Is the highway parallel to the stone wall, or in front of the garage?

If your near a highway...I would want some fast growing upright everygreens maybe as a screen..but not at the deck edge..but back maybe ten feetish? That would help with the sounds of a busy road and the lights and PRIVACY too.. I would also take that swing and turn towards one side of the deck..not on it..but four and five feet away..but facing it..so you could swing and converse with people on the deck at the same time..with the evergreens as a screen behind the screen...

Lattice would work but personally I am not a lattice fan. I find it really hides little...and it does nothing to hide lights or noise....and nothing for a bit of shade as the sun winds down either. My vote..a natural screen of plantings...with a nice winding path from that garage door to the deck..a leisurely stroll.. :)

Any way you could post some more pics of the deck area? Is the retaining wall witch is lovely, the end of the property? How close are your neighbors? Is the retaining wall part of a drainage area? If not then can you plant some trees there that can give some hight to the area? Yes you can put lattice around the deck but it might be best to rock in under the deck to keep out weeds as nothing will probably grow there. Maybe a ground cover but I don't see it. Soil may not get warm enough to grow a ground cover. And I don't think anything would look good or give you any interest. It appears to be dead space so go with rock and screen it in with the lattice. You have a nice side yard here that could be screened in with upright evergreens. Just don't know how much wind or what the exposure is. Do tell us somemore!

Thanks for the replies! I'll have to take a photo to get you the "bigger picture" tomorrow. I really don't want to plant evergreens there, and you'll understand once I explain. We are in the country, so no neighbors. The highway is in front of the garage, however the way it curves, standing on the deck, people can see us there. Just no privacy. Where I was standing when I took the picture was actually at the door of my horse barn. We have a barn there, and beyond that pastures. So my windows on this side of the house, yes, I see road, but I also look out over the pastures at my horses. That view I don't want to block. That is also why the swing is facing the way it does....right at sundown, I often like to sit on the swing, watch the sunset, and watch my horses before it gets dark. If not for the horses, I would love to put up a line of evergreens there for protection from the wind, etc. But, seeing the horses means more to me. So, Although it would be nice to see them from the deck too, I think I'd much rather have the privacy...or at least a little bit...and somehow block the view just a little. I got the idea while at my mom's house, seeing her clematis vines growing tall on their trellises. Made me wonder if I could plant something there to block the view just a little, part of the year. See, living on this highway, I feel like we're always being stared at. Basically because we are! But in the back yard, it would be nice to have a bit more privacy...at least on the deck. This side does face west. I know it's quite plain...my whole yard looks like that! LOL