Question
Wow - that is great info.  If i can, let me add some clarity and look for your recommendation.

I have a 20x4 foot section that is right against a neighbor's fence.  Then there's 6 feet to my livingroom window (10 feet between house and fence).  I was concened about too many leaves dropping into the neighbor's home.  What would you recommend re number of trees and type.  This is the 'full' sun exposure (beween hwy 4 and the bay).

The other sections are also against a fence, but 20 feet from my backside house windows and patio door.  Shade would be good, at some point, but low maintenance is also a winner.

I think i'm going to go with your recommendations, if i can buy locally.

thanks again.  the informaiton is great especially for a layperson like myself.

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Followup To
Question -
Thanks for the service.  I'll keep it simple.  I live in 94565.  Hot as heck during the summer and somewhat of a clay ground.

I have an L shape space.  30 feet on one side and 20 on the other.  4 feet depth.  The 30 foot section is exposed to sun until 12:30pm.  The 20 foot section (plus i have a seperate 20 foot section) are both exposed to the sun until 5:30-6:00pm.  I need 5 trees that will be in the sun; however, ideally they won't grown more than 15ft high by 5-7 feet wide?  Any recommendations?  That's the most important question; however, if you have recommendation about the landscaping plants that would be great.

Lastly - do you know of a website where i can enter the zone and landscaping deminsions and they provide plant recommendations with design.  Then sells and ships the plants?  Wow - that would be fantastic.

Gary
Answer -
Hello Gary -
Well, what you are looking for are large shrubs that can be pruned into small trees, or patio-sized trees.  

Your locale (Antioch/Pittsburg/Suisun Bay) is supurb for all sorts of trees.  The USDA zones are generalized for all areas of the United States and based on lowest temperatures.  Specifically for California & the western states, I like to use the Sunset Zones, based on lots of other factors like proximity to the ocean, fog, high winds, etc.

You are in USDA Zone 9B, and depending on your exact location, you are in either Sunset Zone 17 (between Highway 4 & the bay) or Zone 15 (south of Highway 4).  

Some patio trees that would work in your area are: Crape Myrtle, Purpleleaf Plum, 'Capital' Ornamental Pear (tall & skinny), Sargent Cherry (also tall & skinny), all the Dogwoods, and even the really cool Carrotwood.  Also consider Acacias or tree-ferns, appropriate for your location.  Now this would give you OVERHEAD shade, wich is great for an intimate patio setting.  Given your space constraints (200 sqre feet), I'd only plant 3 of these trees, at most.

Do you live in a condo, where airspace is not your own? Then keeping these trees inside of your 5-7 foot "slot" would be a pruning challenge, unless you got the fastigate (latin for "skinny") variety.  I would then suggest you go with leggy (long-stemmed)shrub and prune it up as a small patio tree, like the Camellia, Melaleuca, or Rhaphiolepis.  

Some websites that show some of these plant with suggestions, and have a retail link are: Backyardgardener.com & plantideas.com....I've never bought from them, so I don't know if they ship into California.  For that matter, they may be based there, but their website doesn't say.

My all-time favorite website for plant ideas is still Sunset.com

There you go - hope it helps!!

Answer
This is a link for "tall & skinny" trees...

http://www.backyardgardener.com/tree/indexlist25.html

Most will work for your zone, except maybe the fastigiate Oak (gets too big at the base, even though it mostly goes "up"), or the Ginko (gets too broad for such a tight space).  You may also consider a plant that's not on the link above: the Italian Cypress (Cupressus sepervirens 'Stricta').  Very nice, and should work in your zone.  Since its evergreen, you won't get the sudden drop of leaves in the fall.  

I try and keep trees at least 15 feet apart, and at about 10 feet from the house.  You don't need to have your foundation torn up by roots! If you have any views or power lines, try to avoid them, too.  Usually, after taking all these considerations in, the actual area for trees shrinks to just a few spots.

Also, consider in the sideyard some fruit trees.  I have apple & peach that I have espaliered in my side-yard (about 10 feet wide, with a sidewalk).  The leaves drop in the fall, but if I share the fruits with my neighbor's they don't seem to mind the mess once a year.  I've seen all sorts of trees treated this way: Magnolias, Cherries, Peaches, and Quinces.  The classical European way is with Pears or Apples.

Here is what they look like (these are not mine; just a picture to give you an idea of possibilities)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espalier

And a recent article in Money Magazine confirms the greatest "bang for your buck" in the landscape is still the shade tree, when it comes time to add lasting value to your home.

Happy to help out.