Depending on your landscaping plan but these work really well and are pretty fast growing.
Cypress Leland.
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Here is a link that might be useful: My pond the way it was before the freeze.

oh wow, thats a cool backyard pond! man, it sure seems relaxing to lounge out in the back on a sunny spring day.

I also, am looking for a narrow tree close to a patio. The best suggestions I get are Cypress as well. But they can get very tall, I guess you can prune them at the size you want. But they get spiders and rats when they get all thick, and sometimes they might get random dead spots as well. That doesnt look too well IMHO. But I have noticed there are many more variety of cypress, not just what you see commonly. I recommend taking a look.. i have been the last few weekends...

Here's a list in the FAQ

Here is a link that might be useful: Narrow screen list in FAQ

Thanks for the help. I'm looking for a small tree though. Not really into bushes or shrubs. I'll look through the faq. Thanks again.

Actually, shrubs make some of the best small trees, if they are pruned and staked correctly. They are much faster growing than trees, and some are just as long lived.

We have 'Capital Pear' growing in our yard, I like it a lot and it is only supposed to be 15' wide. It's about ten feet from our fence. Now, admittedly, the spring flowers smell a little weird at first but they are very pretty and the leaves are bright red/purple in the autumn before fall. Fruits are insignificant.

Also agree that shrubs are good tree alternatives. You might consider a Pittosporum tobira for a small evergreen; comes in variegated form as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: capital pear

Thank you both for the suggestions. I think I will take a look at some shrubs this weekend. It might be the only thing that will fit and still give me some room for flowers. Take care.

Andrea

Take a look at Hymenosporum flavum, or Sweet shade. It's fast growing, narrow, and fragrant. ...diana

I went to the nursery and had the lady there pick some trees out for me. I told her my yards was western facing, had clay soil, had no shade and was only 17x40feet. She suggested 5 italian cypresses for the back of the fence, a australian willow for anothe rcorner and a Prunus 'purple pony' for the other. I took her word for it and I hope it works out. My yard seems awfully small for all those. I also got a crape myrtle for the center.

thanks for all the help everyone.

Andrea

Have you planted them yet? Australian Willow (Geijera parviflora) gets awfully large (30x20) and seems too large for the space you are describing.

wanda

I havn't planted them yet. They aren't being delivered till Tuesday. The Geijera was actually the one I was worried about. She told me I could trim the bottom off so that only the top hung over the fence if it got that big but she didn't seem to think it would. I wasn't sure if she was saying that to get me to buy the tree though. I'm always paranoid :) I am still quite worried about that tree. My husband starting digging a hole for it about 4 feet from the fence and I don't think that's going to be big enough. The plant said Geijera parvifolia and she looked up geijera parviflora which said 20 feet in diameter. Are they the same plant? Would it be possible for me to just keep the bottom trimmed so only the top was bushy? I don't think it would work any other way.

Andrea

I know what you mean. My house is a two story on a rectangle lot with 2 two story homes on the right and 3 two story homes on the left that can see the entirely into my backyard. Sometimes I feel like I am in center stage when I step out on my patio.
Five years ago I planted 12 Italian Cypress trees along the fence on one side of my yard and they are now 15'-20' feet tall and make a nice privacy wall. The cool thing about them is that they have a nice shape, stand tall, and fit in narrow spaces. They stay green year round, are somewhat drought tolerant, and require little maintenance or clean up once established.

Could you plant clumping bamboo? There are several that would probably meet your size requirements, and if you put in a root barrier they'll stay contained.

How far did you plant the trees sacratomato? There is a water pipe that runs exactly 2 feet away from the fence so I had a choice to plant them about 1 foot away or 3 feet. How wide are your trees after 5 years?

susi I thought of bamboo in pots on the patio for privacy there. The nursery had some really pretty black bamboo but it wasn't in our budget at the moment so I will probalby go back and get some later.

Thanks again for the help. I don't know what i'd do without this forum :)

Andrea