I might suggest pittosporum, either the very popular "silver sheen", or, I like the nigricans. My sister-in-law has a couple of them 3-4 feet from her property line and they do a great job of screening the power and telephone lines looming over her yard. They grow fast and while you can "shape" them if you want, they don't require a bunch of trimming like a hedge would. They have a nice naturalistic look, too. And roots and litter don't seem to be a problem either. While some varieties of pittosporum, mainly the phillyreoides (willow pittosporum), can produce berries with saponin in them, which can be toxic (mostly to birds), the tenuifolium varieties, as best as I can tell, don't.

I don't know about the prunus. Sunset doesn't have a "poisonous" icon for it but it does say "flower and fruit litter can be a problem in paved areas."

thanks surfcityhb. I do like the pittosporums. I think I might put some of those in.

According to Plants for a Future's entry for prunus caroliniana:

"The leaves and young branches of this species contain considerable quantities of hydrogen cyanide, a poison that gives almonds their characteristic flavour. This toxin is readily detected by its bitter taste. It is usually present in too small a quantity to do any harm but any very bitter seed or fruit should not be eaten. In small quantities, hydrogen cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. In excess, however, it can cause respiratory failure and even death."

Seriously, how many kids actually go out in the yard and chow down on the landscaping?

The native Prunus, P. ilicifolia, has edible fruits (if not particularly tasty), and it holds up better than P. caroliniana. So you might look for that one instead, from a native plant nursery. Here there are many naturally occuring. They look good completely unirrigated, like large Camillias, minus the flowers.

Hoovb, you must belong to the same club as my mother. She once insinuated that any child of normal intelligence should know better than to snack on oleander blossoms. Considering that they taste like battery acid, perhaps she was right.*

Renee

* No actual children were harmed in the process of making this memory.

A while back there was an incident where two children picked up oleander leaves off of the ground and put them in their mouths while their mother was working in the yard near them. They had recently immigrated from Russia. The story did not have a happy ending.

Most kids don't chow down on the landscape but there is the occasional one that does. When my kids were small I kept them out of the back yard where I had an 80 foot Oleander hedge. I did not want one of my kids to be the one kid who would sample the greenery.