I doubt your HOA will let you put an extension on the fence.
Italian Cypress are pretty and grow very quickly.

I know how you feel. Even if your neighbors are not out,,, as long as windows are directly in sight, it does take away from privacy.

Canna can grow quickly to 10 feet. But, they'll die back in the winter. Which might work out fine if you don't use your yard in the winter. On my end I do.

A quick growing shade tree would also work, but probably lose it's leaves in the winter.

I love Italian cypress. But they are slow growers. That is for sure.

Heres' something I ran into when I bought my house. I was a little worried about the neighbors, till I moved in and got to know what a nice group they were.

The Thuja Green giant is sapposed to grow quicker and is much wider than an Italian Cypress. It's only one link, I'd suggest you do more homework on it.

Good luck!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Thuja Gree Giant

Check with your county agricultural extension service or local garden club before you spend money on Italian cypress;
in some areas, notably Dallas, they don't thrive, & they're short-lived.

If you don't have an HOA, or if your HOA's power is limited to paying the maintenance fees for common areas, etc, you might add a lattice-type extension to the top of your privacy fence.

Plant fast-growing morning glories for this year, while planting something tall for the future.

Thanks for all your advice. I am taking it all into consideration...I like the idea of the latice type extensions....and growing something in the mean time. I read that crepe myrtle grows pretty fast.....would that be a good option?

I've been trying to grow a privacy screen for 5 years now. If I had it to do over again I would just build a taller fence. The main reason is that 5 years later, these plants still aren't high enough to give us any privacy at all.

Plant some good sized yaupon hollies along that fence and it should do the trick.

This brings to memory a funny story a friend told me. She said that her house is the one on the incline and some people moved into a house behind them, except they had an alley separating them, but could still see a little bit into their yard. These back door neighbors started letting weeds grow along the alley and in their yard. She soon found out why they let everything grow so tall in their yard when she walked out onto her back deck, glanced over into the yard and the couple was outside naked! She ran back into the house to tell her husband that the neighbors were outside naked - must have thought those tall weeds would hide things, but they weren't doing the trick! ;D They ended up calling the city to report the tall weeds since city ordinance says your lawn needs to be kept below 12 inches. These people were forced to mow their yard and hopefully they didn't go outside naked anymore!

I have the same issue with a 3' CHAIN LINK FENCE!!!AAAkkkk!
Wax Myrtles are my favorite and have provided more privacy than a 10 ft Lady Banks rose. (The rose is still a bit see-thru). The downside is that they are "short lived" about 15 yrs. In that time you could easily grow another hedge that's also evergreen and thick that grows more slowly and lives longer. The info on here says they need acid soil. I live on alkaline caliche clay. The berries are so small I don't notice them. The trees are readily avalible at most garden centers around DFW. PJ

Here is a link that might be useful: Wax Myrtle

Denisew,
Those neighbors were doing the nekkid turtle dance, saving you the embarrasment ;-)

back on-topic, the wax myrtle, crepe myrtle (downside is dormancy) and yaupons are all good suggestions in my opinion. I want arborvitae in the worst way and that is what I'd plant.

Pam

Here is a link that might be useful: My wish list