Check with your municipality about landscaping setbacks, if any. Should be okay to plant right up against the fence on your side - but you need to check your area. There may be a restriction in height so make sure to ask about that too.

Let me see if I can find an alternate solution for you.

You can also do a privacy screen. Again, check your municipality to see if there are height restrictions or side set back requirements. Here are a few insp pics

^this one is a living screen - it has a vertical plant garden :)

Here is another one that is called a "living wall"

There are others below

I doubt any size wall or bush will block her second storey windows.

Maybe look into a pergola or something with privacy curtains that you can draw when you're out there. And maybe some kind of privacy roof too! :)

Where is your hot tub?

This may work for you...Golden bamboo
Botanical Name: Phyllostachys aurea
Maximum height: 25-feet
Zones: 6-10

If the neighbor plays loud music, a shield of plants/etc. will do little.

Unfortunately, your only option(other than sitting down and discussing the situation) may be a restraining order.

Or the OP could move. it's a shame when you have a difficult neighbor.

But it might help.

A sound barrier may prevent the OP's minimal noise from reaching the neighbour as much and maybe the neighbour won't be as annoyed as they are now and will stop retaliating.

A visual barrier may prevent the neighbour from seeing that their antics are annoying the OP, so the lack of satisfaction may cause them to stop doing it.

But on the flip side, it might do nothing.

I like DDD's second option - really nice. Consider the geometry. The farther away from the neighbor's house, the shorter the screen will need to be to block the sight line.

Yeah I like the second photo. I've been trying to check the Columbus ordinances and I think that living fences have height restrictions. I'm not convinced I can legally create a super tall living fence but I'll look into it. Also movIng isn't an option really. We own our home.

Is it too late to have a friendly discussion with this neighbor? You may think you’re not loud but maybe you are. At 10pm noise carries more efficiently than during the day. Plant material may be a good privacy barrier but it also brings work (caring for plants) and w/reduced air circulation, it speeds up wood fence decay (repair & maint costs). The cheapest alternative might be to talk nicely to her, your acknowledging her grievances might be all it takes. But if it doesn’t, you’ll still have the satisfaction of being the bigger person and can then consider other less friendly options.

No I wouldn't say it's too late but based on her actions I've deduced she is likely not a reasonable person. My husband and I are rarely, if ever, out past 10 pm. We had 1 fire pit night during the summer when we were out past 10 pm in the 2 years we've lived there. Typically if we are in the hot tub, it's well before 9 and it's just us two talking with the jets on for less than a half hour at a time, on average maybe twice per week. No music playing. We are both resident physicians, not loud or inconsiderate college age kids. Those years have passed for us haha. Usually in bed by 9! Additionally, we live in an urban area of town, a mile from the Ohio State campus, where a ton of younger professionals live. If she wanted a super quiet suburban feel, I think she chose the wrong part of town but that's just my two cents. We still are very considerate and quiet neighbors so I'm so surprised by her actions.

Sounds like you’re a quiet neighbor but also seems like you are unsure as to what’s making her act kooky. Ask her. It might be a tiny thing that you can easily correct or it might provide you w/proof positive that she’s nuts. A friendly meeting will give you answers you need to proceed w/next steps.

some more ideas

^Very nice landscaped wall posted by Dig Doug's Design. I think it would be a good start for privacy. If it doesn't work, then make your decision on how to handle the neighbor. She sounds unreasonable.

I think DDD's last suggestion is perfect - by putting the "screen" close to the hot tub versus along the fenceline, the neighbor won't be able to see anything from the second floor window.

Hi Krista. Here is one more idea:

(we built this one several years back)

Probably the main prompt for the unwanted behavior is her being able to see you in and around the tub - funny that she doesn't even have any large picture windows overlooking you, giving her a full view from a place where she might want to sit and overlook that part of the neighborhood - yet still reacts in this manner. As though she doesn't want anybody visible through her windows at all. Or at least people in a - gasp! - hot tub.

Codes may allow you to extend the fence higher with a trellis, as long as the fence is able to support one. And if you have the room there may not be rules against a tall hedge there. I would certainly also enclose the tub and seating with roofing and walls, something that might make it a lot more pleasant to use even without her being in the picture - which she certainly is now, with her warehouse- or wharf-like house looming over you like that. And your deck right there in the same area.

I definitely wouldnt add super tall obstructions in front of her windows. You will block her view considerably and likely piss her off some more. The right thing to do is to try and talk to her to find out what her concerns are, to let her know your concerns, and to see if you can all find some arrangements that work for everyone. If she’s unwilling to be neighborly, then you’ll have to decide how far you want to take it and how crazy she may or may not be. It may not be worth it, and moving might be the best option, or neither of you will be happy.

I would put up as high a plant or fence as I could. First one would be between the deck and the hot tub with a canopy over the hot tub for the most screening. The next would be between the deck and her house.

To h3ll with being nice. She has used up all of her nice chances with her spotlight and loud music. If she continues, I would consult a lawyer.

Reach out to her with a gesture of goodwill and friendship, maybe even buy her a nice bottle of wine. If none of this works however, invite her over to the hot tub... and drown her :P Good luck!

Krista,

I was just wondering if you can provide an update. I hope things are better for you with your neighbor now.

Just wondering how this ended up. I know in Philadelphia my friend had a neighbor aiming some strong lights towards other's apartments and they couldn't do anything since the paranoid neighbor wasn't invading their property physically just strong reflectors all night long.