I also cut my Japanese Spirea back heavily in the spring. I also thin the twiggy growth to keep the bush open, airy, let light in. I find the bushes bloom much better, have better color with yearly trim, than the ones who are not trimmed. I have Goldmound, which does well in a semi-shaded area with strong afternoon sun. I really like the foliage, bronzy leaves with red edges. Limemound did not do well in that area, needed full sun, it also gets spring shearing. I leave mine about 12" after shearing the tops. Try to do it before any leafing out to prevent plant wasting energy. Mine stay pretty civilized, but cold weather may help that, slowing spreading. They are a tough, faithful shrub.

How long have the cherry laurels been there? If you just planted them this spring, you might want to give them a year since most things don't look great during their first season when it's been tough growing conditions like this year. If you are concerned with the soil, get a soil test done, or get a dump load of compost and mix that in with your soil since compost tends to improve just about any soil issues. A berm of topsoil might or might not solve the problem since what gets sold as topsoil varies considerably, and in a narrow area, a berm is often difficult to pull off attractively. Have you asked your neighbor about painting your side of the fence black since they don't see it? That will tend to make it disappear and you will have more options for what you plant, allowing you to plant something that distracts from the fence rather than needing to totally hide it. Another alternative is to ask the neighbor if you can fasten something to the fence and use a dark stained lattice or roll of dark stained bamboo fencing. That will allow you plant something attractive in front of it, or just have the lattice/bamboo, but you won't have to spring for supports and a full fence. If you are totally sure that you want a different evergreen shrub, look at sky pencil holly which will be 2-3 feet wide and end up around 6-8 feet tall. the foliage will contrast with the GGs.

I planted three goldmound with a Ninebark Diablo (dark leaf) along with an Adams Needle Yucca. Then for winter interest Cotoneaster (creeping) over a retaining wall. I added an ornamental grass (Zebra Grass) for height The Spireas do well with purple contrast. They bloom in June here in 6a and the pink it flowers looks nice with the Diablo behind them. Behind all this as a foil I chose Japanese Yew OMG... I hope that answers you question!

Tammy, It is a David Austin rose. It's Teasing Georgia. There is one each side of a tiny pergola. They were planted three years ago. They seem to be pretty vigorous, which is just as well, as they have to compete with two Plumbago capensis, one Solanum ratonettii, one Aristolochia elegans and a Thunbergia alata African Sunset! Luckily all the other plants are younger. Here it is from the other angle. ...and with the plumbago ...and with Dahlia Arabian Nights ilovemyroses, I can't believe that I forgot to suggest Osmanthus delavayi. I used to grow it clipped into balls along a border, when I lived in England. I pinched the idea, after visiting Christopher Lloyd's garden at Great Dixter and seeing he used it like that there. It flowers in early spring with white flowers which have a gorgeous fragrance. After flowering, I would give them a hard trim to keep it's ball shape. That worked very well. They gave a satisfying rhythm to the border. Daisy Here is a link that might be useful: Osmanthus delavayi