Is this rented or owned?

For maximum privacy and least loss of yard space, how about a fence?

If a fence is legally or financially impossible right now: Add a trellis to a long, raised planter box along that side and plant beans or gourds. Like your second picture, but a longer box, closer to the street, right where you would like a fence. Use the planter box for annual herbs, flowers, and vegetables, and have the side away from the street wide enough to sit on. Blend of planter and outdoor seating.

Some tall vertical shrubs that thrive in your climate would do the same without the need for a permit. You can test the idea with sunflowers this summer, and cut back on the sunflowers as the shrubs get bigger.

What I don't see is any provision for using that area for anything but walking to the garage. Do you want any BBQ, sitting, hanging out when it's nice weather space?

Owned.

Ive considered a fence as well but its not financially feasible right now. We would like to do one sometime in the future as we'd liek to have a dog. I do like the idea of a long planter as well.

As for useable space...there isnt a whole lot of it out there, but the section you see next to the back door is bricked out on the ground (where the white table is sitting) and thats where the grill will be going. The back sunroom I'll probably use to do veggies as it will get plenty of sunlight and be less susceptible to rodents/insects, etc.

Thanks for your response :)

I would find a budget way to do a fence. You can almost certainly do it for what you're planning to spend on plants, and its advantages outweigh plants by a huge margin. A planter box would be no cheaper either. The plan of using plants has so many disadvantages that, until you'd said why you weren't considering a fence, there was just nothing to say about a way to do it well.

A fence takes no space. Works for the purposes you intend. Has immediate effectiveness, and year-round effectiveness. Is no work to maintain. Can still have plants, which are easy to install after a fence is in, while a fence is harder to build once plants are in place.

You can even do the fence in phases. Not that the plants won't be a phased approach too! But your fence can be effective while you phase it in.

Seek out lumber in creative ways: craigslist free listings is a favourite. Cruise industrial alleys for pallets. But here's the thing: the bones of a fence need only be posts, and a few rails, which to start with could be just 1x2s or whatever you can locate. If you get the dog later, then you can invest in 2x4 rails and pickets, or panels.

I think it would be a good investment to put in new posts; I don't think this would much exceed the cost of the plants you've proposed. Maybe a post hole digger would even be a good investment and affordable; I got one for only $70.

If you ultimately want a tall fence, use tall posts (set the correct distance apart) - your fence can be short to start with.

KarinL

Agree with a fence being the most important component here. Until you do that your lot is going to remain looking crowded into the neighborhood- a fence would make your eye see the yard instead of drifting out to everything else. Your space is undefined, and the numbers of sizable plants you would need to define it would cost far more than a fence. And likely if you ever did decide to add a fence later you would have to pull all the plants and rearrange. Been there, done that and it is a gargantuan task.

You could even just get farm fence stakes and a roll of bamboo fencing if there was no money.
Personally in the interests of the long run I'd bite the bullet and pull out my Visa and have a nice wooden privacy fence done right. Been there done that too and never regretted it not for one single solitary second.

With a good privacy fence your usage of that yard will increase a hundred fold- you will have an intimate, cozy, useful area to spend time and enjoy your yard. A small area for a table, some comfy chairs, and a cocktail and life is good.
It's a long term investment that will pay off.