I need to plant a privacy hedge in my front yard (we live on a pretty busy street which is about to get even busier when major roadworks start in the neighborhood.) My preference is for small leaved plants like pittosporum - I love the blue/green look of the Marjory Channing variety (attached) but have been told it's no good for a formal hedge? I know little about Japanese boxwood which was the only other shrub my local garden center could think of - they weren't very helpful to be honest.

Ideally I want this hedge to start at around 3.5ft (local height regulations) and grow at a reasonable rate - I would love it to get to 5 or 6 ft ideally (if the local busybodies don't report us!), and be dense as well as attractive. I have very young kids who currently cant use the front yard as it is so exposed to traffic and passers by.

Other requirements? Nothing poisonous (baby and toddler!). Something not like all the generic dark green ficus we have in this area - we prefer more unusual colors, like the blue/greens; light greens etc. Smaller leaves if possible, disease resistant and easy-ish maintenance. We are in sunset zone 24.

Thank you so much in advance!

This post was edited by glitzalicious on Sat, Feb 7, 15 at 12:26