Thanks Pat. I have thought of the large pot idea, someone else in my neighborhood does that. I personally don't like the look of it, but now I'm thinking it's because of her round pots and massive tropical plants. I'd probably like something more like this:

I wonder if my association would ding me for making a fence out of potted plants then? Plus I would lose patio space unless I used a very narrow planter box. I'd also want it to be 3 1/2 feet high, hence making it look wall-like. I initially wanted to put a removable fence out there so I can garage it in the winter. But a large planter box or 2 is one idea to consider.

There are privacy screens (like room dividers) for outdoors that you could easily fold up when not in use.

Yeah, I'd love something portable but screens of any kind are not allowed in my association. I really wanted to try one of these portable fences, but not allowed either:

A row of corn. No, I'm not kidding. If you have nowhere to plant in the ground, then in large enough trough containers.

Gardening of fruits and vegetables are definitely not allowed by my association. I'd love to grow corn though if I could!

However, I think I have found a solution to my dilemma:

These are "technically" raised planter boxes but the lattice gives a nice screen/gate effect and hopefully some privacy. I'm really just looking to close off the L shape opening of my patio. I think the top picture planter is the type I'd use. Of course I won't buy them as I would like a custom size so I'll look into hacking something together as a knock-off.

Typical condo association in my area where the condo commandos restrict all the life and beauty out of the neighborhood.