In an increasingly hectic time, the balcony of one's own apartment is increasingly being rediscovered as a place for relaxation and regeneration. The necessary privacy can be provided with a privacy screen made from plants or with a creatively designed privacy screen made from weatherproof materials.
What options are there for balcony privacy screens?
Colorful plastic nets, fan-shaped side awnings, natural materials such as willow branches or reed mats as well as natural plants such as gladioli, nasturtiums, rocket juniper or climbing plants such as ivy and wisteria are ideal for effective balcony privacy.
Choosing the right privacy screen for your own balcony
First of all, you should discuss with the landlord or neighbors which parameters need to be taken into account when installing a privacy screen on the balcony. If colorful and eye-catching materials and shapes are also an option, colorful plastic nets (€15.00 on Amazon) can be a choice that is easy to attach. The approximately 120 cm high and available in any length made of weather-resistant material are mostly used when a balcony with a glass parapet or a lattice-like parapet design needs to be covered opaquely. A visual separation from the neighbors on the sides can be flexibly designed with a fan-shaped side awning. You can quickly and inexpensively make your own privacy screen for the balcony using natural materials such as willow branches or reed mats.
Green the balcony with a natural privacy screen
Many people prefer a green privacy screen made of plants on the balcony over a visual border with PVC mats and folding walls. After all, especially with a flowering privacy screen, the liveliness of nature, together with birds and insects, comes right up to your own window. While plants such as gladioli or the climbing nasturtium are suitable as privacy screens for a balcony that is mainly used in summer, columnar hedge plants such as the rocket juniper or the extremely slender Thuja occidentalis Malonyana also offer protection from prying eyes in winter. With these plants, you also have to think about pruning them in good time before the strong-growing cypresses literally grow over your head.
Climbing plants as privacy screens on the balcony
The following climbing plants cope well with the sometimes relatively extreme temperature and humidity conditions on a balcony, but due to their rapid growth they also need to be cut back relatively regularly as they get older:
- Ivy
- Trumpet Winds
- Honeysuckle
- Wild Wine
- Wisteria
Please note that the shoots of many climbing plants that thicken over the years can also pose a significant risk to the structure of the house and balcony.
Tip
Please note that many climbing plants used as privacy screens are heavy feeders and therefore require, in addition to regular fertilization, sufficiently large planters with humus-rich substrate. The corresponding heaviness of the planters on the balcony also means that they must be effectively secured against possible falls due to additional stress from gusts of wind.
