Hi there, Im a new subscriber whos lurked around the search engine of
this group for a while. This morning, new neighbors just cut down a
beautiful tree that was the corner tree for 4 house lots. This is the
second time in a couple years that neighbors have hacked away at their
backyards, replacing trees with other beautiful items, such as storage
sheds. I figure it's time for me to reverse this trend, and I have no
idea how, so I have subscribed.

I now have some ugly views of neighbors' windows and backyards. I
think it's time for me to plant some trees myself. However I have no
idea what to plant. Hoping to get some advice... Not sure what my
climate zone is, but it's San Jose, California--dry, summers get to
90-100 on hot days, winters have occasional freezes but usually only
once or twice a season. Lots of sun. My house is positioned in a way
that I have a back fence that gets directly hit by the morning sun.
The corner of the fence that is now treeless gets mid-day sun...about
4 hours direct. For comparison, citrus trees grow well here (but i
need something faster and taller). I'd like something that grows fast
but doesn't drop it's leaves, and doesnt grow too big... enough to
obscure a second-story bedroom window, and there's pools in the
backyards, so roots can't be a problem. The ground space I have to
work with is about 5 feet deep held by a retaining wall.

Im also looking at planting more (my neighbors are going to hate me)
but this is the current priority.

Looking forward to angering my neighbors with some arbor pollution,
can anyone help?

Thanks in advance,

Court