Tall, narrow plant to grow in planters to hide west-facing new fence

[Whattogrowhere]

Our neighbours have replaced their fence - hurrah - the other one was falling down and slightly over our boundary.
It's left a gap on our side and I need ideas for what to grow up it. They're happy for us to fix a wire for climbers or trellis to it.
It's west-facing and at this time of year gets full sun from about 12.30.
We need to keep the path as clear as possible to take bikes, wheelbarrow, bins etc to the front of the house.

My thoughts so far:

• Custom-made long wooden planters at the base (this is the only option for soil/compost as there's only concrete at the base)
• Would any fruit trees survive in a planter if it was deep enough? I'm thinking dwarf pleached trees, but not apples as we already have those.
• Are there any (evergreen?) shrubs that would work in planters ? We'd need to trim away the base to keep the path clear
• Ideally we need something that would give colour or at least be green for as long as possible.

Thanks for any advice ☺️

As they'll be in a planter, have you thought about one of the bamboos? They would give colour throughout most of the year and will quickly provide cover.

Bamboo Fargesia is lovely in a pot.

I hate bamboo, so I'd stick with a climber. Trachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine) is evergreen and would make a great screen.

Bamboo. There are some lovely ones around

Thank you! I was thinking of bamboo, we already have some on the other side of the garden (can't say I love it, but it screens well), and also already have some jasmine which I think is star jasmine.
Any thoughts on dwarf fruit trees? Would there be enough soil in a narrow but deep planter to create an espalier/pleach affair? I've never tried those and am a haphazard gardener...

There are patio varieties which would be suitable for pots, they would need a fair bit of feeding and watering to fruit though and I don't think they get particularly tall.

Thank you, I'll take a look. They don't need to be super-tall as the fence is already a tad over 6ft.

What about a conifer? Juniper 'Skyrocket' is tall and narrow.

Thank you.

I think that might be a bit too big. I know we can keep the height and spread down by pruning but the planter it goes in won't be huge, long and narrow.

Fruit trees will dry out too easily in a planter box and they need consistent water to produce fruit. Also they are generally deciduous so will only provide screening for half the year.
I'd go with a climber, particularly a drought tolerant one. Try something from this list: https://tropicalstyleplants.com/shallow-rooted-plants-for-full-sun/