Crap. It didn't work. Let's try these ones. My apologies, everyone.

{{gwi:1253223}}


{{gwi:1253224}}


{{gwi:1253225}}

pic 3 - Could you move your shed to this corner & maybe a composter - then you could hide their shed with your shed. Good trick. IMHO, too shady for a clematis.
a.

What a great idea. I wish we'd thought of that before digging the dry creek and rain garden in that corner! The yard slopes to that point with runoff draining into the neighbours yard throught that back corner. The plan is to eventually construct a bench with a high lattice backing. Maybe I'll be able to find a shade-loving vine? Thanks for the response. :)

Be careful about building up dirt around the root zones of existing trees (berm in picture two). The tree roots near the soil surface need to breathe and adding more than a couple of inches of dirt can hinder their ability to do so.

Otherwise, good luck and welcome! Look forward to seeing your progress over time. That's a great idea to put your shed next to the your neighbor's to block the view.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tree roots

Thanks for the warning and the link... we'll have to keep a close eye on those trees. Any idea how soon possible damage would be evident?

You didn't ask, but those tall evergreens are Norway Spruce. in the photos there is some sunlight reaching the ground between the spruces. You should be able to find something to grow under there, but you will find a lot of shallow spruce roots create a tough, dry situation. I wouldn't expect anything to grow real fast or real thickly under the spruce trees. Plant your screen in in spots as far from the trunks of the spruce as possible.

Nice evergreens. I like they way they are in clumps. People are encouraged to space trees evenly, but the cluster is much more woodsy. My ferns love growing amongst pine needles

Twin pines on a hilltop in the moonlight speak of the north woods

My neighbors inherited an interesting structure. Prior owner constructed a simple arbor from the house to garage. Vertical posts lined the walk connected at the top by running horizontal boards in the direction of the walkway and a few cross pieces connecting right and left sides. The builder then attached a few old fan shaped trellises along each side. On this plain arbor are mature honeysuckle vines and wild grape. The birds adore it and sing their hearts out. There was very little construction. A bit of concrete in the footings. It looks charming and rustic

A similar arbor with a few old trellises would be an easy backdrop for a bench

You have a great yard to build upon