Lol. Sorry. I am obviously super new to landscaping. I’m not exactly sure but basically I want to look out into my backyard and see a wall of color, rather than my brick wall. There is room to plant away from the wall as well (i want to plant in front of whatever we decide on as well), so it doesn’t have to be a thin tight vine but it could be! Or do you think it would look better to do just a green wall with color in front?

If you like yellow, Tecoma stans for vibrant yellow flower color. Mine is in full bloom every minute of every year, believe it or not (I do deadhead it.). Tough plants, with nice-looking green foliage. The shorter 6'ish 'Gold Star' thins out the foliage a bit for about two months during the winter, but continues to bloom. The reddish flowering 'Bells of Fire' is less vibrant. I prune it down in the winter because it thins out more than the other tecomas, But that one blooms its head off 9-10 months of the year with little to no deadheading (it rarely produces seed pods). 'Bells of Fire' is easy to keep at 6'.

Tecoma stans

Another colorful option is Metrosideros 'Gala', for variegated foliage and red bottlebrush-like flowers in season. Those get taller, but easily kept at about 7-8'ish. I use them as a hedge, and keep their growth narrow (< 3') with minimal pruning 2-3 times per year.

I live in south Orange County.

A vine would cover the wall a lot quicker than placing a hedge in front of the wall. Snail Vine (Vigna caracalla) is very fast growing in your area and is easy to maintain with no thorns or thick woody stems.

Because you're "super new to landscaping" and, perhaps, gardening, suggest you consider working with someone who can help you make a plan for your place.

Large local garden centers can often provide advice/assistance within your price range. Help ranges from a vocal report to one that's written, a planting plan, plants supplied, and, possibly, installed.

Tecomas are beautiful but can quickly get huge unless you are diligent about pruning. Nandina is care free and comes in varieties of varying sizes depending on your needs. I have grewia, which gives me a big green wall with no need for support, but it also needs frequent trimming to keep it from getting out of hand.

lgteacher, as I wrote in my post, there are Tecoma cultivars that do not get huge. I planted the species and 'Gold Star' about seven years ago. The 'Gold Star' is still only 6' tall, and I only deadhead. The species growing a few feet away is about 12-15' tall, and I often remove 3-4 feet of height several times throughout the year.

Have you looked into tecomaria capensis? it is readily available and can be hedged to death without compromising the colorful flowers. For a solid wall of green that wont take up much space, you can't beat Ficus pumila. It will cover the wall in no time. no flowers on tl the ficus though. If you can find a source, petrea is a great alternative to boigainvillea. You'd have to look at specialty nurseries in LA to find this vine though. XOTX in W Hollywood would be a good place to start.

cesrbhaill, bougainvillea is a sprawling shrub that can act as a vine. it isn't a vine in the true sense that it could support itself with tendrils or wrap around a structure. It needs support, otherwise it will sprawl along the floor and cascade down walls etc.

Star jasmine might work. Blooms pretty in the spring. Shear back a couple times a year.

I had a garden with Tecomaria capensis, and much like the Grewia mentioned earlier, it requires a lot of pruning and shearing, less than ideal for a new gardener who prefers to avoid a plant requiring diligent pruning.

Please mention the depth of the space available in front of the wall you wish to obscure and the exposure it faces -- north? south?

hi kim! great questions. it faces west. my backyard is basically dirt (new construction and they did no landscaping) so there is plenty of room along the wall right now but i do want to be able to plant plants in front of the vines, with a planting margin of about 5 feet.

If you want a green wall, I think the star jasmine mentioned by Socks,Trachelospermum jasminoides, will work. It will need a little support at first to make it's way up to the top of the brick. It will have some depth to it, maybe 18 - 24 inches once established. If you want more colorful flowers, there are many vines from which to choose, but vines, by definition, are very aggressive. (Star jasmine is more of a trailing shrub that can be trained upright.)

Alternative idea for year-round color -- sticks on fire, or Euphorbia tirucalli. You can plant them perhaps 2 - 3 ft apart, and they will grow tall to form an airy hedge look. That will leave plenty of space in front of them for lower-growing contrasting succulents or grasses to fill out the planting area.

Ficus pumila (creeping fig) is an agressive grower and if not kept trimmed flat, can be a favorite of rats.