How windy is your balcony? That is one thing to think about if you decide to try some vines on a trellis to block the view.

I know that over the years, privacy planting has been a hot topic here. I had personally been desperately seeking privacy from a nuisance neighbor next door who FINALLY MOVED about a month ago (THANK GOD). Fortunately I am on the end so I don't have anyone on the opposite side. However the past 4 - 5 years have been hell with the couple next door who I shared a partition with, where the guy would continually come out and wrap his face around the partition to bother me while in his underwear. Since I have 2 balcony doors (including one from my bedroom), I did have an escape route and I would always have to be on the lookout for his sudden appearance so that I could take off down to the other end of the balcony if I heard him open his balcony door and step out.

I have a honeysuckle vine trained on a trellis over by the smoked glass partition and have put my prickly pear cactus over on a shelf by the partition. I also put my tropical hibiscus over there but I think the thing that looks like it will be the best block now is my young plum tree. I bought it bareroot last winter and through last year, it produced a bunch of 3 - 4ft branches that created a nice canopy of leaves. Placing it near the partition really did the trick.

In general, if it isn't too windy, a nice perennial (or even annual) fast-growing vine can provide a nice living privacy screen. Eg., morning glories, moonflower vines, honeysuckle, clematis, any of the bean vines (scarlet runner, hyacinth, etc). In addition, with your sunny exposure, you could try some roses - particularly hardy climbing roses that throw out long canes that you can tie and train to a trellis or other support.

You could try some trees, whether evergreen - eg., alberta spruce or an aborvitae (thuja) or deciduous (check hardiness - a popular container one like the japanese maple may have cultivars that are marginal where you are) or even hardy fruit trees.

And finally, don't rule out hardy shrubs like lilacs. I use my lilacs and blueberries as a privacy hedge across from my bedroom.

my balcony does get pretty windy. following are a few pictures. i'd like the wall to be green with plant life - whether it be flowers or vines. the gap between my neighbors balcony and mine should be covered with something. i'd like the space to be more private. any suggestions? Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:711}}

here's a second shot of the balcony

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:714}}

Lovely view!

I believe some posters in a similar discussion ruled out morning glories/moonflowers for windy spots. If you go the vine route, you'll want something a little woodier - ivy, hyacinth bean, roses. Maybe ornamental grasses. Be aware that anything sharp or thorny should be well-secured to a trellis so that it doesn't whap you in the face when you're trying to enjoy the outdoors.

If you go the tree route, make sure your soil/containers are heavy enough to withstand the wind, but light enough to not break your balcony. (check and see if you have any weight limits).

The good news is that with your sunlight you have plenty of options. Sorry I can't help you any more specifically; it's been so long sinse I've lived in the midwest. good luck!

You could do a couple things. You could put a row of 3 ft (or longer) troughs along the base of the partition and then plant with some sort of annual or perennial vine. You could then add a support for the vines - either using some large trellises or wires/netting strung across the partition. Alternately, you could get a multi-tier plant shelf (or make one) and place in front of the partition and add several pots of plants (which could also include vines). I have a shelf with a ~3 gallon flat-back container.with a honeysuckle in it trained on a trellis that is secured to the partition. Here's what my Mandarin honeysuckle looked like last year (in the container on the shelf against the partition):

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As it has gotten older, it is covering the trellis more and more (it was originally a 1 gallon baby). A clemantis is a nice one too and you could train it on a trellis or do what I did - train it on a tall tomato cage as the support:

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You can also try various annual vines like hyacinth bean vine:

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Morning glories:

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Or the popular moonflower vine:

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The one drawback with the MFs or MGs is that they often don't bloom until late summer and into fall, although they produce alot of good foliage cover on a trellis.

For the front, you can line all kinds of plants along the rail. If the plants are small or short, you could prop them up on a bench for a layered look and/or you can hang a windowbox facing towards the inside and plant with anything that is a favorite that can take alot of sun (eg., petunias, sweet potato vines, marigolds, etc.) or even some edibles like herbs, many of which like alot of sun. Just be prepared to water whatever is by the rail due to the amount of sun you probably get.

The gap would look pretty with a climbing rose or you could put a dwarf tree there (eg., alberta spruce, which can sit on a table if small or you can try to find 4 - 5ft ones in a container). If you don't mind bringing plants in and out, you could put a tropical tree or shrub there (eg., ficus, banana, potted palm, dracena, etc). Until I got my plum tree last year, I was using my tropical hibiscus as a screen over by the partition:

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THANK YOU! these are great suggestions - i will post some more pictures later. Thanks!