I’d be tempted to put up 2 metre fencing if you could afford it. Then put a few pretty specimen trees inside it, when you have seen which bits of view you might want to block once the trees are down. What’s there are not very attractive.
Those trees look like Leylandii so I think your neighbour is doing the right thing. They grow huge, cut off light and drain moisture, apart from not being very attractive. Nothing likes growing under them. You should be able to plant something much better following the advice others have given.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Not much seems to grow under leylandii, we have two large specimens in our garden.
Conifers can have bigger roots than you expect. We had one that we my from 4 inch trunk to 1m diameter girdled root block of b solid wood just below the soil surface! Now it's cut out deep enough to grow plants above it. Let's just say it nearly broke us dying it!
Getting roots out when they're planted outside your garden might be easier. Usually thin roots near the surface that you might be able to pull out through the soil and lawn.
Choose smallish whips as they can establish roots quicker and are less demanding of their roots than larger trees. Every conservation tree planting I've done from hedges to a stand of new trees has been with whips. Cheaper and they grow off quicker, often beating larger tree specimens planted at the same time a few years down the line.
Double planted hedging whips. Wearsdale Nurseries is a good supplier from Northern England. Tthey do deliver and pretty good with stock and variety. They will supply larger trees too if you really want to spend a lot.
I'm wondering if a hedge then corner of smaller, native tree species might look nicer. Shorter hedge of hornbeam or beech like the rest of your boundary then my preference is a Rowan/ mountain Ash. Perhaps an American sorbus I think it's called. Its like a rowan but different leaf shape and orange berries instead of the red rowan berries. Rowan berries are of course a good berry for birds and to make a jelly out if for your Sunday roasts if you eat meat roasts of course. A stand of 3 or 5 trees might give height privacy in the corner. They don't necessarily grow that high and there are techniques you can employ to reduce growth that involves cutting bark destroys in a certain way. I'm not really up on that technique but research should bring something enlightening on the technique.
What about a fence with a trellis and lots of pretty climbers? It will be the instant fix you want and then you can work on making it look special with the climbers you choose.
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Conifers can have bigger roots than you expect. We had one that we my from 4 inch trunk to 1m diameter girdled root block of b solid wood just below the soil surface! Now it's cut out deep enough to grow plants above it. Let's just say it nearly broke us dying it!
Getting roots out when they're planted outside your garden might be easier. Usually thin roots near the surface that you might be able to pull out through the soil and lawn.
Choose smallish whips as they can establish roots quicker and are less demanding of their roots than larger trees. Every conservation tree planting I've done from hedges to a stand of new trees has been with whips. Cheaper and they grow off quicker, often beating larger tree specimens planted at the same time a few years down the line.
Double planted hedging whips. Wearsdale Nurseries is a good supplier from Northern England. Tthey do deliver and pretty good with stock and variety. They will supply larger trees too if you really want to spend a lot.
I'm wondering if a hedge then corner of smaller, native tree species might look nicer. Shorter hedge of hornbeam or beech like the rest of your boundary then my preference is a Rowan/ mountain Ash. Perhaps an American sorbus I think it's called. Its like a rowan but different leaf shape and orange berries instead of the red rowan berries. Rowan berries are of course a good berry for birds and to make a jelly out if for your Sunday roasts if you eat meat roasts of course. A stand of 3 or 5 trees might give height privacy in the corner. They don't necessarily grow that high and there are techniques you can employ to reduce growth that involves cutting bark destroys in a certain way. I'm not really up on that technique but research should bring something enlightening on the technique.