a olive tree is beautiful, but it takes forever to grow

Also they lose all their leaves in the wintr so not much privacy then. Go to your local nursery and explain the problem and get some good advice on wht will work in your area.

Well, olive trees do tend to be super bushy with thick foliage, so you'll have your privacy when it's leafed out (in a few years). Do keep in mind that they're pretty filthy - they love dropping leaves and twigs and olives everywhere all the time.

Assume they are zone appropriate for you :-) IME. they grow faster than you would expect and being fully evergreen (not sure where that previous comment came from!!) will make a good screening tree........just not immediately.

And all evergreen trees shed and can be messy. "Filthy" is a bit strong a term.....olives are no more or no less messy than any other selection. If you don't want to deal with the fruit, get a fruitless variety.

Yes, but to be super bushy with thick foliage will take at least 20 years

I like olive trees , make sure its of the fruitless variety. I have one & find it less messy than my other trees. And where in the world do olive trees lose their leaves in winter??? Most are grown in a Mediterranean type climate.

The "filthy" comment came from spending time in a varied orchard when I was a kid - it had everything from apples and persimmons to olives and figs. These trees weren't regularly tended like they'd be in a yard. The olive trees were BY FAR the messiest.

*Also I thought olive trees were evergreen, but I've been back east for a while and haven't seen one in winter for quite some time, and the previous comment threw me into doubt lol.

According to the nursery.....

"The Wilsonii variety of olive tree is a fruitless type that will not produce the litter of olives nor will it produce the pollen that aggravates a lot of people with allergies"

I had an olive tree in my condo/townhome unit to block neighbors views too, but they removed it since it was staining the concrete and streets (the fruits are black and stain), and the ROOTS were uprooting the driveways/street/sidewalk, etc.

I have a Melaleuca that is gorgeous and grows like crazy. Not sure where you live, but ask if they have them? It's got the gorgeous peeling bark and the leave are green and lush and grow fast and full.....

How old is your Melaleuca tree? They get huge & are lifting up sidewalks everywhere in my city. City is removing them. They are messy & grow way too large for that yard!

Melaleuca are a very invasive species and are not allowed in many places in the US. Their seeds are so small that they carry everywhere and the trees overpower local fauna. Evil.

I love my olive tree, which has grown to be a beautiful privacy screen. I also like the attractive litter of leaves and twigs....it makes a nice natural mulch and is only a modest quantity. The one issue is OLIVE DROP. Over any paved, traveled area, it makes a big mess. This usually lasts 4-6 weeks per year, where purplish black greasy fruit are falling daily and getting squashed all over pavements and the bottoms of shoes. The only solutions would be to find a olive tree variety that is fruitless - but they are rare and may not live up to the billing - or have the yearly hormone spray.

Given your tight spacing and pavement, I have to sadly recommend that you reconsider the olive idea. There are better species - look for designated patio tree species, which are those that do not provide undue annoyance over paved areas.

Fruitless olives are not all that hard to find :-) The variety 'Wilsonii' that the OP mentioned is one but you can also find 'Swan Hill' and 'Majestic Beauty' pretty much anywhere olive trees are sold.

If the OP is located in CA (we really need locations on all of these requests....otherwise we are just shooting in the dark), Arbutus unedo or 'Marina' might be a suitable substitute for the olive.

Arbutus is actually what I just cut down on the left hand side. It was a complete mess. We had sap residue all over our cars. It would also drop berries and leaves everywhere.

Where is your sewer line? Don't plant a tree anywhere near sewer lines.

My neighbor has some really tall grasses that would look great in front of your fence. I think it is Miscanthus Sinensis "Silberfeder". A type of maiden grass . It must be 10 feet tall at least. https://www.gardenia.net/guide/best-japanese-silver-grasses-for-your-garden-miscanthus-sinensis

I see that maiden grass can be invasive in some areas so be aware of that.

If the arbutus provide too much mess, then skip the olive as well. It will be very similar. There are two very large Arbutus unedos planted in my post office parking lot. Other than shedding leaves (which any tree will do at some time or another), they do not create much of a mess at all. YMMV

The fence makes your front yard unattractive.

Why the need for privacy?

If you are in California, how about 'Frosty Blue' ceanothus? 'Ray Hartman' also makes a good screen but I don't think you have the space for it. The Arbutus suggested above would also work. You'll get better advice if you provide your growing zone, exposure, soil type, etc.

I'm in Monterey, CA. Soil is silty. The front yard faces the South and has full sun all year.

If the goal is privacy, you may get good screening wth some tall bushes, like pittosporum (the ones with black stems) or prunus carolinia. Also, have you considered hiring a landscape architect to give an on-sight consultation? When I bought my house I planted stuff, thinking I knew what I was doing. I‘m a big gardener but still made a couple mistakes with trees and shrubs. Last year I paid a lot to rip out a few things and start over again, this time with advice. I got a referral to a landscape architect who offers a range of services, including hourly consultations. I.e. she’ll walk around and give suggestions and feedback in terms of light, water, what you want to screen, etc. I got a referral from my realtor and also the good nursery in town.

I still don’t get it. You want to screen the apartment building across the street from what? Do you have a back yard?

Your front yard is designed for landscaping, not that fencing that looks like some pallets, and a raw dirt yard.

Often Homeowners Associations prevent you from what you are doing.

Since you are going for Mediterranean look...grasses, lavender, etc. I think it looks great...I’m in N. Cal. Envious of your Monterey location!

I can't help you with the California plants, but based on your picture, it looks like a tree not very tall is capable of screening the apartment and wires. Consider a large shrub grown as tree form. It could easily suit your small yard and not overwhelm it. Personally, I would accept somewhat slower growing vs. fast growing but ultimately overwhelming or troublesome to keep pruned. If possible, plant a mess-eating groundcover below the tree and not need to worry much about it.

A hormone spray for plants?! My education for the morning

My experience has only been with russian olive so hence the losing leaves part. i had no idea where the poster lived when making my comment. but there has to be better solutions to the problem

Wow, who knew I had an 'evil' Melaleuca?! We have them all over our 450 townhome section in beautiful So Cal. It grows fast and has full greens... If it were such an issue, I'm guessing our very 'tree expert' HOA ;-) would have removed every one of them....there are at least 50-100.

Also beautiful would be a Queen Palm....

Laura: Meleucva has invaded the Everglades and is causing horrible problems in Florida. It may be less invasive in So Cal because it's drier, but it has a well-deserved rap as an invasive species.

Perhaps pyracantha (firethorn). It's a bush /vine, grows rapidly, needs very little water. The advantage of this plant; install it in front of your current fence, on a sturdy a trellis that's taller than the fence. A trellis is not a fence, therefore height restrictions usually do not apply.

This is what I'm going for.

Can you keep the truck inside the garage? It's going to be hard to achieve the clean look above if not.

tatts, perhaps a different species than one's we have out here then since we have them everywhere.... Just out of curiosity, what is the issue with it out in FL?

As I said...they are taking over the Everglades!

The seeds are tiny and easily dispersed (fuzzy, like dandelions), and one tree can produce over 10 million seeds a year. And those seeds can lie dormant for a decade or more before sprouting. They form dense groves that prevent anything else from growing.

I don’t know anything about olive trees, but I can offer an opinion on the privacy fence.

Your inspiration photo shows a fence very similar to the house - with a strong, straight pattern and white paint. Do you intend to make your fence taller? Extend it along your right border? Paint it to match the house? It just looks odd and out of place right now.

The fence leaves you with a teeny tiny front yard. I think gravel/landscape stones would be an appropriate cover.

How about adding a tree/shrub similar to the one your neighbor has, right next to his garage door? It looks evergreen. You could put it in the corner nearest the junction of the driveway and your new fence. It would grow to block the view of your front door, if that’s what you’re going for.

These are a few visuals for inspiration

Should do the trick in your California zone . Wilsonii's are mostly fruitless but you'll get a rouge cup of fruit every now and then. They are faster growing than any other fruitless varieties such as Swan Hills and Majestic Beauty and they respond exceptionally well to pruning if you feel it is outgrowing its space.

Whelp I stuck it in the ground.

.....

Privacy screen is off the charts ugly. Do you have setback rules?

Huh, sorry Mike, probably should have kept that to myself.

Remove the stake from the tree so it can develop properly. https://www.finegardening.com/article/to-stake-or-not-to-stake

It will look better without the circle of stones around the tree. Some tall grasses would look good against the fence.

Your inspiration picture above (Oct 28) has the fence painted to match the house. Are you planning to paint your fence too?

Can we get an update on how your Wilsonii is doing? I think it was a great choice for a Cali front yard screen. I'm looking at Swan Hill but they are so expensive. I'd like to know if Wilsonii is a good option.

US has a summer dry western half and a summer wet eastern half. For instance the annual rainfall curves for Seattle and Miami are pretty much exact opposites. This makes all the difference to which kinds of plants become weedy in each half.