not unless you sign up for a lifetime of pruning them .. and keep in mind.. in your z5.. .. perhasp ground freeze CHI ... you wont have the year around growth that peeps in warmer climes might get ....

look for single leader de groots spires.. for a plant with better width control ..

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Thuja+occidentalis+%27DeGroot%27s+Spire%27&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images

the single leader part is very important ...

pay money for the real thing.. dont limit yourself to bigbox option ... which are the names you asked about ....

ken

ps: and if it were me.. i would consider trellises and vines for faster result... while the trees take however many years to grow to fill the spot ..

trees grow in tree time.. counted in decades ... and short of spending a very lot of money to buy huge ones ... they arent going to accomplish your goal very fast ...

now.. if budget is secondary.. you might want to peruse this website:

https://www.instanthedge.com/

Great advice @ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5--Thank you!

I wouldn't plant anything that's going to end up plastered right against any part of the house. And overhanging any exposed gutters that might be involved, completely blocking visibility out of windows and so on. Also just from an aesthetic standpoint you don't want anything in a bed that becomes hugely taller than the distance the bed is wide, because this is a great way to produce an overgrown appearance.

Ditto the recommendation for DeGroot's Spires- I find them wonderfully useful in smaller beds- they just behave very nicely. They were one of the few conifers that did not experience any damage from this winter's ice storm.

btw .... if you give us a better shot of the whole project.. we might be able to offer other suggestions ...

oh.. and i forgot to mention.. no snow load issues on de groots ... it does snow in chi town.. doesnt it ??? ...... lol .. the other arbs can have trouble with heavy wet snow and ice storms ... these dont ..

yw ...

ken

btw: ... these are conifers.. which are trees... they do not stop growing at some magical height ...

the de groots can get much taller than you probably want.. so you will probably be topping them in the future ... which is no big deal.. presuming you will have a ladder proper to working at that height ...

i planted some about 20 years ago .. and they are about 20 feet tall .. from one foot babes .... and thats isnt going to look right in that spot ...

is this a new house.. or a new or rebuild porch project???

ken

Attached is a picture of the full project. We added the porch to our existing home. If there are concerns on DeGroot's, are there other suggestions that may be better suited for this space that still provides privacy? Installing a trellis will be a tough sell...

@Embothrium--Good call out, though we aren't expecting much of an overhang on the bed in question.

Yeah, as much as I like DeGroots, that spot is just too narrow. Combine that with the lime leached from the driveway and the porch foundation your soil may have a high pH there. I could see tan roll up bamboo blinds on both sides of the porch as gal suggested to give a consistency in the look of privacy. What direction does the house face?

Nice porch, BTW.

tj

I would agree that the space is way too narrow for any mentioned thus far. It looks as if there is no planting space on the other side of the driveway? Your privacy concern is to this side only, but the front and other side of house will remain open?

Don't forget to connect your downspout(s) to some underground piping to get it off the driveway.

agree ... the space isnt suited to trees or conifers ...

i like the drape idea ... can be pulled back when not in use.. but if you are sitting out there.. release it for a bit of privacy ...

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=patio+curtains+for+privacy+&t=ffnt&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

but i wouldnt hurry on all that.. just see what happens this summer ... do you spend a lot of time out there ... do the neighbors ... is it even really a problem that need be fixed ...???

====

moving on from that ...

do you need the front lawn for anything??? ... .. bocci ... kids.. etc ... if not use the space in landscaping ...

i really like your stone work.. and i wouldnt hide it by planting stuff to hide.. crikey.. you just paid a boatload of money for it.. show it off .. and dont forget.. foundations plantings are planted to hide the foundation .. NOT ON THE FOUNDATION ... [and btw.. that the base issue with the de groot space ... they would literally be on the foundation ....]

so i would come out at lest 10 feet .. and make some plantings out there.. berms or beds ... to give a 3D impact between the plants.. and the stone work ...

and again ... a plan for this could evolve while you are testing the porch this summer .. lol ...

the next best planting time to spring.. is fall ... so you have plenty of time to come up with a unified landscape .. unifying the the stone.. to the lawn.. to the beds ...

ken

another idea would be akin to old fashioned window shades.. something the rolls itself up ... and it could easily be hidden in the top of the porch

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=deck+shades+privacy&t=ffnt&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

Plant your side hedges just inside the property line instead of immediately next to the porch. If it were mine I would also have maximum height permitted solid wood fencing all around the edge of the lot.

If being on display from the front while on the porch is a concern landscape the front yard for privacy - looks like there is plenty of room for that between the porch and the street.