I can give you the benefit of my own experience in similar circumstances. When we built our house 7 years ago, we put in a variety of (mostly) conifers in various spots with an eye towards screening should the adjacent properties ever become developed. The first thing I would point out is that, if you want fast growth, you are going to have to have a way of regularly watering your plantings. We put a few Leyland cypresses in various spots and the one that was planted near the house, in the best soil, with the least root competition and the most regular supplemental watering is MUCH bigger than the others. It was about 6' high when we planted it in 2002, is now about as tall as the second story windows of the house -- I guess on the order of 19' or so. By contrast, other Leylands we placed in poorer soil and gave little extra water are closer to 14', some even smaller than that. Other evergreens we've planted: Arizona cypress: not quite as quick as the Leylands, but still fairly fast growing. As with the Leylands, the one that has the best growing conditions and least competition is much bigger than the one that has been left to fend for itself. Burke's red cedars: Seem to be pretty darn slow growing, but they have a lot of root competition and are pretty much on their own in terms of water. Incense cedar: I love this tree and don't know why it isn't used more for hedging in our area. Not as fast growing as the Leyland, but maintains a more columnar shape for a given height than the cypresses do. Thuja plicata 'Watnong' and 'Virescens' (which apparently are so similar that some people think they are actually the same variety): These seem to be spending their first few years putting-on bulk rather than height, but they have held their green color nicely in the winter (rather than turning brown). I'd also recommend looking into Azara microphylla. If you're really zone 9, you should have no trouble with hardiness and it has fragrant blooms to boot. And the suggestion of using Myrica californica gets seconded by me: it's been very fast growing in our yard, both in height and width. Oh, last thing: are you considering a mixed hedge, or all of one type of plant? I just want to give a nudge toward doing a mixed hedge, since you may run into pests or diseases down the road, and a mixed hedge is so much more forgiving in such a situation. You'll get more bird activity with a mixed hedge, as well.

So after all that rain, water is not standing in the soil at a depth of around 12". Not now, but it quit. And I dug some more as I said. If it starts raining as hard as it did, I have no doubt it will pool up to a certain level for awhile at least, but no more puddle on the sidewalk and into more of the rosebed. Then it started sprinkling and a couple small cavities in the deeper trench were holding water. Maybe it is not so bad except for the surface drainage problem. Does the subsoil feel gritty? Not when I scooped some of it out with my bare hands when I got fed up with trying to get a good pass at it with the shovel. But I threw a small pebble up on the sidewalk, brought it in and rinsed it off. It was gritty and took a bit to rinse it, rubbing between my fingers. Now I don't know what I've done with it. I didn't like getting my hands in the muck (don't mind getting them dirty) because there is broken glass everywhere, I'm constantly picking it up, and I didn't want to cut myself. The landscaper who planted the roses thought the drainage was adequate. Does it smell sewagy? Not at all. No rotten or sulphur odor. There were several worms in it, but they could have been at the sides I dug down through. I am now down to clay. It's only been like this since mid summer last year when we rototilled. Before that, I never noticed any problem, didn't pool on the sunken sidewalk slab, must have soaked through the grass or something. Or it didn't pool so badly that I noticed it and dissipated quickly or that dirt collected there. I scraped dirt off there, too. The dirt is either running back off the trenched side or from the other side. If I get it fixed, I can hose the rest of it off or more rain should take care of it. Does water seep in after you dig down another shovel bit at the back of the hole? Not yet. Not at all. At least when it isn't raining. I measured (roughly) and am now down to about 14 inches, maybe it's only 12, hard to tell with the bottom being uneven still, no seepage whatsoever. It all seems to be from water runoff, maybe from the other side and down the sidewalk, pooling, and overflowing out into that one spot in the rose bed. You can see how the sidewalk slab is in the first photo. Just the open trench got rid of the pooling in the bed itself, and the rose there is mounded now, before it made quite a large puddle in the actual planting area. There is one more slab like it, but it is toward the steps to the front sidewalk, and doesn't seem to cause any significant pooling, probably because it's close to a slope where it can run down. The slopes are washing mud onto the sidewalk, and I shovelled it back into the planting area. I'm hoping that once plants are established and mulched, that will stop. The guy who finished the barrier did a crappy job on that side near the front walk which makes it a little worse, but it does it on the other side, too. I've got everything I need except rock (was going to buy a bag at Hy Vee, landscaping pebbles, one bag ought to do it) to finish it up tomorrow if you think it is right except I want it a little deeper on the front end to allow for rocks, sand and 4" soil on top, then may have to compensate down the whole thing a bit, making sure it slants down in every part of it. Maybe 4" soil at that edge will still cause a problem, 2" might be better, but I would prefer at least 4. I googled for wet box and found some, mostly for marine uses, have no clue how they work or photos, was wondering if large pvc pipe filled with rocks and capped on the ends with some, no anything screen, landscape cloth, sieve, would clog up in no time. I guess that's why the pebbles are supposed to work, it kind of leaches out. In a bad rain, I don't expect miracles, but it will trap it underground (I hope) until it drains out. I decided not to try to trench it a foot or two more on the other side of the landscape barrier. Plus I have them coming to mark lines again, don't think that was close to anything but the further out I go, the deeper I have to go as well. I could do that, but it would be a lot more work. I could trowel under the barrier and not have to take it out, then slide the landscaping cloth through the opening, work in the rest of the materials and refill. Do you think I can make it work? I'd hate to have to dig it all up again. I would scream or cry or both.

First of all, I am a new fig gardener. I am on Longboat Key -- the barrier island off of Sarasota. We are in residence here only seven months of the year. We head North in mid-May, and return mid-October. I started last winter, around Christmas time. I now have a grand total of five trees. I started by buying two -- a Brown Turkey and a Green Ischia. They came in as four feet tall -- and bare-rooted. I planted them on the south side of my house -- actually right next to the foundation. I soon added another store-bought into the ground, a Black Violette from Paradise Nurseries (Sybil). (I also bought two Celestes in one gallon pots, which I carried back North and stuck in the ground. We are in Princeton NJ. Hopefully they have over-wintered (carefully wrapped) and should surprise me -- or disappoint me -- on my return.) I have a Greek neighbor, who started me in this, and who gave me a couple of cuttings. (What he called a "black" and a "white.") I applied some Rootone to them, and started them in one-gallon pots, and transplanted them when the roots started to show from the pot. We returned here last July, and the Brown Turkey was very fruitful. We picked about a dozen. Well, this fall, on our return the Brown Turkey and the Violette were producing, deliciously. Now, the Brown Turkey has lost all of its leaves, and has dozens of buds. The Green Ischia is fully leafed -- and has a couple of dozen figlets. We have a dozen Violettes filling out -- they are black from the start, but still small and hard. But, my prize and joy is the Greek "White." It is fully leafed out and is putting out the most gorgeous and delicious pale green figs. Twice the size of the Brown Turkeys. It started from a twelve inch cutting, and is not double-trunked and four feet tall. The Greek "black" is healthy and growing leaves -- but that's all. My neighbor is "green with envy" while eating my "whites". His father tree is still bare -- and he swears that he has still not gotten it to fruit. They do not require a great amount of irrigation -- I try to keep the soil from baking out. Fertilizing, minimal -- but they do require liming. (Actually they are a great source of calcium.) So -- I think it is the fact that having the trees against the house -- and baking in the noon-day sun -- is the answer. They all just sat there all summer, untended except for occasional spraying by the gardeners -- irrigated only once a week. (It was a rainy summer, anyhow.) Come back to me if I can help. Be well :)

pmalagon88, the group was small but the company and plants were really good. it is unfortunate that it turned so hot that very weekend as I am having a hard time getting the soil wet enough to sustain my transplants. you are interested in herb/veggie container gardening...if possible for your situation, I recommend a keyhole garden. The depth will allow you to crowd plants closer and trail them over the sides or up a trellis. It uses a lot less water and not daily. Diameter of the garden is 6 feet. Mine is constructed out of concrete '70s architectural blocks but I'm sure the interlocking landscape blocks would be even better.