Hey Rachel, First, welcome to GardenWeb. I'm sure you will find it a great place to learn more about gardening and to share you gardening experiences (or even plants and seeds). But, this (the Seed Exchange Forum) is really, really, really not the place for this topic. There are many other Forums where you could choose to post, but this one is reserved for offering seed exchanges. Below is a link to the list of Forums. The Gardening in Shade Forum and the Woodlands Forums come to mind, but many others may be applicable. Here is a link that might be useful: Forums

One shade tolerant large shrub is Florida anise - Illicium floridanum is the name. If you planted 3 gallon ones, they would be 8 feet in about 3 years (most plants do the sleep/creep/leap growth thing). They like good moisture so they'd need to be watered well and mulched. Other shade-tolerant ideas are Carolina Cherry Laurel and Hemlock. All these things are available in 3 gal and larger sizes at Buck Jones in Woodstock (on Hwy 140 going north from Crabapple about 8 miles). A non-native idea would be Aucuba japonica. However, with such a narrow space and having to plant under oaks, I'd also consider non-planting solutions because sometimes plants just can't be the answer - they take time, especially in the shade. Could you build a pergola and train vines on it? Carolina jessamine is a fast growing evergreen vine with yellow flowers in the spring. I understand that you could not build a 15 ft fence, but you might be able to build a tall pergola/arbor. This would allow you stay inside a fixed width as well.

You have a 20 foot high chain link fence. I guess I should have put a question mark after that sentence. Twenty foot high fence...????.....WHY! So I go back and read it and think maybe its not 20 ft high...its 20 feet of fence....20 feet long. I hate chain link fences....they do nothing for a property except maybe keeping a dog contained...or you like planting vines to grow up. Now to add to the fence, you want to plant something that is in a area of high shade. There is many palnts that can take shade...even heavy shade...as long as the sun is overhead some of the time. White cedar is a hedging material that will grow fast when planted at the height of 3 to 4 ft. Depending on how much hedge you want, cedar (U.S. readers call it 'arborvitae), will grow upwards...10 ft..20 ft....and has to be clipped annually. It has no pests that will interfere with it....it is not a hungry for water hedge so you can plant it pretty well anywhere. it is an excellent privacy hedge....birds love it in spring because it grows so compact.

Oakleaf hydrangea, rhododendron and pieris (commonly called andromeda) will all do well in shade. To suit the dimensions you require, look for dwarf varieties/cultivars. Aucuba japonica (the variegated form often called "gold dust plant") would do well in the light conditions, but dwarf cultivars may not be available. The variegated form brightens the shade with its yellow-spotted, evergreen leaves. Sarcocca (sweet box) is a very low-growing evergreen shrub, tiny but delightfully fragrant flowers in late winter-early spring. Many of the oakleaf hydrangeas have fantastic fall foliage color; 'PeeWee' is a dwarf cultivar I have in my garden - white flowers in summer, then red foliage with some mottled orange and yellow in autumn. Rhododendron will give you beautiful spring flowers and evergreen foliage. Pieris will produce flower clusters in late winter/early spring (mine are late this year, usually in bloom by now), and has evergreen foliage. Baptisia is a perennial that dies back in winter, but quickly regrows to a good size, producing a shrubby look. Although it will grow in partial shade, I don't know how well it would flower in your location. Remember that, although this is the north side of a building, there may be ambient or reflected light throughout the day. There are a few roses that will tolerate partial or light shade, but you'd probably have to be prepared to manage black spot. You could always try one in a container in that location, and if it doesn't seem happy, move the container to a more sunny spot or, as a last resort, give it to someone who can give it the light it requires.