In order of my preference:
rosemary
Indian hawthorn - dwarf Yeddo only (Rhapiolepis umbellata 'Minor')
boxwood
heavenly bamboo

Of your choices, rosemary is the densest and most drought tolerant. Easily pruned into a 3' hedge as long as you don't let it go too far first. I have found the dwarf Yeddo Indian hawthorn to be a more compact and less leggy plant than its larger growing cousins. And it is less prone to to the unsightly leaf blight these shrubs can get and which could be a problem in the foggy Bay area. Not a great plant but OK and the white flowers are a nice contrast to the dark and reddish tinted foliage.

Boxwood is fine but is b-o-r-i-n-g as heck. And smells very unpleasant in late afternoon sun. Of the nandinas, I'd limit my choice to 'Gulf Stream', as any others will get too large and these don't prune well. Great color but not especially dense.

Pineapple guava is a great plant - worth growing if you can - but will easily get much bigger than you want for this purpose and routine pruning will remove the potential for flowers and therefore any fruit.

I wouldn't consider either the jasmine or gardenia good hedge material.

is there a reason you are limited to bigboxstore??? .. i want to suggest you look outside this little box you have already limited yourself to ....

probably budget.. but that should not be determinative ... even for a cheapskate like me ...

i hate pruning.. once or twice per year ... and i would gladly pay money UPFRONT.. for something BETTER ... that will actually FIT THE SPACE ... rather than cheapout and have 20 years of maintenance labor ...

so the point is ... you need to generate a bigger list of things available from other local nurseries.. even if the cost might initially be higher ... IMHO

we/you can always refuse such.. but at least give us a chance to argue about other things .. then you can make an INFORMED decision ...

and that 2 foot wide and 3 foot tall thing is going to be a bear ... frankly i doubt you will find something that wont need to be trimmed ... but we may as well try now.. [my gut would suggest vines on a trellis .. as they have little footprint as compared to the vertical potential]

sorry but i dont live in z9 .. so i dont have any suggestions ... this is definitely more within gal's realm ...

ken

PS: i remember the pool name and your other post a while back.. did you ever go back to it.. ???

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll check rosemary and dwarf Yeddo hawthorn. Any particular variety of rosemary that is more suitable for hedging? I saw Tuscan Blue, Huntington Carpet and Irene at a local nursery and Tuscan Blue seems better than the other two (more upright and denser).

In fact, I'm checking both big box stores and local nurseries as well. I do find prices at big box stores are cheaper, but if I find better plants from a local nursery, I don't mind buying from there. :-)

Ken, I forgot what my other post that you mentioned was about. Can you remind me?

I've had a hard time growing Tuscan Blue. It seems to be more tender and sensitive than other varieties, but I really like its flower. I've killed 2 or 3 while other varieties thrive on neglect. Sorry, I don't know what varieties to recommend, though.

it was some ugly shrub in front of a black/wrought iron fence.. that was dieing or stressed.. and i wondered if pool water could be causing problems ...

HEY!!!! .. you cant remember your own posts.. whats that all about.. lol .. probably on page 2 .. i will look.. but be sure to check the box under where you type.. so replies come to your email ... then you will know when peeps ask questions.. and you forget to come back..

good luck

ken

I vote for the rosemary. I have other hedge plants (boxwood, holly, azaleas, Panda bamboo) but get the most pleasure from the rosemary. Aside from being deerproof and drought tolerant if not drought-loving, I also use it regulary in the cooking and it can be harvested year-round. It also has beautiful lavender-blue flowers (not continuously, but in waves from as early as February until well into Fall).

I don't find Tuscan Blue to be any less hardy for me, even in my wet winter climate :-) Both Huntington Carpet and Irene are prostrate forms of rosemary - not at all good choices for hedging.

Save any rosemary prunings for when you barbeque - they give off a wonderful aroma when burning as well as delicately flavor whatever you may be grilling. Much more subtle than using the herb directly.