These are growing in my neighbors yard. We have no clue what they are??? It has a really thick stem like a sunflower would. We thought it was a weed but there are about 6-7 and theyre spaced apart perfectly as if planted purposely. Please help solve the plant mystery

We are in the process of planning the evergreen screen for the backyard of our home. Right now it is very open and very large. In the future we will put the deck and possibly the pool, but want to start the screen asap. Any recommendations on the selection of the plants and any other provisions to keep in mind would be appreciated. You can see on the photo that the messy neighbors and always hungry deers are both serious issues for us.