Hi. I would maybe try some bay trees - Laurus nobilis - in a lollipop shape. They can be kept in pots and you would need to get them so they’re around head height. We are planning to do the same for our place but have beds to plant them in. You would need to get 2 or 3 of them and this would act as a simple screen and look quite contemporary. People would have to make a bit more of an effort if they wanted to look in whilst passing by. There are other potted shrubs that may work as well such as photinia (not sure how long these last in pots though?).

I’m not sure about the ivy screen as it may look a bit thin and random as I would associate it with climbing up a wall or fence.

AR thank you for that idea. I have been thinking of bay trees too

How about placing window film on the lower half of the window? It will give you privacy without cutting out the light. Police Neighbourhood Watch advise not to have high planting/hedge in a front garden as it gives burglars cover.

Thanks all. Loving the ideas

I would be nervous the ivy would go rampant (it does tend to) and take over the walls!

I think half height shutters (pricey), window film, or bottom up roller blinds are your best bet. Or a sign saying “Hello Nosey Parker”

Ooh tall window boxes are a fab idea too.

Similar idea to a window box, but a trough on legs - same height/width as windowledge. I have got one of these, and because you can make then deeper than a window box, the range of plants you can use increases. Also they don't need watering all the time in hot weather, like a shallower box would. The increased planting area makes for spectacular displays if you are that way inclined.

I wouldn't like to block my view with shutters or opaque film I would feel like I was in a box. I love being able to look out a window and would also like to retain a view of my own garden. A house near us has a hedge and then a row of pleached trees above. There is a gap between the hedge and the green of the pleached trees which is enough to stop people trying to peer in. It looks absolutely stunning. I love it. Not sure if I would be allowed to upload a photo of someone else's house?

Slooky, please do upload if you feel comfortable doing so (I’m sure they would take it as a compliment) or take a sideways shot to give us an idea without getting the house in. I’m really keen to look at other ideas before we plant bay trees in our front garden.

Hi Slooky please upload if you can. Thanks

I will try and take a photo but not until next week as I am working away at the moment. I could ask my husband!

Hi AR I just wanted to say we planted a bay tree hedge in our front garden in our old house to stop people looking into our basement because the kids played down there but we were never really happy with it. It did the job but it never really looked plush and healthy but we were on a very busy road. But I do agree it did look different to all the yew hedges or laurel which are used abundantly as hedges.

We have planted 3 portuguese laurel in our current back garden. We are trying to create a screen. They haven't grown big enough yet to create a hedge but I do like them because the leaves are smaller than an english laurel so you don't get lots of big leaves cut in half if you take a hedge trimmer to it. They are a lovely dark green and the stems on the fresh growth are also slightly red which is attractive. One of them (don't know why only one) also has tendrils of white flowers in a cigar shape which is also pretty. Not sure if you would still get the flowers if it was trimmed every year into a hedge. The Laurel are planted at a low level which I hope in time will just grow taller than the fence. We have then planted 2 metres in front of them on a higher level 5 photinia trees (lollypop shape but 10 ft tall) which hopefully should grow together and prevent neighbours seeing us from their top windows. I think it might take 3 years yet. We were thinking of pleaching but I decided to let them grow naturally. It's created a layer effect which is quite pretty. I will take a photo of that when I get home.

Tried to take this so the house wouldn't be recognized.

Thanks Slooky. I like it. I am looking to put some green as the front of the house is just so stark. I have a garden designer coming on saturday. I will let you all know what they advise.

I wouldn't recommend ivy screens, they are basic, intended for commercial use, exhaust themselves after a few years and for a private front garden, you can find better solutions... check your deeds etc. to see if there is any height restrictions to your boundary wall, if not, i would build a trellis screen, with or without climbers.

Make use of as much space as possible. A nice hedge in front against the wall and then some full window boxes would do the trick. Go for a low maintenance self watering window boxes display. We also have a stick on film on our windows which works a treat. Pleached trees also might be worth exploring depending on your budget

Some photos of a portion of our back garden. The house on the left has a huge dormer window which we wanted to block out and then the bungalow on the right raised the roof and installed many windows some only 8ft from the boundary which the council allowed as they said we had a big garden and the windows although close to the boundary were a long way from our house. So the summerhouse will eventually be nestled nicely in the evergreen firs which we planted. You can just about see the portuguese laurel (middle one got sick for a while and we thought it was a goner but it recovered this year and so is very small) in front of the fence. I hope these will get above the height of the fence. As the photinia trees grow I hope they will knit together to form a screen and we hope to raise the crown by pruning.