Hi,
I know thunja 'Green Giant' makes a really great screen. Grows very quick and makes a tall, dense screen. They are cheapest online. Botany Shop is one of those good places to order from.

Go with the Coach! I did the same thing back in 1990. The Nellie R. Stevens holly don't miss a beat in our alkaline soils. The Leylands & Red Tips are susceptible to disease problems which are getting worse in N TX.

USE THEM ALL!

Planting a solid row of the same tree is going to attract more attention to the eyesore than if you did a natural mixed planting. Not just evergreens but deciduous as well. In fact faster growing canopy-forming trees will screen the view of the commercial property faster than a row of hollies or leylands.

Nelly R's only get to about 1 story.
Leylands get to about 3 stories if you give them room.

Have you got 30-40 feet of space? Random smattering of trees. It's easy, it's cheaper because you need fewer trees overall and you'll have what most would consider to be actual landscaping.

Try Mexican White oak. It's nearly evergreen and grows fast.

thank you for all of the replies. I will post my photo on my lunch hour, I got busy last night. Cheryl5, I did say my backyard is huge, but I guess it's all relative. I don't think I have that much space from the fence bc I have an l-shaped yard, I will let the pictures do the talking. Perhaps I should not have used the term "huge" so lightly :)

Also, newbie quetion: is there a way to get emailed when folks reply to your threads? i thought I set it up that way, but it's not working.

Here are some photos of the area in question. We are toying with the idea of putting a 2 foot lattice on top of the existing 8 foot fence to help with the view until the trees we plant are mature to cover it...

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Well the good news is that with a small yard, it cost less to landscape it and that means there may be money in the budget to start with larger size plants.

The bad news it looks like you've got some overhead wires to complicate matters.

The mexican white oak that lou mentioned seems like a winner (I looked it up) but it is a large tree and if those lines are overhead that's gonna be a problem.

I punched small trees and the space given judging by the photos into the texas tree planting guide and it came up with Texas Mountain Laurel, Japanese Black Pine and Yaupon holly. The only one of those that I am familiar with is Yaupon holly. I think that or one of the other hollies grown on a clear trunk would probably be your best bet.
I'd be tempted to use a couple of those pines too. The seeds of the texas mountain laurel are toxic, I don't know if I'd want to chance it with your furry companion there.

Here is a link that might be useful: check this site out.

The other good thing about Nellie Rs is that they grow full to the ground. You would eliminate a lot of turf area you would not have to mow. They make one of the best tall hedges around. I love natives and mexican oaks as much as anyone but for a privacy hedge it's hard to beat. The down side is that they are a little slow at first.

Also from a plant appraisal point of view, Nellie Rs would rank much higher than any of the plants listed on this post with the exception of a quality oak tree.

Nelly Rs with full branching to the ground will take up a lot of real estate. It's rare that I think those should be limbed up but this is one of those cases. You can still remove the grass and put in borders around the yard. I recommend doing that, especially with a dog as it will save the grass but that isn't what was asked.

Thanks...sounds like Nelly R's are a favorite. I do like those black pines too for accent.

I know the photinias have a bad reputation for disease, but isn't that more of an issue if they are being pruned/trimmed into short hedges?

What about a spattering of crepe myrtles in addition to the hollies or photinias?

Thanks again for all of the replies, I will post pics when we get the final choice planted.

Was going to recommend alternating Arizon Cypress and Eastern Red Cedar til I saw the pictures. Probably the hollies mentioned would be best. Yaupon wold also be an idea. Perhaps the Japanese Black pine to one side or the other a few feet away from power line for a tad of variety.
The Hackberry tree shown has too sharp of an angle at the fork to be structurally sound. The weak side will split at some point.

Yes, that's the ticket. The more the merrier. Crape myrtles will provide seasonal interest in the flowers and fall color and it will be a pretty spot in the yard instead of purely block the view.