Lamenting the need to get rid of a good looking plant doesn't equal a suggestion to keep it. The Ficus could be hard-trimmed ruthlessly, but a human would resent that a plant had turned them into a slave ... when it's supposed to be the other way around. I agree with catkim that a different tree would be a better choice, all things considered. "I assume that a walkway the visually greets guests from the sidewalk would appear more welcoming than one that leads from the driveway... Do you think that I'm incorrect in this assumption?" edit: Oops ... I meant, in a word YES! (to the question about the assumption.) You should create a walk that looks like it makes the best sense for the overall property ... and a walk directly to the city sidewalk is not necessarily more welcoming. You might not want to duplicate what exists a mere few feet away. Much of it depends on the geometry of how a walk would be laid out, it's width, materials and/or finishes. I'm not saying a separate walk directly to the city walk would look bad, but that it might not be an improvement over one that ties to the drive. It depends on all the factors involved. You might explore similar houses in the neighborhood to see if others have come up with successful variations. This post was edited by Yardvaark on Sun, Oct 27, 13 at 12:25

Youm might look to see if you have scale or thrips attacking the stems/foliage, as both these sucking insects can attack Pittosporum species, especially if the air circulation or soil moisture is not ideal. Take a sample in to your local retail nursery to see if they can identify the problem, or look up your local county agricultural inspector for help.

The Ilex vomitoria cultivar that stays very upright is called 'Will Flemming' I have never used it but it is an interesting selection. Other options might be Ligustrum texanum (Buy 15 gallon espalier on 5' x 5' trellis) I did this on a project last June planted them 5' OC and the plants are about 7-1/2' tall right now(where untrimmed)and about 1' thick. You could probably get them to grow to 10'maybe more. Eugenia myrtifolia is another option (Australian Brush Cherry) 'Monterey Bay' is a nice clone. Lets see- I have seen Grewia caffra get 12' tall (But it will need some support for a while until the plant gets woody enough to hold its own weight and would need some pinching to get it to be bushy enough. Sometimes you can find Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem' or St Mary espaliered as well- Podocarpus henkelii would be OK if you could let it go a bit thicker (like 3-4') Also Calliandra haematocephala espaliered could work. If you have shade maybe a vigorous Camellia like 'Silver Waves' espaliered in 15 gallons could work but it would be a quite a wait to get the height.

Planting "Impatiens" anywhere in Northern California now is not a good idea. Even in the mild winter areas of Southern California, Impatiens will not give you their best performance this time of year. The best bets for planting in any part of Caliofornia now would be: Tall (over 3 feet) -- Alcea rosea HOLLYHOCK Campanula pyramidalis CHIMNEY BELLFLOWER Digitalis purpurea FOXGLOVE Verbascum bombyciferum SILVER MULLEIN Medium (1-3 feet) -- Antirrhinum majus SNAPDRAGON Digitalis purpurea Foxy FOXGLOVE Matthiola incana STOCK Salvia argentea SILVER SAGE Scabiosa atropurpurea PINCUSHION FLOWER Short (under 1 foot) -- Antirrhinum majus SNAPDRAGON Bellis perennis ENGLISH DAISY Brassica oleracea var. Acephala FLOWERING CABBAGE, KALE Calendula officinalis POT MARIGOLD Campanula medium CANTERBURY BELLS, CUP-AND-SAUCER Chrysanthemum multicaule YELLOW CLUMP DAISY Chrysanthemum paludosum WHITE CLUMP DAISY Clarkia amoena GODETIA Cynoglossum amabile CHINESE FORGET-ME-NOT Dianthus barbatus SWEET WILLIAM Dianthus chinensis, hybrids PINKS Matthiola incana STOCK Myosotis sylvatica (alpestris) FORGET-ME-NOT Primula malacoides FAIRY PRIMROSE Primula obconica GERMAN PRIMROSE Viola cornuta VIOLA Viola tricolor JOHNNY-JUMP-UP Viola x wittrockiana PANSY Direct Sown -- Agrostemma gracilis (A. githago) CORNCOCKLE Amberboa (Centaurea) moschata SWEET SULTAN Calendula officinalis POT MARIGOLD Centaurea cyanus CORNFLOWER, BACHELORS BUTTONS Chrysanthemum carinatum TRICOLOR DAISY Chrysanthemum segetum CORN MARIGOLD Clarkia unguiculata (C. elegans) CLARKIA Consolida regalis/ajacis LARKSPUR Eschscholzia californica CALIFORNIA POPPY Gaillardia pulchella BLANKET FLOWER Gypsophila elegans ANNUAL BABYÂS-BREATH Iberis umbellata CANDYTUFT Lunaria annua HONESTY Malcomia maritima VIRGINIA STOCK Malope trifida MALOPE Matthiola longipetala bicornis EVENING-SCENTED STOCK Nigella damascena LOVE-IN-A-MIST Papaver commutatum FLANDERS POPPY Papaver rhoeas CORN POPPY, SHIRLEY POPPY Papaver somniferum PEONY POPPY Reseda odorata MIGNONETTE Silene coeli-rosa ROSE-OF-HEAVEN Tropaeolum majus NASTURTIUM NATIVE WILDFLOWERS Camissonia bistorta CALIFORNIA SUN CUP Clarkia amoena GODETIA Clarkia bottae BOTTAEÂS CLARKIA Clarkia unguiculata ELEGANT CLARKIA, FAREWELL-TO-SPRING Collinsia heterophylla CHINESE HOUSES Eschscholzia caespitosa DWARF CALIFORNIA POPPY Eschscholzia californica CALIFORNIA POPPY Gilia capitata QUEEN ANNEÂS THIMBLES Gilia tricolor BIRDÂS EYE GILIA Lasthenia glabrata GOLDFIELDS Layia platyglossa TIDYTIPS Limnanthes douglasii MEADOWFOAM Linanthus androsaceus FALSE BABY STARS Linanthus grandiflorus MOUNTAIN PHLOX Lupinus bicolor FAIRY LUPINE Lupinus densiflorus GOLDEN LUPINE Lupinus succulentus ARROYO LUPINE Lupinus nanus SKY LUPINE Madia elegans ELEGANT TARWEED Mentzelia lindleyi BLAZING STARS Nemophila maculata FIVESPOT Nemophila menziesii BABY BLUE-EYES Phacelia campanularia CALIFORNIA BLUEBELL Phacelia tanacetifolia TANSY-LEAF PHACELIA Platystemon californicum CREAM CUPS Salvia columbariae CHIA Stylomecon heterophylla WIND POPPY "Hardy" perennials to grow as winter/spring annuals Alcea ficifolia ANTWERP HOLLYHOCK Aquilegia COLUMBINE Aurinia saxatilis BASKET OF GOLD Campanula lactiflora, C. persicifolia BELLFLOWER Catanache caerulea CUPIDÂS DART Coreopsis x grandiflora TICKSEED Delphinium DELPHINIUM Delphinium grandiflorum DWARF CHINESE DELPHINIUM Dianthus deltoides, D. gratianopolitanus, D. plumarius PINKS Digitalis lanata GRECIAN FOXGLOVE Echinacea purpurea PURPLE CONEFLOWER Erysimum x allionii SIBERIAN WALLFLOWER Erysimum cheiri WALLFLOWER Papaver croceum (nudicaule) ICELAND POPPY Penstemon x gloxinioides BEARDTONGUE Primula x polyantha ENGLISH PRIMROSE Primula sinensis CHINESE PRIMROSE Rudbeckia hirta BLACK-EYED SUSAN Joe