have you looked at juniperus virginiana "taylor". The "skyrocket" cultivar could also work (I am not sure if it is virginiana though but it is certainly juniperus).
Otherwise there is deGroots spire, a cultivar as well that many people here seem to be very happy with!

Beautiful house! I had no idea California did get any zone 5 weather...

o man! i totally mis-typed that! I'm ZONE 9!!! NINE!

so sorry! icadern thanks fo the suggestions!....does my total error in zones affect any of your suggestions?

sorry and thanks again!!! :-)

mmm... yes, maybe. I have no idea how the junipers I have recommended would do in Northern california, zone 9. I think the de Groots is still an option but you should trust the experts in the forums on that

Cheers!

conifers are trees.. and ALL SIZE ESTIMATES are at 10 years.. most will be twice as big at 20 years ...

plan for such

ken

This post was edited by ken_adrian on Fri, Aug 9, 13 at 18:46

There is some truth to what Ken says......6-8' can hardly be considered a "tree" but that doesn't necessarily eliminate conifers like the juniper. 'Arnold' is somewhat difficult to locate but Juniperus communis 'Compressa' should be relatively easy and grows slow enough and stays narrow enough to serve your purpose for many years. And perfectly suitable for a sunny NoCal situation :-)

Not sure why or where you got your info on Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil' but it is not at all rare or uncommon and not at all prone to disease issues - a good, tough plant like most Japanese holly selections. Also quite well suited to that situation. Other possibilities are Rhamnus 'Fine LIne', Buxus 'Graham Bandy' or Euonymus 'Green Spire'.

I'm also not at all sure I'd assign a lot of weight to Ken's admonitions about the spacing of your other shrub choices :-) A lot of west coast landscapes offer these types of choices and in close proximity to the residence. It never seems to be a huge issue...........

What's up with trying to post?? You hiut the submit button and it downloads some "followup. cgi file that gets you into a weird loop you can't get out of, all the while double posting!! It's craziness!! Make it stop!

This post was edited by gardengal48 on Wed, Aug 7, 13 at 14:27

There is some truth to what Ken says......6-8' can hardly be considered a "tree" but that doesn't necessarily eliminate conifers like the juniper. 'Arnold' is somewhat difficult to locate but Juniperus communis 'Compressa' should be relatively easy and grows slow enough and stays narrow enough to serve your purpose for many years. And perfectly suitable for a sunny NoCal situation :-)

Not sure why or where you got your info on Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil' but it is not at all rare or uncommon and not at all prone to disease issues - a good, tough plant like most Japanese holly selections. Also quite well suited to that situation. Other possibilities are Rhamnus 'Fine LIne', Buxus 'Graham Bandy' or Euonymus 'Green Spire'.

I'm also not at all sure I'd assign a lot of weight to Ken's admonitions about the spacing of your other shrub choices :-) A lot of west coast landscapes offer these types of choices and in close proximity to the residence. It never seems to be a huge issue...........

Ilex 'Sky Pencil' readily available in Sonoma County at multiple nurseries, not sure where you are...Rhamnus 'Fine Line' also available here (I prefer both in groups but they can be used singly). The Rhamnus is deciduous so for your location I'd use the Ilex.

While I appreciate the detail of ken_adrian's post and suggestions- I would like to clarify a few questions he brought up--the mockup is just that- a mock up. With that being said, the idea of a super skinny tall plant next to the driveway is to create both symmetry and not be an infringement on the driveway. It's hard to tell from the photo but the edge of the patio and the width of my drive already prohibits a passenger from getting out of the car when it is pulled in right next to the proposed tree spot...so it's really a non-issue.

The idea of the trellis although a nice suggestion is not what we are looking for mostly because, while we are living in this house now, the ultimate goal is for it to be a rental...and I'm not quite sure how many renters you know who would be interested in helping train a vine to grown on a trellis...

The "lollipop" trees came with the house --have been there for 5+ years and were the victim of an over zealous gardeners sad attempt at topiary work. They need to grow out again. I have attached a picture of them in all their glory...I absolutely hate them in their current state :(

Also, there is ample space and we have a firm understanding of our utilities, systems, etc.- my husband is a civil engineer :-)

Thanks gardengal48 and formandfoliage for a NorCal perspective! Much appreciated-I'm in San Joaquin County..not sure what nursery to go to...oh, the google searching continues!!! :-)

i cant express enough to you ... to FORGET SYMMETRY ....

ken

This post was edited by ken_adrian on Fri, Aug 9, 13 at 18:47

Thanks ken but really I don't think you have a tight enough grasp on California living. I don't have acres and acres to dedicate to a landscape of greenery and shrubs, nor do I even have enough property to drop a large tree at the sidewalk or a freaking forest like you suggest. It's a totally different living situation than what you have in Michigan or wherever you live. To put some type of tall forest in the island bed would look absolutely ridiculous in relation to my neighborhood and the surrounding homes..it just would not work.

You completely glazed over the explanation I gave for vetoing the trellis- I need a no-nonsense plant or tree that doesn't need babysitting....re-read my post...it's not about not wanting to "go against" what everyone else says or not going with something unique. It's simply about ease of care.

I don't know what white wall you are referring to as there are zero white walls on my property. The two white columns perhaps? You lost me there

The second image I included was a google image before we moved in. The shades were drawn because it was a vacant home. Not sure how you get off assuming that I live in a dark house afraid of the outside world with my shades drawn...? Weird.

I am the creative one- the civil engineer comment i made was in regards to your over concern for our utilities and not to dig without knowing what is under us. We do. Sorry my husband is an engineer and you stay at home.

Not sure what you mean about accepting of rejecting the two existing trees? I already stated I'm keeping them and letting them "grow out".

My husband is a good engineer...that's why he lets me do all the creative and artist work at our house with zero input--only support. And he doesn't build things. He designs things....entire city utility systems, sub divisions, Curbs, slopes, apartment complexes... You get the point.

Thanks again for your comments..I think it's safe to say we can close down this thread. Cheers!

sjp -never say die here in northern zone 9...another interesting thought although it might be a bigger tree than you want is a columnar beech like 'Red Sentinel' or 'Dawyk Gold'. They are very slow-growing so not likely to get out of hand quickly. There are also some pretty narrow conifers like Picea abies 'Hillside Upright' or Pinus strobus 'Fastigiata' that give you a nice, evergreen fastigate tree. You might see what your local nurseries have to offer.

I'm linking to my blog just for fun.

Good luck and enjoy!

Sara

Here is a link that might be useful: Form and Foliage

It always makes me sad when posters don't "get" Ken's style of writing/advice. He really does have a lot of useful information. But regardless of Ken's style, why ask to have people "critique my design" if you only want to hear praise/agreement? He really was just doing what the title of this thread asks.

good luck

ken

This post was edited by ken_adrian on Fri, Aug 9, 13 at 18:48