Well you could buy some arborvitae, they would have to be 8ft, they grow somewhat slow, I don't know where you live something local perhaps

the tall, skinny trees like smiley mentioned,,or cypress or something similar that grows quickly.

Bamboo is another option, but can be very invasive. you could keep them in pots.

Christine, much depends on your location/zone. My suggestion is to take your photos to a local nursery for suggestions.

Depending on what zone you live in will dictate plants/shrubs. Oleander grow rapidly and have a pretty bloom, bamboo also grows rapidly but I might suggest planting it in galvanized tubs to contain the roots. A banana plant might work. You will have to also consider the style of your home. Good luck.

I would call the county and see if they can be made to clean up the yard. I was a builder and if I had a lot next to junky neighbors I would call the county and they would clean or put a lien on the property.

Do you really need a full 30' of plantings for that one window or is it two windows? Is there anywhere else in the house or on the property that looks into the parts of the neighboring yard that you find unsightly? If not, planting a tree or two that will grow up in front of the window(s) may be a better solution that will block the high window view without looking like a giant green wall from elsewhere on your property.

Our privacy shrubs for the bedroom are planted closer to the windows than the neighbor's yard and property line. I can still see the sky but have a nice green screening.

Hi All! I live in Orlando, FL, zone 9-10. Our house is built up so that we basically can see their whole yard and back of their house which is all messy so that cool window shade idea won't work. I have 2 windows looking out. I thought about planters of Bamboo but I am afraid that they wont be thick enough. I love Photocarpus (sp?) but they take so long to grow! I will need something to be about 20ft to 30ft tall. Love the idea of Bogenvillia (sp?)but they are affected by freeze and would take an extremely strong trellis. I thought about sheets of lattus but I am afraid that it will eventually crack or rot as it comes in plastic and thin wood. I would also then need to train each vine. I have 9' width to work with and need the 30' length due to having 2 windows. I think maybe a Viburnum hedge may work. I think Oleander attract caterpillars? I also can't have anything hang over the fence and need to still have a walkway. Y'all are awesome with your suggestions thank you very much!

If you want something 20-30' tall, skip the viburnum and anything that needs a trellis.....you just won't achieve anything anywhere near the height you require.

Podocarpus is really an excellent choice although somewhat slow growing. But you can plant specimens with some size and age to them to shortcut the wait period, keeping in mind that older, larger plants will be appreciably more expensive. Podocarpus also takes extremely well to pruning so should be easy to keep confined to your side of the fence.

There are also many choices available in clumping bamboos - these are non-aggressive (not spreading or invasive) clump forming varieties that can provide a very fast and very dense privacy screen and with an appropriate height.

The short answer is that you will not be able to provide a complete privacy screen to the height you desire any time soon. It takes time for any plant - even larger ones - to establish and develop to the point where they will adequately block views. Although the situation or potential need for screening is not always preplanned, you need to think about privacy screening about 5 years before you actually need it :-)

There are hundreds of varieties and bamboo, and in Florida some grow one foot per day. Bamboo is the answer.

As Beth suggested, Bamboo....particularly Golden Bamboo, is a great option if contained. It also will achieve your screening goals quicker than other options.

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/blog/afraid-to-plant-bamboo-these-varieties-arent-invasive/

The challenge with a hedge in front of the fence is that you need to wait until they grow taller than the fence. Trees are better because they're already tall, and they have their greenery at the top, where you want your privacy, not at the bottom where you want to see your own yard. If you plant them closer to the house you won't need to cover the whole fence area, just what you can see from the window. In the drawing below, the blue line is your line of sight from the window to the red eyesore.

Are you sure about that height requirement? How tall is the fence? I have to believe you are mistaken unless your house is 2-stories. how high off the ground is the top of your bedroom windows? Have someone hold up a pole or a broom outside while you look from inside to determine the true height needed to block the mess, but not the trees beyond. The closer the screen is to your windows, the shorter it can be.

Another option is to put the support structure for a vine very close to your windows to act as a colorful screen, perhaps no more than 3 ft. from the glass. Fast-growing vines can cover an 8-ft. structure in 1 or 2 seasons.

If you feel time-pressured, put up a temporary structure directly in front of your windows, perhaps 18" from the glass, with 70% or greater shadecloth firmly tacked in place to block the view until your preferred plants have time to fill in the screening needed. Once the plants have grown to your satisfaction, remove the screens.

The lattice would be your easiest bet..... we used these
Drive in metal post holders

which made it a lot easier to put up a fence (it looks like that fence in your photo belongs to the neighbor so you wouldn't be able to add to it)

If you feel lattice is too flimsy then you could just add your own boards to the posts. You wouldn't have to add them to the bottom, just the top..

First, as a Florida resident with bamboo on site, I caution you about planting it. Do a lot of research before and be very careful and sure that you buy the recommended type. You could end up with a bigger problem than the unsightly view. I think partim has given the best answer here. To block the view, you do not need to plant a tall thin hedge in front of the fence. A few staggered trees whose canopies block the view will also work and I think you can find more variety in trees. You could also save money, as you would need just a few. ONline resources include the Florida Native Plant Society and your county cooperative extension. You obviously have to consider high wind (hurrricane) resistance and flooding, if your site holds water/floods after heavy rains. Buy the largest trees you can afford and then fertilize and water them religiously. they'll grow pretty quickly. (some references rate speed of growth). I'd offer specifics, but I'm not sure about the trees that do best in your growing zone.

Christine, Doug has a good idea w/that raised brick planter. I have a few varieties of bamboo and they will send out roots from the pot into the ground. but if you put them in pots (or the long containers) and then sat them on the raised plant bed he drew, that would not only give you some extra height, but also give you some cushion in case their roots spread out through the drainage holes. now at least you have the roots contained in the planter bed. make sure you lay down a barrier to keep them from growing into the actual ground, under the bed. Make sense? I think this would solve you unsightly problems and make it easy for you on your side.

@FlopsyCat1......what a clever idea for the shades while the plantings grow in. No clue that shades existed like that.

Have you looked at Australian Willow: https://selectree.calpoly.edu/tree-detail/geijera-parviflora ?

lyn,,,we suggested a barrier and planting it in containers. did you see that part? it will be fine. I have had mine growing like that for over decade without any issues.

haha. yes, I guess in that area, it would really take off. although, other than the humidity, so cal is comparable weather-wise. maybe planting them in the containers and setting them on a concrete type of paver, so there would be no chance of it spreading would help.

From what I see so far it is very pricy and I am not sure where to buy the clumping busy varieties. Gosh, there are over 1000 varieties so I should be able to find them somewhere-lol.

Most places that sell bamboo sell clumping varieties as well as the running types. And IME, a can of clumping bamboo is no more expensive than a tree or shrub of similar size/height and often quite a bit less. And that is where bamboo has an advantage over trees and shrubs for privacy screening......it attains the desired height very rapidly. Typically bamboo canes will grow to a maximum height in the first year after planting, whereas it will take a tree or shrub several seasons or even as much as a decade to achieve the same height. Unless you can find one at the desired height already and that is a very expensive proposition!!

Here is one source.

We have dwarf buddha belly bamboo planted in our yard at the corner of our pool cage in SW Florida. It's a clumping variety and has stayed well contained without being in a container. It grows 2-4 feet a year up to a full height of 16 feet. Ours is about 2 1/2 years old and was about $35. My husband actually keeps it trimmed so it doesn't get too tall , otherwise it would be at least 12 feet tall by now. I think you could plant two, one each directly in front of the windows toward the fence, and it would give you great screening.