How about an arbor of lattice with a fast-growing annual or deciduous vine right at the deck, going up 5 to 6 feet. It would be private in the summer, when you are most likely to be using the deck.

I would go with native wetland plants for the ditch. Being as I don't know your location, I can't be more specific. A word of caution from professional experience: by fereral law you can not fill in or dump trash in or place culverts in waterways or wetlands without proper permits through the Army Corps of Engineers. A wetland has a water table within 10" of the surface during at least two weeks of the growing season, if I remember the definition correctly. Some people get busted through aerial photography these days too even if nobody complains. I had to redesign a wetland for such a case in the past. Ziggy

Thanks for the location of the bamboo nursery. That was going to be my next question. I want to view it before I consider planting any of it and bring some of my picture with me as well. I'm not a big fan of sea grape. I like them natural in the wild, but not in my yard. Its just me. I do like the tropical screen idea - sort of what I want - would love something that "flowers" - but again realize I may be limited due to the height requirement. I'll post another pic of the space between the back of the house and the fence shortly so you can see how wide it is (or rather, "isn't"..LOLOL...). I REALLY appreciate everyone's suggestions. I am struggling what to do here. It's a real gardening challenge. I'm downtown St. Pete so in a city sized cramped yard.

I am using a bunch of different vines to cover fences on 3 sides of my yard in 10b. I snickered to myself as I chose the blue sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora) to go on the side where the neighbor I don't like is, since it is considered by some to be an invasive monster as well as beautiful. I have Confederate jasmine starter plants, Mandevilla, and sky vine which are growing so fast I am truly beside myself. A sturdy broad trellis for jasmine would make a great screen and no problem to do well in 9b I would think. The sky vine you should research and see if you want to do since I have seen discussions on line to the tune of "DO NOT PLANT THIS IN YOUR GARDEN!" (Clearly I follow the sage advice of others more experienced than myself.) Mandevilla may be too tropical for 9b and does not get as big as the others, but is amazingly fast as a twiner and grower, and soooooo gorgeous. No doubt others have vines to recommend. The only caution is the issue of wind sturdiness and hurricane planning, as we talked about in the post linked below. You could always set up a camera on a tripod with a huge zoom lens and stand in your yard at odd hours pointing it at their house. I bet they will pop up a fast privacy screen for you. Gina Here is a link that might be useful: winds and hurricanes and big garden structures