Photos? And a geographic location would be helpful.

Central California zone 9

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Are the redwoods tall enough to shade the area? Most trees and shrubs require sun to grow full; otherwise, they grow tall and thin. Many shrubs can grow as wide as they do tall, so you might lose yard space to their growth. If a plant has a mature width of 6' you should plant it at least 3' from the lot line and 4'6" from each other.

I'm going to give you links for plants. You need to consider whether they will grow in your climate and soil. Here are Privacy Shrubs , some of which will take shade. Consider using tall Shade Tolerant Perennials to fill in while shrubs grow. Do your own search for shrubs and perennials that provide privacy.

I would suggest immediately that you get rid of the redwoods. They just get far too large for any suburban garden and will make growing anything else nearby impossible. They need acreage, not just a yard!!

There are other conifers that do not get nearly as large yet grow quite rapidly that would work for privacy screening. Or all manner of broadleaved evergreen shrubs.

How well stuff grows under redwoods or any other evergreen conifers is heavily dependent on individual site conditions including how moist the soil tends to be, how much light is reaching the planting areas beneath the trees and so on.

In my case I have a pre 1965 coast redwood right over the fence and the part of the property it hangs over is much affected, in terms of gardening potential. And its mat of roots extends well beyond the reach of its branches.

Old growth = 250 years+. Is that how old your Douglas fir is? If so that is neat.

ophoenix, there are several redwoods on my niece's property (4 acres) here on Bainbridge that are in excess of 60'. And the property has only been developed and the garden planted in the last 25 years. Walnut Creek may have been drier than they liked......that's not so much the case here :-)

The old growth fir was identified by a long-time fence contractor when we moved into the house. It was measured at more than 19 feet in circumference and is growing in the ravine of the Boeing Creek on our side of the property line.

I agree that the redwoods were in a Mediterranean climate - Sunset zone 10a or our little micro climate of 11a. But that might be close to the climate of the original poster. They did not suffer from lack of water because they grew next to our creek that had water almost all year. It was fed by a spring and water run off from the homes on the hill behind us. The creek was the only place in the garden that I could grow hydrangeas!

i agree the redwoods probably have too much potential for the size of the yard ... but they could serve a short term purpose of creating some privacy.. whole other things grow to size ....

i planted some dreaded poplars with it in mind.. that the season before they got so big.. i couldnt take them down for free .. i would take them down ... and in the mean time some quality oaks had put on some good size ...

this equation would be based on your ability to fell trees.. and the somehow get rid of the dead tree .. as i doubt you could burn it.. lol ..

if you want privacy on what i presume is the deck/patio in the last pic.. then plant some shrubs near that for that purpose ... i doubt you are going to solve your problems out at the fence line alone .... so attack the issue from different ways ...

with trees.. of which conifers are... we talk in tree time.. which is counted in decades ... it seems you might have some high expectations for those redwoods... they simply arent going to accomplish your goal ..... in short order ... and i do realize your CA season is probably near year round compared to my MI ...

but that said.. again.. referring to yard size.. i just dont think you have much more room for a lot more giant trees ... so dont go overplanting small version of potentially giant plants .... only to create a future nightmare with too many plants ...

and do understand.. trees and shrubs do not stop growing at some magical stated height or width ... size estimates.. are just estimates ... and not unlike the energizer bunny.. they just keep going and going ... but of course.. with shrubs.. you can prune/shear them ...

ken

ps: are those any special named cultivar of redwood.. read that: reduced annual growth rate........ or just the giant species trees that can get 350 feet tall???

The old growth fir was identified by a long-time fence contractor* when we moved into the house. It was measured at more than 19 feet in circumference and is growing in the ravine of the Boeing Creek on our side of the property line.

So yeah at about 6' in diameter - if measured at the correct height of 4 1/2' - it's presumably pretty old. But technically if nobody has bored the trunk and counted the growth rings it's not really known exactly how old it is. Sometimes vigorous native trees growing in prime spots like moist ravines have had a period in their lives where they got big comparatively quickly.

*I didn't know these guys were all heritage tree experts!

I get it. Take out the redwoods. Can someone recommend trees and shrubs please

Almost too many to list!! Your county extension office would be a good place to start. Or the Sunset Western Garden Book's listing of hedging and screening plants. Natives are always a good choice as they are well-adapted to the local climate and are generally very low maintenance. So things like California lilac (Ceanothus species), Pacific wax myrtle (Morella californica), sugar bush (Rhus ovata), lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia), toyon, silk tassel (Garry elliptica) and manzanitas. Or ligustrum, pittosporum, columnar junipers, cypress, etc., etc., etc.

Select by mature height and expected width so you don't plant something that will rapidly outgrow your space........like the redwoods :-)

Limelight Hydrangeas get very tall quickly. I have one that is 15 ft and I trim it back to 7 ft or so every few years, so I hate to think how big it could be if I left it alone.

Hydrangea paniculatas are great shrubs but maybe not the best choice for privacy screening in an area where one can be outside year round. I'd stick to evergreens :-) And also maybe not a great choice in an area where rainfall is a precious commodity and routine irrigation - which the hydrangea will need - is not encouraged.