Euonymous alatus? Here is a link that might be useful: Euonymous alatus

Could you give us a more recent picture, preferably of the whole bush? The second one may be a lilac, but I'm not sure.

I can't quite visualize what your situation is. How close to the maples do you want to plant? Planting under mature trees is very tricky or not possible at all. You are probably dealing with soil that's very dry, packed with roots and depleted. Even if you can find pockets of usable soil, you will have to water your new plants forever on a regular basis, because the maples will suck every drop of water from that soil, and their leaves will catch the rain before it can reach the ground. Do you have access to a hose back there? We would need more information from you, and a pic would be very helpful.

Gevork, my sis lives in carlsbad and has a small backyard. she packs a big punch w/a lot of foliage though. I'm posting it so you can see what's she's planted against her fence, and the type of hardscape and garden stuff she uses. Here's her front. (it's a rather small house) behind that fence is a nice patio/courtyard she does a lot of succulents, plumerias, ferns and a bazillion others! If you did succulents, like she's done here, they don't require a huge amount of tending. you have the perfect climate for them. add some hardscape like a path, rocks, pebbles, birdbath, fountain, plant a few fruit trees, or container plants. (there's a huge nursery she goes to in Escondido ) here's the back This one is mine. another option against your fence could be something easily done by you with a raised flower bed. I did the teak wood path myself and used flagstone/pebbles with it. our styles aren't too far apart! i