Zone 8 covers a lot of territory - can you be more specific? Closest large city will help :-) What works well for hedging in zone 8 PNW will not be the same as what would work in zone 8 Texas and that won't necessarily work well in zone 8 Georgia.

And do you not want conifers - needled evergreens - at all?

Show a picture that indicates what kind of height you need (shows what you are screening from the view that matters most to you.) And how much space you have. Must it be evergreen? (Chances are, you don't spend a lot of time in the yard when the leaves are gone. The ghostly screening of deciduous shrubs is usually sufficient from the inside view.) How much depth (front to back) have you for planting? Where are you located?

Near the corner where South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia meet! We are about 20 miles from Greenville, SC. (Some maps show us in 7, some in 8)

Would prefer no conifers due to allergies.

I will upload a photo.

No we don't spend a ton of time outside when weather is cold, but we do have many warm days Dec-Feb here where we will sit outside on the deck. Our house is elevated enough above the backyard neighbors that we can see the top of their roof. (So they are looking up and into our yard, and up to our house.) They are outside a LOT, and at night, can probably see right into our kitchen/dining room/master bedroom windows. Even during the day I am finding myself wanting to keep blinds closed on the back of the house if I have lights on inside.

Last two photos are elevated photos taken from our deck. Hope these help!

Would you consider a mixed hedge/shrub border, bearing in mind that a monoculture didn't go so well last time around and it's a very informal setting.

Escallonia might be one candidate if that succeeds where you are.

to solve the privacy issue IMMEDIATELY ..... look into window films ..

you can keep the light streaming in.. this weekend.. with a water squirt bottle and a squeegee ..... i cant recall if there were a few drops of soap in the bottle ....

and in the next decade.. you can grow the plants you need to do it outside ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=window+films&t=ffcm&ia=images&iax=images

Southern Wax Myrtle, Myrica cerifera, might be a good choice here. They’re often used to replace Red Tips where I am (Texas).

It looks like you need a plant about 10' or 12' tall, or so, in order to screen their roofs, and beyond that height you'd mostly be screening trees and sky. The aforementioned Escallonia is a good possibility. Consider also Elaeagnus for a dense screen. (It has thorns.) Various hollies, especially dwarf Burford, could also be contenders.

Yes, we are in the perfect zone for rhododendrons. Aren't they in the same family as azaleas? I was told the azaleas would have to be pulled out in order to fit a hedge shrub behind them. I still think I have room. Maybe keep the forefront row of azaleas at least (they're staggered). I think they provide a nice mid-height balance (and lighter green color, and of course, magenta in the spring). I would love to keep some or all of them.

Do some shrubs like wax leaf ligustrum grow nicely in and through a fence? I will talk to my neighbor but I bet he wouldn't mind that happening and greening up his side, too. From what I read both ligustrum and tea olive grow to be 10' or so.

I lucked out and scored two 4-foot tea olives marked down to clearance at our local nursery yesterday -- $50 marked down to $10. They only had two; I would have bought more. I can put those anywhere. Not pictured to the left is a bank that looks down onto a highway. We're hoping to plant a hedge to block some of that noise and view, too!

Thanks so far, everyone.

Any shrub can grow through a fence.

Ligustrum and tea olive will both get much larger than 10'. Ligustrum is very fat. I don't know how fat tea olive gets. (Can't beat that smell!) Trimming plants when they are young and as they grow, in order to keep them narrow, is your best best for achieving it. But be reasonable. A hedge can only be so narrow.

Yes, an Azalea is a type of Rhododendron. You do not have space for a large hedge plant between the existing azalea and the fence.

Check out https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/illicium-parviflorum/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/viburnum-awabuki-chindo/

Sigh, ok -- and mature azaleas don't transplant well, do they?

Yes, very excited about the tea olive scent. Nostalgic for me.

Rhododendrons and azaleas transplant unusually easily. Plantings do not block noise to any discernible extent.

You can interplant tall rhododendrons (Rosebay, Carolina, etc) with the azaleas. Just pop some out and replant forward for a staggered, deeper look. The rhododendrons will fill out the space above - the 10-12 ft Yardvark says you need. You can buy plants that are already almost the height you need and skip the window film!

Do not do Elaeagnus. It has wicked mean thorns and sends out long thorny branches-up to 6 ft in 1 season in our area that arch over the better to grab you as you pass by or grow up into trees and stuff. They reseed all over. They are also extremely combustible.I live near the Westminster SC area just south of you and our neighbors have this gift that keeps on giving.

Tea olives are wonderful and they are easy to start from cuttings. They also grow pretty quickly. You might be able to mix in some camelias with a mixed border. Winter honeysuckle also will grow quickly and large in our area. It smells great in the winter months.

No help on the hedging, but have you ever been in their house and looked at yours? Judging from the angle, you can probably see into theirs better than they can see into yours. I always worry people on the street can see me on the second floor, but when I look upfrom below all I see is the ceiling and top part of the wall. It's my neighbors on the opposite hill above me that I really need to worry about.

I have not been in their house :) We're friendly with them, but not best buds; they're a good bit older than we are. We've invited them over a few times but were politely refused.

Honestly, I'm less concerned with privacy -- I am not opposed to shutting our blinds and shades at night -- as I am with just general nice-to-look-at when I look outside. A lush green backdrop is so pretty and nice, especially when you have very-close-to-you houses on 3 sides. More greenery means more wildlife. I love birdwatching (and squirrel watching :) . The more green, the more trees, the more shrubs, the more beauty, IMO. I would live in a jungle if I could -- ha ha. I just love being surrounded on all sides by nature. But I love the convenience of a library, bank, grocery store, and school within walking distance, really, very nearby. We chose very deliberately to live here, and love it so much. I think that by turning my yard into a lush oasis will allow me to enjoy the best of both worlds. :)