You're all set up for two tiered landscaping in the front. Place the colorful showy plants in front of the stone wall and the tall shrubs that will provide privacy on the second level.

Beautiful house! A screen of live bamboo might work, if it’s handled right to keep it from spreading. I know a lot of people dislike bamboo for that reason, but I’ve seen lots of homes here in Seattle that use it successfully in a controlled way.

It is unclear what kind of privacy you are seeking…or how you intend to use the enclosed area in front..is sound a problem?..plus there are usually codes restricting what you can do in these situations…tall bamboo is a very risky choice..with serious safety issues

You want to spend time hanging out in your little patch of front yard, or you just want to be able to sit on your front porch without seeing anyone? It looks like you have nice private space around back, can you say more about why you want to enclose the front too?

Check with your city code to see if you can run the fence around the front of your house.

For why??? Move the party to the back yard and move on. The front porch used to be a place where neighbors hung out, gathered a minute while they strolled by and went about their way. Being out front was an invitation. If you don't want that don't hang out there...... There's a difference between a porch and a deck. I think when people started putting decks on the front confusion set in. That close to a public walk way pretty much guarantees little privacy. Besides the truth that whatever you might grow/build will take up more space than you think and make hanging out there impossible.

partial fence and schrub or tree combo would be great. dont worry- ive had 12 years of sitting on the porch being social and am close with neighbors, the house simply looks naked up front. This isnt the first iteration of this yard, clearly.

I feel like some ornamental trees could help create a more ”tucked back in” look and feel -

If it were me, I would have a local landscape company create a plan for the front yard and then i would install it over a few years - great house!!

You have a nice private back yard so what do you do in the front that needs privacy? I agree the front porch was always meant to be the place you chatted with the neighbors. The patio doors at the bottom would be my concern they make no sense and are obviously join a garage conversion We need to know exactly what you are looking for.

I'd want to continue the fence between you and the neighbours drive. I wouldn't want to have their car and windows in my view all the time. I'd want a couple of small flowering trees like crab, cherry, amelanchier etc left and right. I'd cut the climber on the trellis back so it starts to thicken up from the base and put a second climber on the empty trellis. I'd fill every other empty inch with perennials and small shrubs. I absolutely understand the desire for a feeling of privacy and a sense of enclosure in the front of your home, whether you sit out there or not. I would paint the patio doors to match the other windows.

Are you allowed to plant in the strip between the curb and sidewalk ( they are called tree lawns in Savannah but I don’t know the left coast term). Trees and shrubs here buffer your view of cars then low things at the edge of your property give you more perceived privacy.

looking to create privacy (without a prison look) in the front yards.

dont worry- ive had 12 years of sitting on the porch being social and am close with neighbors, the house simply looks naked up front.

I'm confused. Do you want: 1. privacy away from the neighbors, or 2. do you simply want the front to be landscaped well so it looks less naked? The two are very different goals. Can you clarify?

I'm guessing you are looking for more privacy while on the porch. In that case, some hanging baskets along the front of the porch and a small tree on the triangle area to the side of the porch should do it. I remember a front porch on a garden tour where a deciduous tree provided just enough screening to feel private, without complete screening that, for example, an arborvitae might provide.

The sidewalk is close to your house, so if you plant anything tall, it will make your house feel more claustrophobic too.

Some bushes that grow taller, but are pretty (e.g. rhododendrons) can provide privacy, but it also closes you in at the same time.

For me the confusion is to what degree of privacy do they want to achieve? I thought the goal was to fence off this area thorugh vegetation or fencing, so it has privacy from the street. That is different look and goal form wanting to fill a space so it looks less naked.

1. Full-on privacy.

Extend an actual fence on the upper level of the yard. Then plant on the strip beneath the rock mini-wall.

2. Send the message of privacy

This is a cottage in Portland. The transparent fence doesn't add actual privacy, but it certainly conveys, this land is my land. You could add these above the mini-rock wall, plant in the strip below the mini-rock wall and fill in the yard area beyond them with tall grasses.

3. Bit and pieces of actual privacy.

Throw up large shrubs or plantings that are tiered in height.

Corner Lot with Barrier Wall and Tree · More Info

Beautiful Blooming Borders · More Info

4. Landscape a nice corner lot that is full of plants you like that add texture and a sense of completion to your lot. This can look like all kinds of things, if that is what you are actually going for.

I see a comment said "bamboo". Do not get bamboo. Sometimes it's controllable. Sometimes....

What about some nice grasses that will also look good in winter?

You could do a tiered planting - taller shrubs/grass on the back and shorter plants in the front. It gives a lot of fullness to the area and is very pretty to look at.

Good luck!

First pic above shows Pampas Grass. It's a potential invasive threat in Portland.

Uh oh ! Don't use that then! Find a better one. Thanks for pointing that out.

Thanks for the great ideas! I will hook up with a local landscape designer in town (from Houzz rec) and incorporate some of these ideas! I think I need a visual mock up to see what will look best. Whether that’s a partial fence or layered scrubs or a nice tree or two! That area also gets pummeled by yellow linden tree sap in July and August that tends to kill many things. It’s a challenging yard for sure.
I do think it’s funny that some don’t think I’ll visit with my good friends and neighbors in the hood if I have taller plants in my yard? Privacy from the sidewalk and being a social neighbor aren’t mutually exclusive in the least. lol.
Also thanks for heads up about the downstairs doors. I’m not “concerned” about them as one helpful person mentioned I may be- I actually love them. However they don’t blend in (they match the original front door from 1920 I stripped and stained clear). Not sure I care too much about that but I may change my mind there!
Thanks again for the thoughts.

I do think it’s funny that some don’t think I’ll visit with my good friends and neighbors in the hood if I have taller plants in my yard? Privacy from the sidewalk and being a social neighbor aren’t mutually exclusive in the least. lol.

I think there is a communication issue here. What does privacy mean to you? I presumed it meant you don't want passersby to see in to your yard and porch and you don't want to see out to the sidewalk. Sure, friends you know can walk beyond the privacy barrier to see if you are outside to say hello, or can come knock on your door. But if you have privacy, how would they know you are outside to stop and gab?

I think of all of the homes in neighborhoods I have lived in that either have tall hedges, fences, or large plants for complete privacy in their front yards or corner lots, and I would never know if the owners are home or not unless I knocked or called out when I walked by - "anybody outside?"