Research the narrow growing yews. Last year during an extended drought period, I planted a row of two yews and a tree form crape myrtle with that drifting group replanted in an alternating pattern over a narrow 60 foot long area which runs in the space between a chain link fence and a driveway. I do not remember the cultivar name of the Yews, but they are suppossed to grow much more narrow than even the Hick's or the Plum yews grow. We kept them watered regularly and they are still surviving. These yews are evergreens, which are supposed to grow 10 to 12 feet tall, but can be pruned shorter and spread only about a foot or so. Some are in shade and some are in more sun. The Crape Myrtles that are planted amid them will eventually provide for the yews almost constant shade during the Crape myrtle's growing season. The Yews will also receive quite a bit of part-sun in the winter when the tree form Crape myrtles are dormant. The bed is currently mulched with shredded cedar mulch, and is gradually being fill in with flowering ground cover shrubs that should grow at the feet of the Yews and Cm's along with filling in the area of the currently mulched bed. at the end of the chain link fence and still along the driveway I planted an ornamental and narrow growing, pink blooming, Corinthian Peach tree. At its feet I planted some wave patunias on the north side, a dwarf spirea on the south and so for two Dwarf Yaupon holly on the east side of the the tree. Later on I will extend the bed along the driveway and plant a Black Tupelo tree about 20 feet south of the ornamental peach. Since that tree will be in the front yard area I will be planting the tree on the property line along that narrow side of the driveway, and as it grows and spreads, I plan to keep it pruned up to provide enough space under the canopy for pedestrians and traffic flow on the street which is about 15 feet further south running along the front yard curbing. As of now I have not planned anything further to be planted on that side of the driveway between the ornamental peach and the Black gum, Tupelo tree. Over time though I might change my mind.

HELP! Three weeks ago we bought a house in Zone 15 (Central Coast of California, "frost-free" area about 1/4 mile from ocean, no salt spray, wind-sheltered), tore out the raggedy old plantings and now face the street with no privacy! There's an live oak and a Giant Sequoia along our street frontage, so there's partial shade and the soil is acid. We need 2 or 3 types of fast-growing shrubs for privacy (allowed to grow naturally - we don't want a pruned, uniform hedge.) Need to reach 10 feet, if possible. Would any of these work for us? NEAR/UNDER THE OAK: purple hopseed bush (dodonea viscosa), bay laurel (laurus nobilis), mock orange (pittosporum tabira) or escallonia rubra. NEAR/UNDER THE REDWOOD: camellia, carpenteria, pittosporum tabira, laurus nobilia, rhododendron. Thanks!

Welcome, Ned! I'm going to have to play 20 questions before making suggestions so bear with me. Your elevation will narrow down the choices. I think you're too high up for the Green Giants, but I might be wrong. Have you seen any in your neighborhood? What kind of soil do you have? Sandy or clay? What height and spread are the max you could go? Are there power lines, light poles, etc in the area? How wide and deep is the planting area? What kind of colors, textures and shapes appeal to you? I'm thinking you want evergreen for privacy, not something that'll lose it's leaves and be open in winter. Is it in a lawn area that will get water? Fast growing usually equals weak wooded, so you may want to consider a double staggered row, putting the slower growing but longer lasting plants to the streetside and the faster growing on the house side. That way you get the coverage you want and you can remove the weaker plants if necessary when the streetside plants get some growth on them. I will suggest you go with smaller plants to start. That's been the hardest lesson for me to learn. I know you want instant gratification but smaller plantings go through much less shock and will ultimately outgrow the bigger plants. This link may help: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07403.html It's not specific to high altitude, but has links for high altitude plants. I thought it would be a good place for you to start. It'll be a fun project and I think your planting season is getting near. Come back and let us know what you're planning! Barb

....and I will now, as I always do when Ken makes that claim, lay it to rest: True enough, there are some tree types which are both fast-growing and short-lived. True enough, there are some trees considered slow-growing which are also long-lived. But that simply does not indicate that this maxim is always-or even usually-true. Take one tree mentioned above-white pine. It is always and everywhere considered a fast grower. So how short is the lifespan of white pine? In good conditions, right around 500 years! Is that a short lifespan? No, I didn't think so. Let's look at a couple more examples: Out in northern California and parts of neighboring Oregon, they've got this little tree called coast redwood. Extremely fast-growing, these things only last for a couple thousand years. Red pine-a tree which is planted by the millions in my state, is a fast grower and only good for about 400 years. See where this is going? You may have noted my examples are all conifers. There's a lesson in there for those who will learn. For those who won't, well, you've got Ken's pronouncement! I would also like to disabuse any reader of the notion that white pine's range is limited to only far-northern regions of the Great Lakes states. A trip to Wisconsin Dells, the famous vacation land in my states south-central section would reveal white pines of extremely high quality and size that would rival those from nearly any other area. Likewise, in the Twin Lakes area which actually straddles the Wisconsin/Illinois border, white pine is numerous and healthy. All I'm saying is, regional differences matter, and in many cases matter far more than generalities.