A privacy screen made of plants is of course the best way to keep prying eyes away from your balcony, terrace or garden. Read about the options available to you here.
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Plants for privacy protection offer a wide range of options for protecting yourself from unwanted glances and at the same time beautifying your interior and making it look completely natural. Depending on the space and preferences, the range extends from climbing plants and hedges to mobile balcony and terrace greenery in pots to tall perennials and grasses or even fruit and berry espaliers.
What are the characteristics of privacy screen plants?
Privacy plants not only form a visual barrier to the outside and thereby create privacy – after all, any privacy screen could do that . Plants enliven the garden space. The green solution combines the beautiful with the useful. Thanks to their green leaves, privacy plants produce oxygen. They bind carbon dioxide, filter dust and increase the humidity. Dense hedges keep out wind and weather. Climbing plants and mobile patio greenery balance out temperature extremes in hot summers. Plants that are used as privacy screens therefore improve the microclimate in the garden. At the same time, they ensure a pleasant atmosphere.
Create a privacy screen with plants
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Similar to wall paint, wallpaper or homely fabrics, plants offer a wealth of leaf colors and textures. As a result, privacy plants create a feeling of comfort in the outdoor space. Depending on the plants you choose, you can experience the change of seasons particularly intensely. If you opt for deciduous trees, the “change of scenery” begins when the leaves sprout and by no means ends with the magnificent autumn colors – after the leaves fall, fruit decorations often appear.
The lively garden
The lively garden backdrop is also an important habitat for animals and offers space for biodiversity. Privacy plants with pollen- and nectar-rich flowers attract insects. Birds benefit from the nesting opportunities in opaque hedges and the feeding places. If you want to benefit yourself and harvest fruit, for example, fruit and berry espaliers are a good option for privacy screens. In addition to their usefulness, the plants expand the world of experience in your garden. If you use man-sized ornamental grasses or perennial vertical growers, you can watch the seasonal dynamics as they grow. Perspectives change. This brings a form of variety to the garden that would not be possible with simple or structural privacy screens.
If you are still looking for constant privacy, evergreen hedges are the right choice. Topiary trees in particular can be used like building structures. The straight lines emphasize formal design. It becomes romantic with abundantly flowering and fragrant climbing plants. The plant-based privacy screen not only shapes the style, it also changes the effect of the room. Ask yourself in advance how much transparency you want. Is it just a matter of separating garden spaces from one another or do you want to shield the terrace area of a terraced house from the neighbor, for example? Depending on the situation, various privacy screen plants can also be considered.
Which climbing plants are suitable as privacy screens?
Climbing roses and clematis are among the most popular climbers when it comes to making buildings more friendly. An existing wall, an unadorned privacy screen or a border fence are ideal for greening. Remember that these flowering wonders prefer a sunny location. Honeysuckle ( Lonicera caprifolium, Lonicera x heckrotii, Lonicera x tellmaniana), for example, likes partial shade. The evergreen species (Lonicera henryi) still grows in deep shade. On a pergola, you can combine evergreen honeysuckle with ivy (Hedera helix), which is also shade-tolerant. Ivy climbs up walls and trees using adhesive roots. If you want to beautify a chain link fence, weave in the shoots. You can create real structural wallpaper if you mix varieties with yellow or white leaves with the green-leaved ones. The more variegated the leaves are, the more sunnier they want to be.
You can use the evergreen climbing spindle bushes (Euonymus fortunei) in the same way. Climbing spindle bushes and ivy are available as ready-made elements by the meter. The climbing fence element has a kind of planter box at the bottom that you dig in. For hops you only need to stretch a few ropes to hide part of the garden behind a decorative curtain during the season. Solutions for one summer can be found with annual climbing plants (see potted plants on balconies and terraces).
Hedge plants against prying eyes
Yew (Taxus baccata) and arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis, Thuja plicata) offer opaque, evergreen privacy screens . They can be kept in shape by pruning. If the dark green yew with its needle texture is too gloomy for you, there are alternatives among the evergreen deciduous trees. The new varieties of cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) with their large, lush green leaves exude an almost Mediterranean flair. The variety ‘Smaragd Fire’ is recommended here. The Portuguese cherry laurel (Prunus lusitanica) is becoming increasingly popular. With more robust varieties such as ‘Angustifolia’ and ‘Brenelia’, the lack of frost resistance is no longer an issue. If the privacy hedge is to grow quickly, privet is in demand. If you want something a little more colorful, you can try the Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’ in mild winter areas.
Among the deciduous trees, beech (Fagus sylvatica) and hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) are among the most reliable hedge plants for privacy screening. Hornbeams are grown to save space on privacy screens. The French maple (Acer monspessulanum) is still little known. It is similar to the field maple (Acer campestre) and is considered a tree of the future that is particularly well able to withstand climate change.
Tall perennials as privacy screen
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Tall perennials look elegant. In their most airy form, they even sway in the wind. The Patagonian verbena (Verbena bonariensis), which is more than a man’s height, is one such representative. If lines of sight or prominent waypoints are to be more obscured, there are a number of upright perennials with a distinctive shape: Meadow rue ‘Elin’ (Thalictrum hybrid) grows one and a half to two meters in height. The closely related Chinese meadow rue (Thalictrum delavayi) can also be planted as a veil plant between bushes in light shade.
Perennial sunflowers
Perennial sunflowers are ideal for sunny locations. Giant and willow-leaved sunflowers (Helianthus giganteus and salicifolius) grow between two and three meters tall. Tall coneflowers (Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Goldball’ and R. nitida), also with yellow flowers, create cheerful privacy screens on garden fences. Prairie gardens have made giant perennials popular, such as Arkansas aster (Vernonia crinita) or candelabra speedwell (Veronicastrum), which can be used as plant screens.
One of the most impressive and easy-care plants is the water agrimony (Eupatorium fistulosum). It is ideal for use on the edge of a pond, but can also be used to screen a perennial bed or to mark a plant island. The bush knotweed ‘St. John’s Cloud’ (Aconogonon speciosus) fulfils the same function. Because of its beautiful winter structure, the giant perennial, which is as tall as a man and just as wide, is only cut back in spring. Unlike invasive knotweed species, it does not spread. In contrast, the plumed poppy (Macleaya microcarpa) produces runners.
The most popular privacy screen in the perennial area currently comes from the realm of grasses. If you just want to conceal an area, tall moor grass (Molinia arundinacea) is sufficient. It forms delicate flower panicles above its dense tuft of leaves. Even among the switchgrasses, newer varieties such as ‘Dallas Blues’ or ‘Northwind’ (Panicum virgatum) are sturdy varieties that grow up to 180 centimeters tall. The best privacy screen grasses are offered by the Chinese silver grass range (Miscanthus sinensis).
Bamboo privacy screen
The great advantage of bamboo is its evergreen leaves. It provides protection all year round without appearing massive. The shiny leaves create a beautiful play of light and shadow. The rustling of the grass drowns out background noise.
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Balcony and terrace: privacy screen with potted plants
Many potted plants can also be used as privacy screens. Large planters for balconies and terraces are now available with integrated trellises. They are ideal for annual climbing plants such as black-eyed Susans (Thunbergia elata) or morning glory (Ipomea lobata and tricolor). Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) also have a scent. But be careful: sweet peas do not like locations that are too hot. With the rise of urban gardens on roof terraces, the cultivation of privacy screen plants with a useful character has become fashionable. In addition to all kinds of mini vegetables that can be grown on trellises such as pumpkins, zucchini or wild tomatoes, the repertoire even includes sky-high plants such as runner beans . Of course, you can also group any taller potted plant, from oleander to lemon trees, as a privacy screen on your terrace or balcony.
Fruit and berry espaliers as privacy screens
Apples and pears are the most common fruit plants in espalier form. They are often used as room dividers. With the help of a wire frame, you can also grow plums , peaches , apricots , sweet and sour cherries on espaliers. However, fruit trees that need more warmth are usually better placed against a wall. You can set up a raspberry espalier in a strip of bed around 50 centimeters wide in a sheltered location as an “edible” privacy screen.
