Thank you for your answers so far. You are all probably right about planting now. It does not appear too hot but maybe I should wait till Fall. But it is so hot now along the back side of the house. To clarify. The back wall of my place ( 2 stories) faces west. There is nothing out in that area now except concrete. So it is conceivable that I can break some of the concrete and plant a wall of greenery to not only keep it cooler but also provide privacy from my neighbors behind me ( also 2 stories). Is this really a bad time to plant? I am also open to any other suggestions you all may have. I do need some help with this.

I have a very tall (at least 12 feet) Podocarpus gracillior hedge on 3 sides of my yard which serves as a privacy screen from 2-story neighbors on all sides. We have a pool, and although it doesn't break up concrete and is an effective screen, it is a MAJOR maintenance chore and I wouldn't recommend it, unless you like getting up on a ladder and trimming constantly. I would love to rip it out. I also have an Australian willow (Geijera parviflora), which is an evergreen, very pretty, slighty weeping, not a lot of litter, well-behaved-roots tree. This might be a good solution for what looks like a narrow spot where the neighbor's balcony is and where your concrete starts. I've seen them grow with either a roundish canopy or taller and narrower canopy. When choosing a tree, if you want a narrower silhouette, pick a young tree that's narrower. It casts light shade and isn't a dense tree like some others, but it will certainly soften the intrusion from the neighbors and provide some relief from the kiddies. Another favorite of mine which many people may eschew, is Nichol's eucaplyptus (or Eucalyptus nicholii). I have three of them and I love them. They are tall, as tall as my 2-story house, and willowy. They grow in very narrow spots and don't break up concrete. They don't get as tall as the eucalpytus you seen along the freeways (E. citriodora). The E. citriodora (or lemon gum) is also susceptible to the psyllid which is killing many of them. (I had a lemon gum which got the pysllid and a nicholii 10 feet away from it which didn't. I had the citriodora removed and the nicholii is still just fine.) Some people however, complain that because of the toxins in the eucalyptus leaves, they can't grow anything below them. I don't have that problem, but you might want to keep that in mind. They are also very difficult to find, but there are nurseries that can order them if you really want one. I recently had a large melaleuca tree removed because it was too close to the pool and was about to bust through. We are now naked to the world (or so it seems) in that spot. Rather than plant more of the hedge-from-hell, I plan to to plant a naturalistic collection of evergreen trees and plants that will act as a hedge, but not require the constant upkeep of a hedge. I'm in Huntington Beach, BTW. Good luck!

We used California Pools and Spas (the Orange County Branch). We were very pleased with them and had no issues for the duration of our construction.

One piece of missing information is the width you are willing to take up with plant matter. Another is the height you want. For instance, Thuja Green Giant, one posted recommendation, can grow to 40’ tall and 20’ wide. The photos don’t suggest that you have that kind of space to use, and keeping plants that want to be so large to a reasonable size is a lot of work. Likewise, the Austrees can develop quite a bit of width and height. Until you know if the next door house is likely to be 1 or 2 story and how close to the lot line of is likely to be, it can be tough to decide on the best screening size. Also, any part of the plant that grows over the property line is fair game for the neighbor to prune/remove in every jurisdiction where I have lived, so you want to plant where most of the plant grows on your side of the property line. A few more questions: -How much pruning are you willing to do on a row of plants that is so long? Fast growing plants will either need considerable pruning (a couple of times a year) or a few such as the willows, you might be able to maintain them wih stooling (cutting to the ground periodically), though that will leave you with no screen for a few weeks each spring. Pruning 20’ plants is typically done with a lift truck; do you have the $ and access for that? -Are deer an issue in your area? That is another consideration since favored plants may be eaten to the trunk, as high as the deer can reach, and lollipops won’t give much ground level screening. -Are you looking for year round screening which would require an evergreen or something that grows so densely that even when leaves have fallen there is still privacy, or is a deciduous plant that only gives privacy during the growing season adequate? If the neighboring house will be two stories, look at a narrower arborvitae/Thuja such as Emerald Green that stays uner 5’ in width, but still gets reasonable height. Or consider a fence for ground level privacy along with trees whose tops will provide privacy such as medium sized deciduous trees. They will fill much less of the ground level space in your yard.