My house is on the top of a hill. There is already some trees in front of it but it would be impossible to put several lines of them which would be needed to have any effect. I believe a good glass fence in front of the house will help a lot (together with the extra glass on the windows) by reflecting away most of the direct noise (but no idea if that will really work). I've already gone through lots of discussions about it, and you're right, a water feature is suggested often, I need to have a look at that.
