It is never a good idea to cut down trees to build a wall.

If the neighbor really bothers you, you can build a tall wood fence section at property line. You may need to cut down some bushes in the woods.

This is cheaper and you do not have to cut trees.

I planted a Nellie Stevens holly from the farmer's market last year. It is in part shade with lots of competition from tree roots. It has really taken off and is already 5 feet tall. If they get too big they can be chain sawed down and wil regrow. I do pinch out the tip growth to cause it to fill in thicker as it grows. A few of those would screen your view in the winter.

A long term solution would be some evergreen trees, ie pine, spruce, etc. The holly would be great, if that variety is hardy in your zone. The fence is certainly the quickest and most reliable solution. If you can afford it, I'd vote for the fence as close to the property line as possible, and plant evergreens staggered throughout the entire line of sight between you and them. The fence wouldn't even need to enclose anything. It could just be a 20 or 30 foot wide structure built as tall as you can afford. Of course, it would need to be strong to withstand winds if it were too tall. If you are really desperate for immediate, inexpensive coverage, you could tie some big tarps between some trees, again as close to the property line as possible. I don't know if there are camouflage tarps, but the brown ones wouldn't be too obvious in all the trees.

Good luck.

Martha

Thanks for the ideas. I have been thinking of getting some pines and maybe rhododendrons. If I cut away the brush and trim some branches I hope to get enough light for them to grow. I am going to look into the holly too. I thought about a fence but you can't tell from the picture, those shrubs are over 8ft tall.

Native hollies and maybe some cedars would be a good option.