Have you thought about Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica)? I planted 3 of these on the front border of my property last fall so they aren't very tall yet, but are supposed to grow fast. Here is the plant info from Lowes (where I bought the plants): Plant Type: Shrub Sun Exposure: Full Sun Growth Rate: Fast Growth Average Height: 6-8' Cold Hardiness: -10 F Graceful upright evergreen. Young leaves coppery to purple red. Mature foliage is leathery, blue green with red tinit after first hard frost. Clusters of tiny white flowers appear May and June. Red berries in winter. Spacing: 3-4' Water Usage: Semi-Moist Pruning: Prune to keep compact Successful growing requires excellent drainage.

A lot of nice plants will take sun in a container if they can get enough water. Can you hook up drip for them or can you water daily? (For many types, that would be morning and evening by hand.) Some old faithfuls that come to mind are red bird of paradise, lantanas of all colors, little john, natal plum, ruellia/dwarf & regular, pygmy palms, weeping yucca, red & yellow yucca...not sure what size you're looking for or if you want to bother keeping plants trimmed back (or want to deal with the litter) but oleander & yellow bells do ok, too. Just mostly depends on how often you're willing to water. To me, lantana, yuccas, ruellia and BoP kept trimmed small looks great in a tropical-like setting and are pretty much furnace proof. I'm sure others will mention other plants, too. Your pond area sounds pretty. Good luck. :)

Do not worry about Oleanders toxicity. my aunt has been a veterinarian in PHX for 30 years and has never seen or heard of a case of oleander poisoning. We decided against Oleanders because of the proximity to the pool, they are very messy. We instead planted a Japanese Privet hedge, total of 65 5-gal spaced 3 ft. The only main drawback is the water consumption during their first summer. Each received 5 gallons of water 5x/week. Heavy water schedule on a reliable drip is an absolute must in their first summer. Otherwise they will fry. Even with consistent deep watering, about 20% did not survive. Another tip that will greatly enhance survival and thrive is proper soil amendment. Privets do not like high PH soil (too much salt) which is very prevalent in AZ soil. Prior to planting, treat the soil w a sulfur product. this will loosen the soil and allow for maximum nutrition uptake. Ensure to continually treat the plants w products that will lower PH levels. Many synthetic fertilizers will increase PH, so look for a local organic compound meant for trees and shrubs. Our hedge has grown 4 ft in 2 years. and will grow faster now that they're established. Good luck!

I have my fingers crossed the websites help you. Someone posted a question to the Texas forum about what tall, narrow evergreens might survive the heat, but I don't think anyone ever figured out a plant small enough for the space described. I think the poster was yearning after the smallish junipers that go next to front doors in magazines... in cooler climates. If memory serves, ligustrum and cherry laurel can be made into topiary, too. Older cultivars of ligustrum can be invasive via seeds, so some people hate it. By the gulf coast, it gets mildewy. On clay in the Dallas area, it seems to be very hardy. It might get too big for your deck, even in pots, though. Ditto with cherry laurel. Your containers should be large enough, definitely. The Container gardening forum has people who know about drip irrigation in containers. Conventional watering in containers is supposed to be done until water runs out the bottom of the containers, and then you let the dirt dry out according to the needs of the plant. I'm not sure how that translates into drip irrigation watering. You can't forget the fertilizer though (like I just did -again-). Hopefully you got the following message directly to your email address, but I'm not sure I've figured how to do that correctly, so here is a resend: The board won't let me post again so soon. Thought of this after the first post. I should have included chinese garlic chives, sweet potatoes, native honeysuckle, iris, day lilies, cannas, rosemary, jujube, and sweet bay. Laurus nobilis, not California Bay. The Herb forum and the Container Gardening forum might be helpful, too. You -don't- want japanese honeysuckle. The yaupons, sweet bay, and rosemary could lend themselves to topiary, similar to your poor, lamented spiral junipers and the ball gardenias. In our area, don't gardenias need morning sun, afternoon shade or light shade all day? They are an acid soil loving plant, so I've never grown them. We have a south facing, full sun back yard, with poorly draining clay full of nutgrass and bermuda .grass. I've been gardening these last years in big yard buckets that hold about 20 gallons of potting soil. Just wait until the nutgrass is gone, then I may make some raised beds! The yard is fenced, so is not as windy as your deck. The containers successfully hold sweet bay, fig, rosemary, jujube, day lilies, chinese chives, yaupon, iris, and cannas in full sun throughout the year. A fig might get beat to smithereens in your location, might not. The containers successfully hold onions, french sorrel, violets, salad burnet, swiss chard, potatoes, sweet potatoes in full to mostly full sun throughout the year or throughout their growing season. I did haul the tubs of plants into the living room during the nasty cold snaps this past winter, otherwise I don't think I've ever done anything special about them during the winter. Hope this helps.