Thank you for the reply. I probably should have provided more information... we're planning on taking out the grass this month and moving to more drought friendly plants. We may not even replant this year until and wait until we get some decent rain. We'd widen the track against the fence regardless to make more room for any trees being planted. Neighbors won't mind anything hanging over as there'a street on the other side of the fence with shrubs that snug up to the fence... the probably wouldn't mind having something more green to look at across the way either!

... also, I thought about Junipers but I think they may be a bit too "hedge-like" for us. They're very dense. I really like the Howard McMinn... especially the curling bark, I remember these growing up.Are they pretty fast growing? I'll look a bit more at these.

red tip photinias. Love them. Ripped out 30 redwoods (never, ever plant any redwoods in a residential landscape) and kept all the RTPs. My neighbors planted 20 along their fence-line and they look terrific - trimmed to pretty much any height you want - up to 16ft or a bit more.

Thank you, a great suggestion. I love the Howard McMinn but I don't know if I have enough space along the fence for it to comfortably grow. Something like the red tip photinias though but work a bit better.

I would plant a couple of large rose bushes such as Westerland or Autumn Sunset, they are shade tolerant and can grow to 10ft tall. They aren't native or evergreen but they are fast growers and not extremely dense. I have my Westerland next to a fence and the fragrant flowers are a bonus.

Another good shrub that can grow 10ft tall and is drought tolerant is the Glossy Abelia, it also is shade tolerant and produces flowers.