated with fruit trees at our other house, so probably no fruit trees! I'm thinking shrubs and berry bushes, plus herbs and perennials in front where it's sunny. But I'm getting ahead of myself . . .

Right now I'm thinking through a hedge to visually separate us from the eyesore of a rental next door. I'm debating whether to do a line of sea buckthorn bushes (I saw sea buckthorn planted along the river in the the Tri-cities and really liked it!), or a mixed hedge of ---- Maybe I could underplant with something?

The land on that side of the house slopes down with a short, old retaining wall that needs redone (I'm hoping to get away with leaving it as is and just planting a hedge. The slope is only a few feet). The natural soil is here is crappy--hard clay, low in nitrogen. I don't want to invest much money on this part of the lawn  I would like to focus more time and attention on other areas. Then again, it gets good sun exposure, whereas my back yard is mostly shade. The hedge would be 15-20 feet long, and our summers are dry, dry, dry--it would be nice not to have to irrigate once it's established. Any ideas or wisdom for me?

No juniper or arborvitae. This neighborhood has waaaayyyyy too much juniper!

Thank you, Angela

Hello, the sea buckthorn can work well--I have it growing in a couple of my hedgerows here in western WA. But I would recommend adding some other plants too. A row of native/wild roses could be a great addition. They will stay shorter than the buckthorn and can help fill in any gaps not covered by the buckthorn. Herbaceous (non-woody) plants like clovers, lupines, strawberries, etc. can also be good additions.

Thanks--
I had some native shrubs picked out from a few WA catalogues and then --poof-- they were gone, before it was really warm enough to plant. Will have to see what I can find locally.

You might try these 2 native plant nurseries.

http://wacdpmc.org/

http://fourthcornernurseries.com/

Generally the best time to order is in the summer. Herbaceous plants will ship in the fall and woody plants will ship in winter or early spring depending on your climate.

You have to order in bulk with these nurseries but for projects like hedgerows that can be a great option. The plants will be bareroots so make sure you can store them (cold--not freezing--storage or by heeling them in a pile of mulch) or plant them right away.