I'd suggest she try something else. In central England, especially in the hills, it will need a very sheltered spot to avoid regular frost damage. Even then it is likely to be killed to the ground sooner or later in a particularly cold snap.

Whats wrong with planting Bay standards in somewhere like the Cotswolds? A south facing site would be fine. Ok at times maybe they would get some scorching to the leaves over winter but if concern is great then the plants could be fleeced. Standard bays are sold across the country which would not be the case if they were to drop dead due to cold. In Derbyshire where I live my brother has a bay-not a standard but a bay all the same. I have to butcher it atleast once a year to stop it growing out of control.
Just the view of a humble nurseryman.

I don't think there would be much of a problem with hardiness, although standards would be more tender than a vigorous natural shaped tree. Round here they grow 20 metres, no problem. I'm on the Southern most edge of the Cotswolds. My question would be about cost. How many standard bays is she thinking of? Plenty of other things would give her the same shape cheaper. I have standard and conical hollies, no smell, obviously, but evergreen, bone hardy and berries if you get the right cultivars.

At the garden centre today 3 foot standard bays were £25 each. See what I mean?

"Plenty of other things would give her the same shape cheaper. I have standard and conical hollies"

But you can't put the leaves in stews and curries . . .

"£25 each"

It should be possible to get rooted cuttings a lot cheaper than that. They grow quite fast and are easy to train. I got mine for free by rescuing a small root sucker that had been weeded out of a rose bed in a public park. It reached a metre tall in 2 or 3 years.

Resin

Resin - I quite agree that bays are easy to grow and train. They seed around my local area and are freely available if you look in the council leaf piles and in the local park. But I rather got the impression that the poster wanted standard bay trees now, for an instant effect, not in 2 or 3 years. I was imagining that maybe she wanted 4 or 5 at least which would be a considerable outlay. My thinking was that one bay would provide sufficient leaves for the kitchen and the standard lollipop evergreen effect could be achieved in other, more economical ways. Noting that the poster lives in California I thought that maybe s/he was not familiar with the alternatives possible here. Perhaps the original poster could come back to us.

Thank you all so much for your input! As similar as gardening is in our two countries, there are differences, too. I consider the Bay to be quite hardy here, but the label on the standards there said "protect from frost," which was confusing. They were app. 3 1/2 feet tall and 35 pounds a piece. But, yes, my sister would need three or four of them, so that is a bit pricey, especially if they might be damaged by frost. She isn't an experienced gardener, and growing something on herself isn't an option. Holly sounds like a good idea and I will pass it on, although with the reassurance of Bay hardiness that is still an option. And, yes, after several years of frustration, she is quite ready for instant beauty! Thanks again. You have all been very helpful.

i live about 3 miles away from chipping norton and bays are fine. in churchill also about 3 miles away there is a loverly old tree that must be about 30 feet heigh i have never noticed any wind scorch on my 10 foot tree. whatdid you think of our nice stoney clay soil??

I'm concerned that you are all recommending a tree to a non-gardener in a location you don't know on the basis that similar plants have survived in other locations over the last 5-10 years. I will add again the proviso that Bay Laurels do suffer wind/frost burn in locations very similar to the one described. Winters that I have lived through, which we may or may not see again, will kill it stone dead. I grow plants that are even less hardy, but I am prepared to either protect them if we experience extreme weather, or to lose them. I suspect neither choice is really an option in this case.

i dont know about the others but i certainly know the area
and believe me a bay is fine i also grow a lot of much more tender things a lot of which i protect but some suprising things grow outside ok i have 5 species of treefern that stay out mostly unprotected and others growing on to try. chaemadorea radicalis has been through a couple of winters without protection although it is sited well, cycas revoluta seems mostly ok with a bit of fleece, cycas panzhihauensis sails through the winter as does musa basjoo and velutina so there are quite a few things that will survive a cotteswold winter bays really are fine if they are freshly imported from italy or holland they may take a year to really get going but they are almost a dead cert if they are in the ground

Another suggestion. Standard Viburnum tinus. Very similar leaf to bay (no flavour obviously) plus winter flowers. Seen @ £15 for two 3 foot specimens.

laurel and hardy loved them
especialy the skinny one