I didn't think there was a non-spreading bamboo that would be really dense and tall. We are rural and have bamboo along one side of our pond. We battle it every spring/summer to keep it under control- or we would be surrounded by a bamboo forest. We do love it though and it makes a great haven for birds. I have friends who lived in the city with a courtyard garden. they had bamboo- not sure what kind- but it started to come up in neighbor's yards around them and they had problems with that. Bamboo is a wonderful evergreen though (at least in our zone-6.) We've had it for so long that I don't know what type it is!!

It's obvious you are a very loving & responsible doggie owner and that's wonderful! I have 2 dogs that play in the yard everyday and only recently learned that my aloe vera, Azaleas, Hostas & cyclamin, Chrysanthemums & Ivy are toxic to dogs, yet I've had them in the garden for quite some time. My next door neighbor has an avocado tree that hangs over into my yard and it has never been an issue. My biggest worry mushrooms! But as far as a screen~ I'll chime in with my suggestion~ Dodonaea viscosa cv. purpurea (Purple Dodonaea). You can almost plant it and forget about it. They are evergreen, very drought tolerant and fast growers and do well in our zone. They can get really tall & wide but not invasive at all. They need to be kept pruned (about once a year or every other year)for desired size & shape and to look their best when they get older, but are super easy to prune since the branches are spread out. A few cuts and your done. I think it would be nice for a cottage style as well because they are very informal looking. Just make sure you don't plant them in an area where you have other plants that require a lot of water because over watering will kill it. I have one in a long deep planter that's built in to my deck (approx. 3'deep x 8' long x 12" depth) and give it about 2-3 feet around the roots where I don't water as frequently as I do for plants at the other end of the planter. If you dont like the purple, there is also the green variety. Here is a link that might be useful:

Thank you all so much for the wonderful ideas! I'll be looking at tilting umbrellas later tonight as an immediate measure. Will a 7 foot umbrella be tall enough, do you think? Maybe a 9 foot umbrella would be best? Definitely with a tilt ! ! One of my friends mentioned that she thought the tree was a fruitless mulberry, so I guess there IS hope that the tree will come back...it was a lovely tree and to see it's limbs amputated is terrible! It IS against the law to discharge a firearm in the city limits. I did NOT see the gun, but just heard the ping it made. If I hear it again, I will call the police! I'm meeting with a "handyman" to see about adding a trellis or pergola or to see what other ideas he may have so this issue can be addressed. I don't think any plants will grow fast enough for me, but the clumping bamboo is a good suggestion as well as the other plants recommended! I considered making nice with the adult(s) who now live there, and saying I sunbathe often in the nude, so they may want to keep their boys/children off the tree's platform ... yeah, nothing like an old tubby wubby woman, hanging and sagging and dragging! Of course I'd never do it, but maybe them just *thinking* of what their children would see might be enough to keep the kids out of the tree! ha ha Meanwhile, here's one of our sweet babies we want to protect. She is all of 20 lbs:

"We passed on an otherwise perfect house because it abutted a highly used nature trail. Sure, 99.9% of the people going by are fine, but what about the .01%?" That is why I mentioned checking the predator list. We looked at a nice house on 5 acres that was in a great area. The elderly resident was moving into a nursing home. While we were walking the property, we happened to run into the neighbor next door and had a chat with him. He seemed very nice. When I got home I did an offender search for that vicinity and was startled to learn that this 'nice' neighbors son was on the list for child offenses, domestic battery and burglary! He had lived elsewhere for awhile but was back living with his parents. It made me wonder if the children of the elderly woman had moved 'mom' out because of this. Needless to say we passed on the house. A little later I was curious to see who bought the house and learned that a couple with 2 young children had moved in. I didn't want to take the chance that they didn't know about the guy who lived next door, so I sent them an anonymous note with a print out of the offender and the stats (address). I didn't want to scare them but I would have felt terrible if I had neglected to share what I knew. It takes a village to keep kids safe in this day and age. I'm very happy to do my part to help any/every child enjoy a safe, happy childhood.