Trees in pots

[Rain1975]

Just after a bit of advice. At the end of our garden is a first floor flat with the kitchen window overlooking us completely (Clear glass so breach of building regs but I’m on to that with the council) We want to plant a tree to block the view of our garden but the space where It would need to be is 2-3 metres wide between our garage wall and their wall. I know nothing about trees and worry if a silver birch which is tall and narrow and would fit In the space above ground may cause damage to the buildings with the roots. Can you even grow a tall tree in a pot? Any advice much appreciated thank you.

I don't think a tree big enough to give you privacy would be happy in a pot, and planting in the ground would be too near the wall. What about a trellis and climbing plant?

You can, but it needs to be a big pot! Look at panel trees or pleached trees. They are a trunk with the canopy trained into a square for maximum privacy. You'd want an ever green one too. Holm oak?

How far into your garden can they see? Because of the angle of vision from their window, you might not need a very tall tree to block the view.
Laurel grows quickly and can get up to about 3.50 m. It is evergreen and easier to manage than a tree., so you can prune it to suit your side.
I’d avoid silver birches, we had 6 mature ones in our previous garden, they required maintenance every couple of years.

Could you build a raised bed - to give you some height to start with? Then put in a trellis and climbers and an arch. Maybe a small tree like a rowan. I had a rowan in a relatively small raised bed that did really well.

It's not evergreen but the climbers could be.

Brilliant ideas thank you. At the moment I’m on the verge of erecting a billboard over the window saying ‘Stop gawping’ but that would be a little unreasonable.