Living in an apartment or condo means living really close to other people. I’ve been rudely reminded of that lately, as my upstairs neighbor has decided to rearrange their furniture late at night. But the closeness can also be felt outside, on your balcony or patio too. Inconsiderate neighbors may use their balcony as a place to store their junk, or you may have a great view into the apartments in the next building over. Whatever the case, you may want to create a little privacy on your balcony, and I know of five plants that would do a great job helping you do that.
Blueberries
Photo by Martin LaBar
Blueberries are a great plant to grow in pots. In many parts of the country, it’s pretty much the only way. Like in Southern California, where our soil is too alkaline to grow them in the ground. But in a pot, it’s easy to provide them with the acidic soil they love. And “high bush” varieties can grow to be 5-6 feet tall. This means that you can create a privacy hedge that is beautiful and produces delicious fruit. Trifecta! More about blueberries here.
Ornamental Millet
I keep on seeing this plant in Target’s garden section (though you can also easily grow millet from seed). More on Target’s garden center tomorrow, but ornamental millet grows to be about 5 feet tall and produces nice bushy plants that are perfect for blocking out neighbors. It won the All-America Selection gold medal, which is hard to do, though not surprising for a plant that is beautiful yet nearly impossible to kill. Oh yeah, and they leaves are such a dark purple, they look black. What’s not to love?
Hollyhocks
Photo by Per Ola Wiberg
Hollyhocks are usually listed as a biennial, which means that you plant them one year, it grows leaves and roots, and then flowers the following year. However, many of them can be grown as an annual (flower the year they’re planted) if you start them early indoors. Being the black plant lover that I am, I recommend ‘Watchman’ which will send up 6 foot tall deep burgandy flower spikes.
Sunflowers
Photo by Esdras Calderan
There are some sunflowers that will grow to 14 feet tall. If you can’t block out your neighbors with 14 feet of of sunflowery goodness, then you should probably just move. Sunflowers are another double-duty plant. If you grow a variety that produces yummy seeds, you can either eat them or let your feathery friends have them. Either way, bees will definitely appreciate all the pollen.
Foxglove
Photo by FatMandy
If you have a shady balcony, then foxgloves are your friend. They come in all sorts of colors and can grow to 5 feet tall. Put them in a 2 foot tall pot and you have a stunning flower curtain that you and bees will love. Here’s a container recipe featuring foxgloves.
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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great post! I look forward to your post about Target’s garden center – I hope it’s better than Lowes or Home Depot!
What about vines? My go-to plant for quick screening is morning glories — cheap and easy to grow from seed, and they’ll cover any opening quickly — just tie some strings up, and they’ll grow like crazy!
Joseph–This isn’t an exhaustive list (obviously) but I didn’t include any vines because many apartments and condos forbid you to have them.
I’m going to have to revisit that Foxglove container idea…my girlfriend moved into her first solo apartment and she asked for help w/decorating….
Thanks Fern!
Oooh, I’d love to see pics of what you guys do with the balcony Mary!
Prue–If you start your hollyhocks early in the season, they’ll bloom the first year in your area. It’s usually cold climates that don’t have a long enough warm season for hollyhocks to flower the first year.
heheh I love the giant sunflower idea, not only would I block out the neighbours to the elft and right but the upstairs ones too!!! I have hollyhock seeds, black ones, and keep meaning to sow them but am probably too impatient to wait for them to flower. Great ideas as usual.
I love these ideas. These are wonderful for any situation in the garden if you want to block or not! WHO Can resist! Thanks for tweeting these so I could follow you over.
Great post!
Also, how about clumping (non-invasive) bamboo?
Lorraine–That would work too. Though on a balcony, you don’t really have to worry about invasiveness since the bamboo can’t go anywhere outside it’s pot.
Just catching up on my blogs while sitting, waiting for my last few weeks in Iraq to end.
In regards to vines and morning glories, as well as other fast-growing plants to use for privacy measures:
Check your local ordinances regarding invasive species and problem plants. Portland, Oregon lists Morning Glories and English Ivy in their invasive species list. You could be fined if these are planted in an area outdoors that could contribute to the plant spreading beyond your property. (In our local parks, we have 100ft tall trees dying from English Ivy choking them out!)
JT–Invasive species aren’t really a problem for balcony gardeners because our plants are contained. Though if your balcony hovers over open land, that should definitely be a consideration.
Thanks for stooping by LOTB and thanks for your service!
I love reading all these ideas for balconies. Do you have any ideas for eye level cubicles at work. I sit across from someone in my office who is very annyoing and would love to have some privacy in my work area with plants. Do you have any suggestions??
Thanks
Cynthia–What kind of natural light does your cubicle get?
The office has flourescent lighting and I sit near windows, which let in light during the day. Thanks for any info.
Cynthia
Cynthia–How many hours of sunlight? Is it direct sunlight or filtered through trees? How far away are you from the window? What direction is the window facing?
It is indirect sunlight, there is maybe five hours or so. I sit about 8 feet away from the west window.
Thanks
Cynthia
Hmmm…How about a bushy Rabbit’s Foot Fern, Schefflera, or Peace Lily.
Good Morning,
thank you, I will try anything…..
Cynthia
Hi there.
I would love to change my balcony to a neat, simple garden. But affraid i could invite birds. How can i avoid them? Please suggest. Thank you.
Veni–Not sure why birds would be a bad thing, but if you don’t want them on your balcony, don’t plant things they like, such bushes that produce berries or fruit trees.
thanx fern. I have this wiered serious bird fobia!! Thts why i dont want them in my balcony. You cant find someone like me – loves green so much & scared of birds. It’s a plain semi-circle 6ft diametre balcony. I always dream of big land wth beautiful garden house. Yeah… everybody likes that. I’m thinkin of covering my hold balcony wth grille (is tht a bad idea?) and hve creepers, pebles on the floor & some botanical plants in pots. Any sugestions?
Veni–There is netting that you can get from the garden center that is meant to be draped over fruit trees to keep birds from eating the fruit. You could try hanging it around your balcony to keep them from getting in. It is less visible than a metal grille but just as effective. But honestly, the only birds that have ever come on to my balcony were there to drink from my hummingbird feeder or eat from my bird feeder. I don’t think birds will be as big a problem as you think.
Thanks fern! Will try that.
Thank you! I am moving into a great apartment with a horrible view I can now sleep at night having some ideas on how to hide it!
Yay & thanks!
I use lattice wherever I need to screen an undesirable view, and to add privacy, with or without a plant (usually ivy) growing on it.