Melissa, broom is a pain in the neck. I used to love seeing it by the roadsides driving through the Italian landscape; so bright, so perfumed! But I think that is the only good context for it, in a way. It would be OK where it is on my property, if it didn't attract those effing beetles so wildly; in fact, IMO, the beetles exist precisely to keep the broom from taking over the entire world, since they suck the flowers and render them infertile. But the beetles are engineered to be wildly attracted to the colour yelow; that is, the stamens of ALL flowers,and due to the geography (or morphology???) of my land (sharply sloping down from the rose garden into the broom field and below that, oak woods,with a south-west orientation),having broom down there is like rolling out the red carpet for the beetles (well, the yellow carpet). Broom has strong, fibrous tap roots that can push their way through/ between rocks, etc. I think the only way I can do anything with this area is by hacking up the ground with my pick; I can't see just planting baby trees amongst that thuggish broom and hoping them to survive.Also, I'd have to water the babies in their first year, and I think the broom would just flourish all the more. Probably I'll try a mix of things and see what works best,but it will be necessary to work the soil before I plant anything. I probably should saw down all the broom in the area I wish to start cultivating, and maybe put black plastic bags over the stumps of the ones that are too deep rooted to dig up; for shade it might be better to rig up something artificial. I don't think your land was as abused as mine was; this area in question has been so badly eroded; I have to hunt out spots where it will be possible to dig down deep enough to start stuff. The rose garden area was similar when I started about 15 years ago,but I am not going to lug all this heavy clay, etc. all the way down there. To plant the first Leylandii I prepared an area,digging out rocks, putting in organic matter and kitty litter, etc. I'll certainly be watering it in it's first year at least! but the thing about Leylandii is that it was cheap; it's as tall as me and cost me all of 13 euros. So, if with some effort I can get it to establish,I might have a nice start.The thing is, even on the subject of drought resistance, people's experiences and opinions vary greatly with ALL plants, as far as I can see. To me,for example, roses are very drought-resistant once established, but many, many people heartily disagree with this opinion. So I will see what this Leylandii does before I make any decisions. Criteria for a nurse crop would have to be : economic ,(not to say, cheap) and fast-growing. But even for that, I will absolutely have to work on that soil ; as it is now, nothing new can start growing there, I think,except baby broom and maybe brambles (if they manage to compete with the broom)...bart

Consider Semiarundaria fastuosa If you want to bamboo to get up to the top of the wall+fence=14ft, it's going to take 2 - 4 years in Brooklyn to get that big, if not longer. Since you don't have a lot of direct sun, constant moisture in soil well prepared (eg, deeply amended with composted manure) and fertilized will facilitate fast growth. New England bamboo stocks it. http://www.newengbamboo.com/retail_pricelist.pdf Here is a link that might be useful: Semiarundaria fastuosa

Someone on this board told me that chocolate vine (akebia) can handle shade.

where are you .... second ... whats your purpose ..... even something fast growing.. is not going to serve any function for at least a few years .... third... most things fast to grow.. simply do not stop growing ... most size estimates are at a given point in time.... and in double that time.. they will be twice as tall and twice as wide .... 4th .... is it full sun .. in the parts not under the oak ... you may need two plants .... which brings me to 5th .... always diversify ... in case some problem comes along.. you dont want your whole project wiped out at once ... more info ... for better suggestions ... ken