Where in Florida does she live? Which hardiness zone. She needs a potted plant or something planted in the ground? And it would be under the cover of the screen?

DAve now you are making me think so early in the morning. rofl.
She lives in Orlando. Just called her at work and she said next time only call her twice if I have a heart attack lol

Well it is important lol

She lives in east Orange County. ONly potted plants. Inside a black screened in porch which gets sun from about mid morning to mid afternoon. She said like 4pm. But for a non gardener I am not sure how much attention she pays to that lol

She wants no brugs, they are to much work. Oh I got a idea...I should tell her to go fake trees,plants etc rolfmao

I googled the zone, it says 10. But I am sure it is divided up too

Thanks Dave for pointing out that I need to give more info to get the best results

How is the little princess?

Lucy

I'd consider Areca Palms. They are a clumping variety, so they will fill in for privacy. Many people will plant them along the property line, forming a thick privacy wall. In a pot, they will take a long time to get too big, and they require little care, other then cutting off dead fronds.

Bob

If she wants easy care, with some height, and masses of blooms, try Orange Bells. (actually it comes in a number of colors)...

The actually work well in xeriscaping, so they are low water use, and they like lots of sun and heat.

Nice thing about them is you can cut them back to the ground each spring and let them go the rest of the year. And hummingbirds LOVE them.

Here's a link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Orange Bells

Maybe she could do a vine on a small trellis. Or holler at her neighbors to mind their own business, lol.
Shawn

LOL.. Shawn!!!!
Lucy.. Flordia has soooo many wonderful plants that could serve her well.. Does she take after you and just have the knack to grow everything???

What kind of privacy are we talking about, something like this?

{{gwi:462877}}

I made that for the same reason

gotta love the sunflowers! I have a small corner of my yard that sunflowers fill, spillage from the bird feeder. The goldfinches and wild parrots love them! They reseed themselves every year.

Thank you everyone. I will check all the suggestions out in a minute or 2. I will tell her to take a picture of her porch :-) Just from reading it, I like the Areca Palms and the Orange Bells-

NO she does not take after me when it comes to gardening. But then when my kids where little I spend little time on gardening and all the time on the kids.

Lucy

Hmmm. I'd probably do something easy that can take lower light levels. Might eliminate most flowering plants. How about a nice Ficus elastica (perhaps variegated)? There's one called 'Brazil' that has redder new growth. They can get quite large eventually, and can easily take cutting back.

Here's 'Brazil':

{{gwi:462881}}

Dave the keyword for the Ficus elastica is...EVENTUALLY lol My sunshine always wants things to happen and have NOW rofl. But I LOVE IT! My parents used to grow a plain green one for as long as I can think of. I tried it and.........like cactus' and succulents...I believe I overwatered them and send them to plant heaven.

Lucy

There are so many plants she could choose from being in Orlando. I would stay away from cannas (they really only look good for a little bit and then they get leggy and overcrowded). I learned that the hard way when I had an ugly canna patch to look at for half the year. I soon ripped them all out.

How about suggesting some crotons, brunfelsia pauciflora (a personal favorite), Alephandra species or even cananga odorata? Best of all, they should be relatively easy to find in Orlando.

Lucy,

My Ficus elasticas easily grow over two-three feet per season here in VA, when I put them outside. And with FL's long season they'd grow much faster -- into small trees -- even in pots!

Dave, I like your ficus.
I have a ficus elastica like yours and also the one that starts out a little purplish and turns dark green. They grow quite fast here. The only thing is I have to keep all the rain off of the variegated one or it gets fungal spots on the leaves in the summer when it rains alot.
I have it on the screen porch so its not a problem. It is such a carefree beautiful plant. One of my faves.

She could do brugs, they get quite tall here. There are several around this nieghborhood that get up to 14 ft + before they froze back. But they seem to recover quickly.

Also, you could try some of the tall upright Alocasias Calidora (aka Persian Palm)(EE's).
Bananas make a nice screen, she could mix some different hieghts together..some tall, some dwarf etc so there would always be foilage to shield the patio view.

Canna are always a good quick fix and lots of colors.

Princess Flower (Tibouchina grandiflora) gets large round hairy leaves and pretty purple flower stalks. It grows quickly like a large shrub.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alocasia caladora