Sounds like you bought my house. We are on 1/8 acre, the house behind us is at a higher elevation. Our municipality only allows 4 1/2 foot fences. We built a berm at the back of our property, put a fence on top, installed a 1 foot high lannonstone wall about 3 feet in front of the fence, back filled that with soil and planted a row of purple leaf sandcherries on top, an elevated planting bed or so to speak. I'm letting the sandcherries grow up into a tree form, I have four of them lined up along the fence with an evergreen arborvitae in the corner for contrast. While the sandcherries won't give us total privacy, it's enough that when they grow they will obscure the view from the neighbors kitchen window to our patio, at least during summer months. And, they add a nice touch of color to our yard. I have another sandcherry that I cut down every year to keep it's shrub form, it blocks the view of my garbage can (at the corner of the garage). Our patio is next to our house. We also planted a popple, aka quaking aspen tree closer to our patio. There are pros and cons to this tree, but it's definitely fast growing. You aren't supposed to plant it close to a house simply because as they age they tend to hollow, but we lop the top off every year to a managable height so it grows wider than taller limiting the risk to our house. They also tend to send shoots around the yard, but easy enough to mow over. The tree gives us privacy from the house behind us, but only shades the area next to our house/patio, so I still have sun in the back part of my yard for gardening purposes. The back of my house faces west. If I could go back, I'd plant a serviceberry "autumn brilliance" in place of the popple - the roots are more shallow and not invasive. We originally had Techny arborvitae along our back fenceline, but as slow growers they filled out in width more than height, and tend to take up too much room, though I did like the fact that they were evergreen. Another thought is Canadian Hemlock for an evergreen privacy screen. While this is technically a tree, it can be easily shaped into a hedge form for total privacy, though I have no personal experience. I'm thinking of planting one in another area to screen another view. Between my fence and patio I left about 3 feet planting space, and planted a staggered row of privets, the Cheyenne variety, to provide privacy from the neighbors to my north. The first year they were twigs, this year they were nice and full and almost reach the top of my 4 1/2 foot fence. Next year they will exceed the height of my fence and hopefully in two years we'll have privacy. They can be shaped into a hedge form. For every 12 inches they grow, cut them back 6 for full growth top to bottom, otherwise they tend to get leggy. There are pros and cons to privets as well, do the research before planting. A fast fix for privacy is the annual morning glory on a trellis. We did this for a screen this year, and I couldn't have been happier. William Baffin rose is a rambler, grows into a high arching form if you have a nice sunny area maybe in a corner of your yard - the key to making your yard feel more private is by adding height to it. A nice patio tree is the Rose of Sharon. Place trees strategically any where you want to block a view. Whatever you do, DO NOT plant the hyped up fast growing Cottonwood trees. They will destroy sewer pipes, foundation, etc. and your neighbors will soon be your enemies. LOL. Another view: "Cheyenne' Privet hedge first year: Privet hedge second year: Morning glories on trellis: Popple, 2nd year? This is what we started with: Not my yard, but nice example of mature sandcherries in trimmed up to tree form:

if hapypaws meant thuja green giants .... be clear.. that you do not have room for those .... period ... [your welcome hapy] if you want to throw in some vertical aspects.. look into degroots spire .... comparatively thinner in the years to come .... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Thuja+occidentalis+%27DeGroot%27s+Spire%27&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images my first thought.. along the garage.. was also ... drag those ugly bushes toward the fence.. and make the walkway along the building ... though im not sure as to ID .. and the cost/benefit of moving those things .... the spires might look better along the fence ... and give you a wider walkway ..... you probably have to get the lawnmower thru that space???? .. is it a rider??? as to general planting.. see link ... note the timing aspect .... planting is an early spring thing.. not the heat of summer thing .... so either get it done early.. or wait until fall ... for best chance at success .... or bifurcate your your plan ... https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub why are you fixated on holly??? .. nothing wrong with them.. you just mention them many times ... plz give us a more specific big city name .... if you plan on joining us more often.. its best to go to your members page and add you location.. as you note most of us have ... it matters ... you too hapy!!! is snow load damage really a zone 7 issue???? lastly ... do not plant so far down the driveway.. that you have problems with seeing down the road when backing out .... ken ps: whats the tree out from the porch toward the monster tree??? ... how far is it from the porch??? .. and while your are at it.. whats the totem pole tree and whats the deal with that?????

Congratulations on your new house! It's cute, and having that large tree for shade is a real bonus. I agree with Christopher's comments about using small trees (or large shrubs limbed up to tree form) to provide privacy in particular spots such as the deck area rather than a tall wall of green along the road. A lower hedge or fence will help create a personal space to keep the neighbor's dog out. Plants close to where you want particular privacy work as well as those farther away and may make for a more attractive yard. In areas with snow that needs to be plowed (along with road salt considerations) you will want any shrubs or fence along the road set back far enough so as to not be damaged by heavy snow curling off a plow blade. So I would talk to the neighbors and find out if plowing ever happens on your road. (Doug obviously lives in a warm zone.) :>) In my area I can't plant closer than about 6' to the road, but I imagine that you get somewhat less. It is possible to plant salt-tolerant perennials, which will be underground when any plowing happens, in the area outside the fence. I also notice that the current flower beds by the house are really skinny. I would make them at least 5' deep (mine are mostly deeper than that) and I would get rid of all the rocks which are a hassle to mow and weed around. Advertise the rocks for free on Craigslist and you won't have to figure out how to move them. Edge the beds with a clean cut or a mowing strip of bricks combined with a buried metal or plastic edge to keep out grass. Or remove the bed all together and have grass up to the house except for the right side with the high window where a flowering shrub would be nice. I like 12 Gardens suggestion for framing the deck with either taller in-ground plantings or containers since I would worry about someone stepping off the edge who wasn't paying attention. And the suggestion to make the garage a garden focal point is excellent! As s/he suggested, before making a plan, figure out what you want to do with your yard and where best to put things to suit both the activities (veggies in shade doesn't work) and the space. Don't forget to consider winter appeal both from inside the house and outside.

@William Benson The only way I know of to tag a responder with a reply is for the OP (you) to use the ”Thank” button available to only the OP. That generates an email notice to poster if they’ve set it up in their profile. Otherwise, just using ‘@‘ + choosing poster name from drop down as I did in this post with your name, alerts poster that reply is directed to them. Either way, any activity on posts one responds to is listed in the notification bell icon at top of Houzz discussion page. Whew! Long answer! I missed that you said planting border outside fence is 10’ wide. Sounds like the GG’s are best suited for your need. I looked them up for mature size & though Giants they are, they are shorter & narrower than the white pines you took out. But, the GG width - at base - is 12’ - 20’ so I’d increase the space between them beyond the 6’ I’m guessing your fence panels are & for sure plant them in middle of 10’ width. Seems like a solid view block really isn’t needed for the neighbors upstairs windows views - those are probably bedroom windows too. Theyhave their own trees at lower window height.