I was thinking that if I buy this house that I would screen the entire neighbors yard using an Arborvitae type shrub so there is a natural wall between the properties and the tenant won't have to see his mess.

I don’t want to create bad blood with the neighbor.

Some paint companies like Sherwin williams have programs where you can put your pix into the program and it will put their colors on your walls on screen. 

I’d get a judgement and also take a look at screening process.

I'm looking for some advice on screening and than choosing a Tenant.I have a duplex that I am house hacking.

As a landlord or property manager, the best way to help protect yourself is to have standardized pet screening policies/procedures and document the level of due diligence.

Even good tenants, which you’d presumably get with a 400k property can be bad if you don’t screen properly

Then you screen, screen, SCREEN! 

Screening is the best way to mitigate your risks of renting to a bad tenant moving forward, and you're already asking a lot of the right questions now that you've gone through this first bad eviction experience.

When dealing with tenants is best to choose your battles and most lawn care battles aren't worth fighting.If you are insistent on having the yard maintained to a high standard, then it is best to screen for that in a tenant from the beginning.