Fences are out—lush, green privacy is in. Jacksonville gardeners are filling their backyards with fast-growing plants that create natural screens, soften the landscape, and block out nosy neighbors in style.
These living walls don’t just add privacy—they boost curb appeal, attract birds, and thrive in Florida’s climate. Want your own private escape? Start with these local favorites.
1. Clumping Bamboo
Unlike its invasive cousin, clumping bamboo stays where you plant it while creating dense, towering privacy screens. The gentle rustling of bamboo leaves adds a peaceful soundtrack to your yard.
Jacksonville’s climate is perfect for varieties like Bambusa multiplex, which can reach heights of 20-25 feet. With minimal maintenance and fast growth, you’ll have privacy in no time flat.
2. Southern Wax Myrtle
Native to Florida, Southern Wax Myrtle thrives in Jacksonville’s sandy soils and humid conditions. Its aromatic leaves release a pleasant fragrance when brushed against, adding sensory appeal to your privacy barrier.
Growing 10-15 feet tall with dense, olive-green foliage, this evergreen shrub provides year-round screening. Birds love the waxy berries it produces, bringing wildlife viewing opportunities to your secluded space.
3. Leyland Cypress
Zooming upward at an impressive 3-4 feet per year, Leyland Cypress creates a living wall faster than most privacy options. The soft, feathery foliage forms an impenetrable screen when trees are planted 6-8 feet apart.
Jacksonville gardeners appreciate how this evergreen thrives in our climate with minimal fuss. Reaching heights of 40-60 feet if left unpruned, you can easily maintain it at your desired height with annual trimming.
4. Sweet Viburnum
Sweet Viburnum earns its popularity through versatility and ease of care in Jacksonville gardens. Glossy, dark green leaves create a dense privacy screen while fragrant white flowers appear in spring, filling your yard with sweet perfume.
Reaching 15-20 feet tall with an equal spread, this evergreen shrub tolerates both sun and partial shade. Jacksonville’s hot summers and mild winters create ideal growing conditions for this low-maintenance privacy champion.
5. Podocarpus
Known as Japanese Yew, Podocarpus creates an elegant living fence with its slender, dark green leaves and upright growth habit. Jacksonville gardeners love its adaptability to different light conditions and soil types.
Growing at a moderate pace, Podocarpus reaches 15-30 feet tall while maintaining a tidy appearance with minimal pruning. The dense foliage effectively blocks sight lines while adding sophisticated texture to your landscape design.
6. Hollywood Juniper
Architectural and dramatic, Hollywood Juniper makes a statement while creating privacy. Its twisted, spiraling growth pattern and blue-green foliage add unique visual interest unlike any other screening plant.
Thriving in Jacksonville’s full sun and tolerating drought once established, this juniper reaches 15 feet tall. The dense branching pattern effectively blocks views while the distinctive silhouette becomes a focal point in your landscape design.
7. Cherry Laurel
Fast-growing and adaptable, Cherry Laurel creates privacy screens in record time throughout Jacksonville neighborhoods. Glossy evergreen leaves maintain their deep green color year-round, ensuring constant screening.
White flower clusters appear in spring, attracting pollinators to your garden. Growing 15-20 feet tall and nearly as wide, Cherry Laurel thrives in Jacksonville’s climate and tolerates both wet and dry conditions once established.
8. Ligustrum
Ligustrum’s rapid growth rate makes it a favorite for Jacksonville homeowners wanting privacy yesterday. The glossy, evergreen leaves form a dense screen that can be shaped through pruning or allowed to grow naturally.
Fragrant white flowers appear in spring, though some consider the scent too strong for small spaces. Reaching 8-12 feet tall and wide, Ligustrum adapts well to Jacksonville’s climate and establishes quickly even in challenging soil conditions.
9. Arborvitae
Emerald Green Arborvitae creates living walls with minimal footprint, perfect for Jacksonville’s smaller yards. The naturally columnar shape requires little pruning to maintain its tidy appearance. Soft, feathery foliage stays green year-round despite Jacksonville’s summer heat.
Growing 12-15 feet tall but only 3-4 feet wide, these evergreens provide privacy without overwhelming your outdoor space, making them ideal for property lines and garden dividers.
10. Tea Olive
Tea Olive combines privacy with perhaps the most heavenly fragrance in the plant kingdom. Several times yearly, tiny white flowers emit an apricot-like perfume that wafts throughout your yard. Dark green, glossy leaves create an attractive screen reaching 10-15 feet tall in Jacksonville gardens.
Slow-growing but long-lived, Tea Olive rewards patient gardeners with decades of privacy and seasonal fragrance that makes outdoor living spaces even more enjoyable.
11. Loropetalum
Purple-leafed varieties of Loropetalum add dramatic color while creating effective privacy screens in Jacksonville gardens. The burgundy foliage creates striking contrast against green landscape plants. Pink fringe-like flowers appear in spring, adding another dimension of visual interest.
Growing 10-15 feet tall and wide, Loropetalum thrives in Jacksonville’s climate and maintains its color best in full sun locations.
12. Italian Cypress
Reaching skyward like green exclamation points, Italian Cypress creates dramatic vertical privacy without taking up much ground space. Their narrow, columnar form makes them perfect for tight spots between properties.
Growing up to 40 feet tall but only 3-5 feet wide, these Mediterranean natives thrive in Jacksonville’s climate. The dense, blue-green foliage remains attractive year-round with minimal maintenance, creating living architecture in your landscape.
13. Bottle Brush
Bottle Brush combines privacy with spectacular red flower spikes that attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your Jacksonville garden. The cylindrical, brush-like blooms create a wildlife paradise behind your privacy screen. Growing 10-15 feet tall and wide, these Australian natives thrive in Jacksonville’s climate. T
The evergreen foliage provides year-round screening while the spring and summer flowers add vibrant color to your outdoor living space.
14. Nellie Stevens Holly
Nellie Stevens Holly creates formal-looking privacy screens with glossy, spined leaves and a naturally pyramidal shape. Red berries appear in fall and winter, adding seasonal color and attracting birds. Growing 15-25 feet tall and 10-15 feet wide, these hollies make excellent privacy screens throughout Jacksonville.
Their moderate growth rate of 2-3 feet per year means you won’t wait forever for privacy, and their dense branching pattern blocks views effectively.
15. Crape Myrtle
Multi-trunked Crape Myrtles create seasonal privacy with spectacular summer flower displays in colors ranging from white to pink, red, and purple. Jacksonville’s long growing season allows these trees to reach their full potential.
While deciduous, the interesting bark patterns provide winter interest when leaves drop. Taller varieties reach 20-30 feet, creating effective privacy screens during Jacksonville’s warm months when outdoor living is at its peak.
16. Asiatic Jasmine
For ground-level privacy, Asiatic Jasmine creates a dense, spreading groundcover that can climb fences and trellises with support. The glossy, oval leaves form a thick mat that prevents erosion on slopes. Not actually a true jasmine, this versatile plant thrives in Jacksonville’s climate in sun or shade.
While not tall enough for standalone privacy, it pairs beautifully with fencing or taller privacy plants to create multi-layered screening in your backyard oasis.
17. Dwarf Burford Holly
More compact than its larger holly cousins, Dwarf Burford Holly creates medium-height privacy screens perfect for beneath windows or as dividers within your yard. The glossy, evergreen leaves have just one spine at the tip.
Growing 5-8 feet tall and wide, these hollies produce bright red berries that persist through winter. Jacksonville gardeners appreciate their adaptability to different soil conditions and their moderate growth rate that doesn’t require constant pruning.
18. Thryallis
Yellow star-shaped flowers bloom nearly year-round on Thryallis, creating cheerful privacy screens throughout Jacksonville. The bright blooms contrast beautifully against the gray-green foliage. Growing 4-6 feet tall and wide, Thryallis works well as a medium-height privacy solution or foundation planting.
Jacksonville’s mild winters allow this tropical plant to thrive, though it may need protection during rare freezes.
19. Viburnum Suspensum
Sandankwa Viburnum creates dense, medium-height privacy screens with textured, leathery leaves that maintain year-round coverage. Small pink flower clusters appear in spring, adding seasonal interest to your privacy barrier.
Growing 6-10 feet tall and wide, this viburnum species thrives in Jacksonville’s climate in both sun and partial shade. The moderate growth rate and natural density make it a low-maintenance choice for creating defined spaces within your landscape.