Sorry, commented on the other post - the one w/o text, before reading this. You could probably do hibiscus, if you want flowers. There are a number of flowering shrubs that might work for you, in fact. Natal plum has heavenly scented flowers...

Thanks Carol, will definitely look into both Hibiscus ( altho it's quite cold sensitive ) and Natal Plum. Whichever shrub I choose must be able to reach a height of 8 or9 feet or so. Thanks.

Banana shrubs (Michelia figo) can grow quite tall and dense and have small yellow flowers that smell like strong bananas and vanilla. The leaves stay on in the winter. I have two and they are awesome. I think they are very underused in FL. I don't know why.

~SJN

Since you like scent...how about night blooming jasmine? I can attest that it is a fast grower. I put a 3 gallon pot in the ground in June or July and it is easily 4 to 5 feet tall now. I saw someone else's who had trained it into a small tree (looked similiar to a Crepe myrtle but busier on the bottom) and had about 10 closely planted to block their neighbor from looking in at them when they were in the pool. I plan on trimming mine in the spring so it grows taller than wider too. And I think they are fairly easy to root from cuttings too but I'll have to let you know about that for sure! Mine is flushes with the flowers about every 4 weeks or so and is extremely fragrant but it's usually around 9 pm so unless you are regularly out there at that time, it shouldn't be too intense. Or maybe alternate red firespike with every other one?

Wow, thanks guys, you've both ( along with Carol ) given me a lot to ponder. For the record, I am not specifically looking for a plant that has a scent, - that magnolia tree out front supplies all I need each spring. My main goal is to replace the bushy, tough, tall areca's with a " softer " evergreen plant that might have a flower or two for a portion of the year. I think maybe 6 - 8 of them along that 20 ft screened wall will do the trick. In no hurry right now, the areca's will be dug up around April and the new guys planted in late April or May. Just need some ideas on what might work and you all have me making a list already. Thanks.

Night blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) is super easy to root. I just cut a bunch of 8 inch cuttings and stick several (like 10) in a 3 gallon pot full of potting soil. I put them in about halfway down into the soil. Keep barely moist and they will root and you can separate them. I have also stuck cuttings right in the flower beds in the fall before it freezes and they come back rooted in the spring lol. They can get 10 ft here and they will freeze back to the roots in the winter but they always come back. They like fertilizer and will be loaded down with blooms from mid summer to frost. We have gobs of hummingbird/hawk moths on the flowers at night. The scent can be really overpowering for some people especially if you have a bunch planted together. I can smell them about an acre away when they are all in bloom up by the house.

~SJN

SJN, I'm going to give rooting cuttings directly in the ground then! I just did that with tons of cordyline cuttings, rather than just throwing them out and it seems almost all took! Yay!!!