I mean, it's not SUPER outstanding or anything, but in the winter when the leaves are gone you can definitely see it. Especially at night, when their flood light stays on all night!

I outlined it in the second picture for you:

You mainly see the roof from here. There's a small valley between us, and their house is a little lower than mine.

Before my beagle passed, during the winter he would bark at it ALL night long!

When I first bought the house I was surrounded by 100 acres of undeveloped land, so having someone on top of me now just... kinda... irks.

I know that they have at least 2 grandkids; one is 20 and already has 2 kids, the other is 14 or 15. They're definitely the hunting and riding 4-wheelers type, so when the current neighbors pass then I feel quite confident that one of them will move in. They might turn out to be cool, too, of course... but I'd rather filter out the best I can now, JUST in case!

I googled the Southern Magnolia, it's gorgeous! Oddly, you don't see many of them around here (not sure if I've ever seen one, actually). But that with some rhododendron elegans in front of it would make a gorgeous, dense border :-)

Magnolias have a spread of 40' at maturity, right? I definitely wouldn't mind buying 4 of them and then clearing out some of the wild woods on my side of the border to give a little more room.

I understsnd your dilemma because it is mine! Unfortunately all of the plants you have proposed will be decimated by deer. Spruce and pine should work but even they will need to be protected for several years at least. i have enhanced the screening of deciduous trees with climbing euonymus and climbing hydrangea. The first is invasive, as are ivy and wisteria. Vines will also have to be protected until they clear deer browsing height. investigate thick shrubs - there are many that are twiggy enough thay screen effectively even when defoliated.

Boy, I laughed pretty hard at the $1,000 budget for all of that. Do you have access to wholesale pricing?

Oh Christopher, you had me laughing out loud with "By the time the rednecks move in and start shooting all your wildlife for supper you are going to be too old to care for a layered bed of that size."

I like the Magnolia suggestion, they are nice, dense trees and the bees love them. We finally bought a little one this fall and one of the bucks soon rubbed his antlers on my little tree and damaged the bark! It's now been protected so you'll definitely want to do something while they're young.

I would not start cutting trees down. Leave it alone and add to it.

The severity of deer browsing and damage to landscape plants is highly dependent on the deer population in your area. Being where you are I bet there are still plenty hunters and a very active deer hunting season to keep the population down.

I will say the more forest plants you remove from your five acres the less natural food all your wildlife will have to utilize and the more they will use what you plant. You have wildlife because of the forest. Chopping it all down is not beneficial for them.

Red Cedar are native evergreen trees, and keep their low foliage. Deer usually don't bother them, unless they're very hungry in which case all bets are off. There are native viburnums (such as arrow wood) that make a thick shrubby screen, although deciduous. Cherry Laurel is a tough evergreen shrub, might help too. Maybe intersperse a few cedars and shrubs on the far side of your drive, and plant a specimen Magnolia in your lawn.

I can commiserate with your situation and applaud planning ahead. Git’er done asap. I live in Missouri so can’t help you with specific plantings though. And would caution that your budget is very very low for this project.

The issue that popped out at me was ”my beagle barked all night long.” ARGH. Surely the dog wasn’t barking outdoors all night long??!! If so, your concern that you can see your neighbor’s roof isn’t the only problem here.

Another dog comment: if you have a new dog, a benefit might be to keep deer from eating your new vegetation.

And for sure don’t go cutting things down! Plant. Plant. Plant.

Consider mountain laurel rather than rhodies since the planting site appears to be on a ridge.

Be aware that Southern Magnolias drop most of their leaves in the spring and continue to drop some leaves all year round.

Magnolia grandiflora can drop some (but not all or even most) of its leaves in spring, generally the oldest and least efficient. But it also drops them off and on throughout the rest of the year. We just leave them as a very slowly decomposing mulch.

Yes. The older leaves are shed as new growth emerges.

The issue that popped out at me was ”my beagle barked all night long.” ARGH. Surely the dog wasn’t barking outdoors all night long??!!

@littlebug zone 5 Missouri, oh gosh, no! My pets are all indoor kids, although I have a fenced-in back yard to throw Frisbee and for them to go potty.

No, his barking was at the South-facing windows: my office, my girlfriend's office, and the living room. And him being a beagle, you can imagine how fun it was to be in a nice quite house, everybody but you is asleep, you're really concentrating on something, then all of a sudden... ROHHHHHHH ROH ROH ROH ROH!!!!!

That just never stopped.

Boy, I laughed pretty hard at the $1,000 budget for all of that. Do you have access to wholesale pricing?

@Anna (6B/7A in MD), I'm finding Southern Magnolia for $100 /each, and at a 40' spread I'd only need 4 of them. If I supplement with rhododendron elegans then I'm seeing them for around $30 each. Mountain laurel (per @cecily 7A) is probably a better choice for the area, though, and a spread of 10-15' means I'd only need 15 of them. They're a little cheaper per plant, too, so maybe $300.

I have a ton of lilies, irises, mondo grass, and other perennials to fill in, so that would leave $300 for lights, mulch, and maybe some annuals.

Am I being unrealistic?

Boy, I laughed pretty hard at the $1,000 budget for all of that. Do you have access to wholesale pricing?

It REALLY depends on how patient the OP is. My almost 100' Koehne holly hedge was made with 15 or so plants from McLean Nursery in Baltimore that were $6 a piece in 2006.

I would submit that evergreen magnolias might be too shaded out in this situation, it depends on the exposure and whether those woods are to the north of the new planting or not. Someone in my 'hood tried to plant a southern mag. in a too shady spot about 10 years ago, and it has grown maybe 5' in that time. My 'Kay Parris' correctly sited, has gone from 6' to 25'.

"My thought is to heavily fill in the wooded area (or replace) with some type of tree that is evergreen and thick from bottom to top to block out noise and prevent me from seeing them...

Then I'm thinking about mulching the whole area, putting in rhododendron (or some other similar evergreen shrub) in front of those trees, then flowers, then end with a border of landscape lights and mondo grass. Maybe a centerpiece tree in the middle, like a dogwood or cherry tree. My budget is around $1,000 USD."

ETA: I would not be introducing non-native plants into a wilderness and would stick with natives for ease of care and appropriateness of site, as well as support of the local wildlife that you enjoy so much. If you really want to save some moolah, start winter-sowing some perennials from seed nd grow them out to plant in the wooded area.

I'm sure it was very satisfying to see the growth of those $6 hollies over the years.

Given his comments regarding the age of the neighbors, I suspect the OP would like to have something fairly substantial in place within 5 years. (No one is guaranteed the next day, so the sooner these are in place, the more "prepared" he'll be in case those kids/grandkids DO take over the property sooner than he expects).

OP, I suggest looking for local wholesale nurseries that offer limited hours to the public for retail sales. I have 2 that I visit for trees/shrubs and perennials. They have saved me a bucket-load.

I would probably be concerned about how respectful of your property-line future inhabitants may be. I find in some places "the woods" are treated as public property even when they're not. I personally would not mind anyone strolling through my property but would sure as hell care if they tried to ride their 4-wheelers. Maybe I'm the paranoid type but I would toy with idea of using some thorny plants as well.

I would submit that evergreen magnolias might be too shaded out in this situation, it depends on the exposure and whether those woods are to the north of the new planting or not.

@UpperBayGardener (zone 7), the woods are to the East of where I'll be planting. So the wild trees will shade the new plants from morning sun, but from noon until dusk they should get direct sun.

You mentioned holly... I DO have a ton of wild American holly that I could use to create a free border, but I've had no luck at all with transplanting it. It's nowhere near as pretty as the holly you have, of course, and it's kind of slow growing at about 12" per year. But it's native... and did I mention, free?

If I could figure out how to successfully move them then I could probably find 15 of them in the 5-6' tall range and create a border, then underfill with mountain laurel or something to make it pretty.

I would probably be concerned about how respectful of your property-line future inhabitants may be. I find in some places "the woods" are treated as public property even when they're not. I personally would not mind anyone strolling through my property but would sure as hell care if they tried to ride their 4-wheelers.

@Anna (6B/7A in MD), I wouldn't be too upset about them riding 4-wheelers, as long as they're not tearing up my gardens. What REALLY ticks me off, though, is when I find people hunting on my land!!

Coyotes have already done a number on my wildlife, but I make a point to put out food to help deer and wild turkeys. It really ticked me off last year when I found a deer blind not 50' from my house >:-(

Jason, you have posted often enough for me to say your $1000 budget for plants is quite generous for DIY. Plant the Magnolias if front of the forest tree line in the grass. That western exposure and long N/S driveway will be plenty sun for them. That strip of forest already gives you near perfect screening. To replace it or severely thin it would be potentially foolish.

https://www.southernliving.com/garden/trees/front-yard-trees-invasive-root-systems?slide=389c76e9-6ec0-4df7-9134-ea83ade24843#389c76e9-6ec0-4df7-9134-ea83ade24843

Pros and cons.

Here are some ideas using Southern Magnolia, Radicans Cryptomeria, Serbian Spruce, Bottlebrush Buckeye and Dogwood. How much this costs is dependent on the size plants you install.

Chiming back in to add this: by putting out food to attract deer and turkeys you are also attracting the things that HUNT deer and turkeys. For example, coyotes and people with guns. (Of course, you can - if you work at it - prevent hunters on your property, but good luck with the coyotes.)

I would be thrilled to have my nearest neighbor's house that far away ! I can barely see that house, and I sure wouldn't be worried about who is possibly going to live there someday in the future.

Your property line is over there next to their house, right ? Why not plant some tall, thick evergreen trees over there next to your property line instead of closer to your house ? Thickly grown trees will block the view of their house and should block much of the noise.

@Dig Doug's Designs, that's incredible! You've done that for me before with a different section... you have no idea how much that helps! You're awesome :-D

Can you tell me which is what in your picture? I recognize the magnolia and dogwood, but not the others.

by putting out food to attract deer and turkeys you are also attracting the things that HUNT deer and turkeys. For example, coyotes and people with guns.

@littlebug zone 5 Missouri, unfortunately for me, the county actually BROUGHT IN coyotes several years ago to help "control" the deer population. Of course, these geniuses forgot that coyotes, ya know, breed :-/

I mentioned before that when I bought the house, I was surrounded by 100 acres of undeveloped land. A few years ago the owners had it all clear-cut, and coyotes took advantage of it to decimate the newly homeless wildlife. Wild trees (mostly field pine) are starting to fill it in again, and animals are just now starting to come back. I saw a wild turkey this year for the first time in AT LEAST a decade!

Every night, though, I take my dog out to the enclosed back yard to pee and can hear DOZENS of coyotes howling! Usually very close by, too :-O My fence is 6' high, but I know that they can climb so I still go out with her for protection.

I would be thrilled to have my nearest neighbor's house that far away ! I can barely see that house,

@woodrose77, I know, and opinions vary pretty widely. I grew up rural with no neighbors, and when I grew up I lived in a few cities with neighbors on top of me like that. I remember one place I lived, I could literally open the kitchen window and reach outside to touch the neighbor's house!!

But as I'm getting older I find that I prefer the quiet and solitude (lez be honest... I have a hot tub in the back yard, and I like to get in it naked). I bought this house specifically for the isolation, so that's what I'm trying to steal back.

and I sure wouldn't be worried about who is possibly going to live there someday in the future.

Hahahaha, I see you've never lived next to rednecks? Penned-up untrained dogs barking all night... guns shooting... PBR-induced whooping and hollering at night around a bonfire... racing 4-wheelers... the list goes on and on.

Your property line is over there next to their house, right ? Why not plant some tall, thick evergreen trees over there next to your property line instead of closer to your house ? Thickly grown trees will block the view of their house and should block much of the noise.

I'm open to that, but with the other mature trees around I'm afraid that I'd have to remove the ones that aren't evergreen to make room for the ones that are.

I'm also really not the biggest fan of grass in general, and I don't love that I currently have a section of unusable lawn that immediately turns in to tall trees... there's no flow to it, ya know what I mean? I'd rather see flowers, shrubs, then smaller trees, then taller trees in the background.