Using Plants For Privacy

Mld104004_0808_frontporch_xl_1__square72

Good fences may make for great neighbors but what if your outdoor space has no fence? While relaxing outside we usually want the feeling of privacy, even if we don’t completely have privacy. Using visual blockers, like plants or shrubs, can lend itself to a much more tranquil environment.

The tall, thick, sound-blocking hedges that surround large estates are ideal for creating a private, non-fence yard. But that look is obviously not for everyone. For a quick and easy privacy “fence” or screen, take a minute to think about the ideal height that you’d require. For example, if you and your guests are mostly seated you may not need a very large plant or arrangement of plants. But if you are trying to create privacy on the second floor of your home you may want to think taller, as in a tree. When purchasing plants keep in mind that many lose their leaves in the winter, and your privacy will be lost along with that.

A privacy solution may be as simple as a vine plant, such as ivy or clematis, running upwards along a trellis. This works well if your outdoor space requires a “thin” privacy screen. Hanging plants work well in covered areas like porches. Simply stacking containers at varying heights with tall-growing plants will add lushness to your space as well as privacy. Here is some inspiration to get you started.

From left to right:

Ivy Porch Screen
Image credit: Martha Stewart

Rooftop Oasis
Image credit: Martha Stewart

Hanging Ferns
Image credit: Martha Stewart

Privacy With Potted Plants
Image credit: Norman A. Plate

Comments (16)

So beautiful. I love that first idea.

With a rooftop view like #2, why would you want that much privacy?

I get some plants, but I wouldn't want to block out all of the view. Unless, of course, there's an obnoxious 50-story building across the street.

I like these - but because they're pleasing to look at, not because they're blocking out other people.

I don't get the obsession with "privacy" - What's wrong with sitting outside and seeing/being seen by your neighbors?

IMO - Privacy, huge lots and high fences are exactly what's wrong with many places: Nobody wants to see or be seen by anyone else and therefore nobody knows their neighbors.

this is great, something I definitely need....first one is just gorgeous!

My mom has a beautiful porch, but lives across the street from a Junior High School and the parking lot is next door. She uses planters on the ledge of the porch with hanging baskets to block the view of the traffic going by and from inside the school. She also has vines growing on the fence that separates her yard from the parking lot. I think that using plants in this way is just another creative landscaping technique which effectively blocks the view of ugly scenery, beautifies the space, and keeps large amounts of people from watching you nap on the porch swing on a sunny afternoon.

We were actually planning on doing that first idea on our porch but were unable to locate the copper gutters that were in the instructions. (This doesn't surprise me with MS).

If anyone knows where to buy these, I'd love to hear.

Somewhat related- I've been coveting a Meyer Lemon tree for my patio ever since I saw a post on AT about them being viable in NYC (if you take them in in the winter). I just got mine yesterday! It's awesome.

That table in the first picture is absolutely adorable. Any ideas where it is from?

Also, I agree with bepsf. I think seeing the neighbors every so often is nice. There is a fine line between being anti-social, and craving privacy.

Liasynthis - try inquiring about copper gutters at a sheet metal fabricators or bender's shop. You should be able to find a local source pretty easily.

any gutter installation firm should be able to point you to a local supplier.

Love these creative solutions as opposed to the traditional high hedge.

I'm on the fence about this privacy versus interaction issue. Sometimes I'm with Robert Frost, who wrote, "Good fences make good neighbors" ironically, because I cherish my relationships, including those with my neighbors. Other times I crave seclusion and quiet. Living in the tenth largest city in the U.S., I miss the serenity of more spread out spaces.

I think bepsf and Julie are forgetting the idea that sometimes it isn't that I don't want *them* to see me - it's that I don't want to see them. My balcony has a "lovely" view of the grey apartment building across the sidewalk, and their "lovely" balcony of used, ugly table and cheap, ugly chairs, along with their improvised "screen" over the door, and usually the inside of the house, and all of the childrens' toys it holds. I'm on a current project to block that sight because I would rather see pretty green plants and have some shade for my dog to sit under, than see that... sight. Also, the shade you create with some plants/privacy screen can be used to grow plants that cannot have full sun, which they otherwise would have without the screen.

I'm trying to come up with a dog-proof fence that doesn't block out the neighbors completely. I do like them, and a six-foot tall privacy fence feels extremely rude. I'm thinking fence with lattice on top. The challenge will be to find/make something affordable!

If you have really horrible neighbors...you want all the ideas you can get! :P