I'm wondering if you might be in the wrong forum for getting input on this. Your question regarding whether you can attract butterflies (I assume) without also attracting larvae to eat your veggies is probably best directed to experienced veggie gardeners, and the rest perhaps to the shrub or perennials forum? But the best solution might just be to wander down to your local nursery and see what they have in stock that will meet your needs. That often drives a person's plant decisions anyway!

Don't feel you have to hide the whole thing, just the worst parts, The rest you can work with. If you add some value to the gate, and de-emphasize the concrete barriers, that will help. Tweaking the plants inside, will make a big difference. Solid fencing would make it worse. Plants in line with the fence, are not so good... The yard is now, hard and formal, right up against the cheap looking concrete structure, and into the wild... TRANSITION! As Laag said above, soften that transition zone. Hide the barriers. Formal linear rows add an unfortunate emphasis. You need curves, and height variations, that can play peekaboo. The glimpses from the house and street, can be tantalizing, not dizzying. Treat it as if it were a wonderful area that's so lovely, that it's too nice to share. The great English designers of centuries ago, Would ADD ruins, for interest. Look up Capability Brown. Hack down a couple of things you hate most, in there. Use strong plant arrangements and plants with strong shapes inside, to emphasize, a continuation of a curved line. Or use a plant insider as a featured design element. There will be some cool plants in there, that can be your friends.Add a flowering tree or so, IN there, like Carolina Sweetshrub, native azaleas, and Redbud. These are wild, and, decorative and it won't seem such a weed patch. * See about having the gate straightened. Having it banged up doesn't seem fair. Why does that happen? If the pond serves several houses, maybe the others could also chip in for the gate. A little decorative reinforcement, [say, steel scrolls, at the corners] could bring it closer to giving a sense of value, & mystery, beyond. -Little durable, onion shaped, or pointed elements, on the posts could give the fence a less ordinary air. Flank the gate with sweet olive. * Next, the concrete. You can mossy up the jersey barriers, with sour milk, well thinned with water. If you tint them, use a different dull tone than the drive. A line of shrubs just taller than, & in front of, the barriers, will keep the neighborhood from looking slummy. Tall Annuals will help for a year or two. The very pale driveway is the most dominant feature in the landscape, and steals most of the attention from the house. Stain it a more medium tone. A value closer to the deep house color, will bring the focus up to the house. The major focus is on the drive. The drive adds power to the concrete jersey barriers, uh oh... The curving line of shrubs, could be: *Oval shrubs that get to 10' high, like Sweet Olive, and some camellias, *shorter shrubs, out in front of The taller ones, like azaleas. -A cutting, garden and/or short veggies tucked in behind, out of sight. A curved flower border of wonderful favorites, in front. *** Keep a hard edge on the side towards the drive, and a softer, taller, looser, growth towards the wild, and farther from the house. Maybe try a short row of crisp shrubs, between the gate drive and the house drive. Try some sketches. * If you reeeally like rows, Make a rectangular decorative planting feature to the right of the house. Try a vine on the far side of the pond. Dutchman's pipe, loses leaves in the winter, but it grows very fast and is the host plant for the lovely pipevine swallowtail butterfly.... Not a lot of vines keep their leaves. Tiny shrubs are cheap and grow much faster than large plants. Flowers, fruit, perfume,... have some fun. Have you ever been to Florida? Most town lakes that you have seen there, especially in the large parks,[!] are used not just for runoff, but for water treatment. These are landscaped areas. .... Kudzu that has not been poisened [ with any pesticides] is edible. Yes, you can eat it.

I supposed you have tried a friendly, reasonable approach with the neighbor, voicing your objections? You didn't indicate if you had also checked the local codes to determine if such a tall fence is permitted in front of a residence. In many locations, the height of a fence is limited to 4' between the front building line of the residence and the street and must not extend across any right of way for underground utility lines. Also, in many states, any permanent structure placed ON the property line, legally becomes jointly owned by the two parties involved. If all those options fail, you could paint your side of the fence with flat black paint before planting evergreens in front of it. It will become almost unnoticeable. Rb

Thanks for that suggestion esh_ga! I've never heard of Illicium floridanum but then there are many plants I'm not familiar with -- lots to learn. Based on what I've read on the Internet after your suggestion it does sound like Illicium floridanum just might do the job for me. It's certainly worth a try! Thanks again, Jerry