[Creagan]

I have a neighbour whose shed is a bit of an eyesore, and. I'd like to put up a screen as it's visible from the kitchen window.
At the moment there are a number of cypress trees along the fenceline, which do a reasonable job of hiding the bulk of the shed, but they are getting thin at the bottom. I'd like to fill in the gaps with something. Not really wanting to chop down the conifers, so whatever I plant has to be happy enough living under them. The soil is good- until i fenced it off this was a favourite corner for sheep to shelter in, so it's had plenty of fertilisation over the years!
Thinking of hawthorn, beech, or simply additional cypress... any other suggestions?

[clydesdaleclopper]

rugosa roses - they grow fast and thick and smell nice

[Marches Farmer]

I guess you'd want something evergreen so a staggered row of conifers might do the job - maybe you could remove the original ones when the new ones have become established.  Likely problems would be soil will be dry and lacking in fertility near the existing trees.  Start clipping when they're young and they'll fill out and remain dense.

[cloddopper]

look up the attributes of LAUREL on the RHS website .. tey are easy to gtow from cutting when they start to flower
You find that researching now gives you time to buy one or so 2 foot or more  tall potted plant to get making cuttings in September .
 Next autumn when the cuttings are 18 inches tall plant them at four feet apart
 in three years time you'll have a decent screen nearly six foot tall that will soon go to  well over 20 feet tall if you feed the roots
 
You can also selectively cut and lay to make a thick bottomed hedge or simply prune to about six inches tall once they are over four years old for an even bushier growth .
 Do be aware that laurels are not stock friendly but they do keep their big oval leaf greenery all year round , make great wind breaks and noise reduction devices when in a thick double staggered plant row . 
They are also difficult for intruders to get through if you plant them at 3 foot spacings & then cut and lay them as a hedge in later years .

[Penninehillbilly]

Lonicera Nitida (sp), not sure how high it grows but easy to shear back to a neat hedge. Easy to root.
Not sure about it being poisonous.
I believe most evergreens are poisonous so do the sheep still go near the corner?

[Creagan]

I don't plan on having any sheep able to access the hedge, but there are some escapees wandering around and I certainly don't want to poison anything. I'm getting geese this year as edible lawnmowers so they'll be able to reach the hedge.

Another consideration is that the area available is a narrow strip between a track and the boundary fence. The track is set a few feet below the ground level, with a steep bank, so there isn't really a lot of room for roots. Maybe something more shrubby is an idea?

[Penninehillbilly]

Another thought is if it's dark under the trees you may struggle to get anything to grow shrubby. sounds like most things would reach out sideways for the light. It's surprising even places that seem light to me the shrubs are growing sideways towards the light, ie. under single trees.
I'm moving some self rooted cuttings from my Lonicera N. to start a hedge up by the lane, the geese leave them alone, but the original is trained slightly up then spreads out, gives hens ducks or geese a nice little shelter from sun, wind or rain.