Both luckily and unluckily, my driveway has seen better days, so while I dream of the day when I can install one of these lovely recycled permeable driveways, my more immediate concern is to not have to look at my neighbor's ugly yard. But perhaps you just want some privacy of your own because your garden or windows are in direct line of sight from neighboring homes. Either way, there are many natural solutions to consider.
From left to right:
1. This mixed planting privacy screen from This Old House uses Green Giant arborvitae.
2. Mother Earth News shows this example that can be used in a multi-family dwelling by creating a curved canopy for a vine to grow upon.
3. Red Tip Photinia, a zone 9 hedge, has gorgeous red foliage, as shown at garden-share.com.
4. Creeping Fig (Ficus Pumila) creates a lovely formal garden feel, while also giving ultimate privacy. From Urban Grace Interiors.
5. Bamboo will be my privacy screen of choice because it doesn't grow too wide (as long as the clumping variety isn't used). This example is from Bamboo Garden.
(Images: as linked above)
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Following the link on #4, it says those are plastic boxwoods...
Ah, nm. I was looking at the wrong photo. ;)
We have a wooden fence but unfortunately, one side was required to be black iron fencing facing the street. You could see clear into our house from the road, so we just planted an handful of honeysuckle and jasmine and in a few months its already filling in great. In a year or so, no more peeking neighbors or headlights at night!
I've actually thought about pulling out the street-facing wooden fence on side of the house in favor of black iron. The reason being that termites have already attacked those posts before...don't want them attacking the house. I do already have a lovely orange jasmine growing against that fence and a cutting of white jasmine in a pot waiting to be transplanted.
On one side of my backyard there are vines growing over a fence. Kind of pretty (and definitely better than the alternative) if you don't think about the fact that they're most likely weeds.
The other side has nicer neighbors but lots of weeds, two kinds of fence and sound travels easily. I'd really like some vines, evergreens or a nice hedge on our side of the fence(s). Every time I try to let the current vines take over and create a nice "screen" the neighbor cuts them back and we wind up with too much of their conversation and my dog freaking out at their dog.
I could be wrong, but isn't bamboo an invasive species in the US? You'd have to be really careful about controlling it to keep it from invading your neighbor's yard.
Yes, you should certainly use a rhizome barrier if you're planting "running" bamboo. Not necessary if you plant a "clumping" variety.