ᐅ Looking for an evergreen tree or shrub to use as a privacy screen in front of our ground floor bathroom.

As mentioned in another thread, I would like to try avoiding curtains, blinds, etc. inside our house. There are external shutters installed, and beyond that, I prefer to avoid any artificial privacy screens.

One of the first plants I want to put in our garden for this purpose is a tree or large shrub in front of our ground-floor bathroom (outlined in green in the photo). The sill height is about 0.93 m (3 feet), the window is 1.50 m (5 feet) wide and 1.29 m (4 feet 3 inches) tall.

Can you suggest an evergreen plant that would be suitable for this? It can have a somewhat unusual, gnarled shape. (Yellow or pink fruits or flowers would be great. Or perhaps cones in winter.) I’m not yet certain about the exact soil composition, but I will add the necessary soil to the planting hole myself or have the gardener do so.

It would be ideal if the plant (no bamboo) doesn’t cost more than 500 to 600 euros and is already a sufficient size when purchased or grows quickly enough to provide privacy screening. An alternative might be a trellis with an evergreen plant that is not ivy.

A native, low-maintenance plant would be great.

Native and evergreen in large size could be juniper, but it tends to grow slowly. Maybe rhododendron? If the location isn’t too sunny.
As a guest, I would still feel uneasy about having a large window located directly opposite the bathroom.

We have firethorn here between the houses along a path. It can be pruned into a tree shape or kept as a shrub. It has red berries that grow about the size of table tennis balls and is evergreen.

How close do you want to plant something like that right outside the window? From the side, there’s still a certain amount of visibility.

I would rather consider a custom-made pleated blind that is pulled up from the bottom and can be adjusted just high enough to provide privacy. It’s different for a bathroom window, for example, than being completely exposed in the shower.

Dear Diana,
you already have a small guardrail height for protection. The window should also provide brightness. Avoid placing plants too close and use pleated blinds. Whether expensive or inexpensive – neither you nor a guest will pay close attention to it.