I’m not saying what my co-worker did was smart, safe or legal. I know he was getting pushback on the basis that his stack was a fire hazard. He was fighting this when it caught fire under mysterious circumstances causing minor damage to an outbuilding of his in the process. Two years later, most of the stack was still there when I moved out of the area.
Or a snake home. I see snakes every year in our wood piles. We use a lot of wood so it’s rotated down yearly. It takes about a week for snakes to set up housekeeping.
Some great suggestions (I’m not looking at you, scr4 
) so far. Thanks, all.
I especially like ** Nava’s** example; I think that’s more in line with what I’m thinking. I’m * slightly* less hysterical than I was a few days ago when I was in Donald Trump style “BUILD A HUNDRED FOOT WALL AND MAKE THE NEIGHBORS PAY FOR IT!!!” mode.
You can always choose the nuclear option and plant Leyland cypress trees. Those SOBs go from nothing to 40’ in just a few years. Expect a legal battle from your new neighbor.
Heh; somehow I can see that backfiring on me. Anyway, my yard is really small(approx. 40’ wide) - basically a rectangular courtyard, so tree aren’t an option, but giant, fast growing shrubs are!
Funny you should post this now. My next door neighbor just built a two story barn shaped shed right on our fence line in the back yard. Damn thing dominates my yard now. It also has a corrugated metal roof that reflects the sun back into my yard like a flippin’ heliograph. I am NOT happy. At least they painted it brown and not some stupid color like red.
We did some research and are going to get some clumping bamboo to put along the fence. We’ll put it in pots, but it shouldn’t take over even if we did plant it in the ground.
Grrrr…
On a side note, since bamboo is being mentioned again, I tried planting some a few years ago and. . . .nothing. I must be the only schmuck on the planet that can’t get bamboo to grow:confused:
I have a similar problem and will be watching this thread. Our backyard neighbor had to cut down decent sized trees that provided some privacy for both of us. Now it’s like when the neighborhood was new. We have discussed some options, and I have looked into some fast-growing options, but since the area in question sits between two swimming pools, we need to be mindful of leaves, fruits, and flower litter. I thought about one of those trellis deals that Nava suggested, added to the top of the fence, with a fast-growing vine such as jasmine.
The fence between our yards is just about ready for replacement. I need to write to the city to learn how high a fence between neighbors can be. Both of us would like a little more privacy, so I think they would be game should we decide to replace the fence together.
If you do agree to replace a fence with your neighbor, get it in writing first. Trust me on this. It would have been far easier and cheaper to build the fence just inside my property line and pay for the whole thing compared to the nightmare of getting my neighbor to either agree on the style or pony up the bucks after it was built.
If going with the shrub/tree option, make sure whatever you plant thrives in your area (and also doesn’t thrive too well)*. Fast-growing woody plants sometimes are prone to disease and short life spans.
*I would be ultra-cautious about using bamboo, as many kinds spread like wildfire, can escape pots/tubs and cause horrendous battles with neighbors, as in the case of this Cincinnati feud:
*"The case dates back to 2014 when two Indian Hill neighbors sued each other. One claimed his neighbor poisoned his bamboo, the other accused her neighbor of playing Jimmy Buffett music constantly and dumping animal carcasses in her yard, according to court documents.
Both neighbors accused the other of trespassing and initially a trial court awarded each of them $11,000 for trespass violations, but the ruling was overturned by a First District Appeals panel of judges last week."*
Talk to an established nursery in your area before selecting any plants. You want to get something that will work in the long term with a minimal amount of effort. Don’t get anything that grows really tall unless you’re okay with trimming 10’ off the ground. And don’t get anything that will get too bushy or you’ll constantly have to trim it back.
I would stay away from bamboo unless it was a strain which absolutely would not spread and would be easy to remove if you wanted to get rid of it.