The Best Shrubs for Creating Privacy in Your Yard

Today I’m sharing my suggestions for the best shrubs for creating privacy in your yard. We recently put in a pool, and wanted to have as much privacy as possible in our backyard. One side of our yard borders the main walking trail through the neighborhood. This is super convenient as we have easy access to the trail but it impacts our privacy as people are always walking by and taking a peek at the new pool. Over the last few weeks, we’ve planted many new shrubs which over time will fill in that open space and create privacy. We live in coastal South Carolina so plants mentioned here are best for warm, humid climates with relatively mild winters.

Sweet Viburnum

Sweet Viburnum is a great option if you want shrubs that will get tall quickly. We planted seven of them less than three years ago and they are already HUGE. In the picture below, these are the ones that have grown up to the roof line of our neighbor’s house. We added five more 30 gallon plants recently to extend the shrubs all the way down the fence line. As you can see from the picture below, the new ones on the right are only a fraction of the size of the existing ones on the left.

Sweet Viburnum grows amazingly fast and can get up to 20 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide. They prefer full sun with some afternoon shade. In the spring, they have fragrant, small white flowers.

Wax Myrtles

We planted five Wax Myrtles in the wooded area behind our house to fill in the space that was cleared so equipment could access our yard for pool construction. Wax Myrtles are native to South Carolina. Here are some at a nearby pond that are absolutely massive. I have no idea how long those have been there but you can easily see how large they can get.

Here are the 30 gallon Wax Myrtles we just planted in the woods.

For comparison, here are some that have been in our yard for several years. Wax Myrtles grow at a rate of up to 5 feet a year, reaching a mature height of 15 to 20 feet. They prefer partial shade to full sun. They can be pruned into a hedge, limbed up to look like a tree or left to grow wild.

This is an example of some Wax Myrtles in our neighborhood that have been limbed up to look like trees. Hopefully ours will be this big one day!

Chinese Fan Palms

Chinse Fan Palms will definitely give your yard a tropical feel. We planted five of these along our back fence as a buffer between our yard and the walking trail.

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Our neighbors have several in their yard which are about five years old. When ours get this big we’ll have total privacy from the walking trail. Chinese Fan Palms usually max out at 15 feet tall with a 10 to 12-foot spread. They prefer mostly shade with small amounts of indirect sunlight.

Bottle Brush

Last but not least are, another shrub that’s great for creating privacy is Bottle Brush. Our neighbors have a beautiful, thick hedge made up of Bottle Brush bushes. Bottle Brush plants can get up to 15 feet tall, and need full sun.

They bloom in the spring and summer with bristly red flowers that resemble a bottle brush of course!

Here are some younger bottle brush shrubs at another house nearby.

Our backyard also includes Ligustrum, Yews, and Elaeagnus which were recently planted. I’ll have to do a follow up post in a couple years with an update on their progress.

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I hope you’ve found this guide for the best shrubs for creating privacy in your yard to be helpful. If you decide to plant new shrubs in your yard, check out my step by step guide for transplanting potted plants to the ground.

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