For many years the back of my neighbor's lot which is next to me was left wild. There was about a 3' elevation change from their main yard which isolated it. Their lot is quite large and they have a pool and gardens on the upper slope near their house so the extra land was easily ignored. The only thing on the back lot was a large coast live oak tree. A few years ago the house was sold and about 6 months ago the new owners tore down the 4' block wall that separated the existing gardens from the back lot and trucked in enough dirt to bring the back area up to the level of the upper lot. Now that its getting warmer they have hung a hammock and two swings in the tree and have brought down a table and chairs in the shade. There is just a 5' chain link fence separating the properties and now when they congregate in their new garden area they are looking directly down into my back yard patio, about 30' from the fence.

I know the extra dirt is probably going to eventually kill the oak. I could call my city and complain but sad experience with the city of Glendale has taught me that no good deed goes unpunished. So I'm going to plant a screen. It has to be about 20' long. I have plenty of room laterally so it doesn't have to be a narrow trimmed hedge but I don't want to take up the whole area between fence and patio either. The area is not in the drip line of the oak or the oak in my yard but they are to the southwest so it gets partial shade for most of the day with full sun for a few hours in the afternoon.

The requirements are drought tolerance, fast growing, minimum 8' tall, and dense. After doing a lot of research I've narrowed it down to three choices and I need some help deciding.

1. myrica californica, pacific wax myrtle. Its a native with relatively low water requirements. Everything I read says its fast growing and would do ok in the shade. In the negative it sounds like it grows pretty wide and could eat up a lot of room and I haven't been able to find large specimens, only 1 gallons, it would need several years to establish.

2. pittosporum tenuifolium. From what I've read it would do ok in the shade and it grows relatively fast. I don't know how dense it would be, photos I've seen make it look airy and a little see through.

3. ligustrum japonicum, wax leaf privet. Big plus is the availability and cost, I could get some tall specimens for cheap at the power line nurseries around here which would get an instant start to screening this area. I know it's used everywhere but that doesn't really bother me, it will be a background feature. It grows fast and I know it's dense. And since it won't be sheared in a hedge the look is really ok with me.

As far as the plant itself I like the PT. Cost, size and availability are in the LJ favor. I like native plants which favors the MC. The only plant that I have any personal experience with is the privet since it is everywhere. Any comments?