How alkaline is your soil? I thought Ilex sp. don't handle alkaline soil well? Anyway, I'd recommend a weeping crabapple if you want flowers, they are less touchy than weeping cherries. I think a weeping tree is the least likely to obscure your window. You could also do either a wisteria vine that's been trained as a tree or a Rose of Sharon that's been trimmed to tree form if you want something unusual but not weeping. I do think something flowering would be nice. Oh- another possibility is Sambucus 'Black Lace' which will give you a similar look to a lace leaf maple but without being so touchy. If you want more golden foliage than black, a sambucus 'Sutherland's Gold' would fit the bill. Another advantage they have over the maples are great big flower clusters and fall berries.

Will the maple appreciate the alkaline soil and Zone 5 winters? I haven't noticed a smell from Spiraea japonica before. But I wouldn't put one there anyway, you will have a dead-looking tuft right below the window all winter. I also wouldn't put two matching hollies, one on each side of the window (if that is what you are proposing) as this is not a formal scene with symmetric house facade and bed shapes. Maybe use a drift of 'Helleri' holly with a serviceberry in the center of the bed instead, some taller broadleaf evergreens with larger leaves as well.

Thank you both for your suggestions. I am meeting with the person doing the landscaping tomorrow, so I will mention all of this to him.

Here are some of the other suggestions I have received from local sources:

Prunus cistena
Pros: foligage, flowers
Cons: short lived, many disease and insect problems, fruit can be a litter problem

Magnolia grandifloria "Little Gem"
Pros: foligage, flowers, fragrance
Cons: leaves and flowers can be a litter problem

The plum is not shapely or interesting other than being purple, the magnolia is not likely to be hardy in USDA Hardiness Zone 5.

Visiting local labeled collections (botanical gardens, arboreta, demonstration gardens, experiment stations, nurseries with display gardens...) is a good way to find out what looks good to you that will also grow in your region.

Hi,

Not a pro, but thought you might check out a beautiful tree I have, very slow growing, open horizontal branching, flowers, berries and a wonderful fragrance!

Google- Japanese Snowbell pink chimes (for a pink variety) No one else in the neighborhood will have it! Around here, the nurseries argued with me, insisting I wanted a snowball tree....my .02.

bboy: thanks for the suggestion. As I recall, you have a Sambucus "Black Lace" or "Black Beauty." If this is correct, what do you think of them?

heatheron40: about the styrax japonicus - does it need moist, acid soil to do well? How much maintenance has been involved for you? Thanks!

In the middle south, Little Gem gets quite large, 30 feet, so I do not consider it a small ornamental tree--it would obscure your whole house, unless its growth is quite stunted in your zone.

We have our own version of "drip irrigation" our air conditioning system condensate drips there!! So, it does stay a "well drained damp"!! It is on the corner of the porch, where one side has deciduous azaleas and the other has irises, so- it must not be too wet, the irises would rot and I do not feed it acid, but it probably gets some from the azaleas....hmmm The answer is: I really don't do anything!

This used to be a dairy farm, so the flower bed soil IS WONDERFUL! I think that is the ticket to my sucess.

Heather

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:44051}}

Sambucus can grow large and are fast but produce long canelike stems, do not have the fine texture and structural elegance of Japanese maples and similarly built trees and shrubs.

Japanese maples are highly popular because hundreds of cultivars were selected in Japan and because they have a fairly distinctive appearance even as wild seedlings. But like all trees they have a range of tolerances outside of which they cannot grow well, if at all.

Well, here's a planting scheme that looks semi-zone 5 friendly and incorporates a narrow evergreen ('Skyrocket' juniper) that would fit into your space with room to spare*.

The blurb describes the design as "Tuscan-inspired". Judging by those shrublets growing out of the pathway, the Tuscans must have been prone to tripping and falling on their faces a lot. ;)

*I'd prefer Parrotia persica "Vanessa" myself.

How about paperbark maple? It has wonderful winter interest, is hardier than Japanese maple, and more unusual. They grow slowly and do not get too large.

Thank you all very much for your feedback.

bboy: I did go look at some of the offerings for tree/shrubs here in the valley but didn't see anything that really grabbed me. Do you think it is rather silly to not consider the Japanese maple if it will grow well in my environment?

heatheron40: You are much younger than I anticipated, but you did look stunning against the japanese snowbell. ;-)

frankie_in_zone_7: ok, that doesn't sound very workable. Thanks for the heads up.

eric_oh: I have to agree with you - safety doesn't seem like a concern down there in Tuscan land.

gottagarden: nice suggestion. I will follow up on it.

Swanoir,

I've also been thinking about a specimen tree for a certain space in my garden. I wanted fragrance, multiple-season interest, and as few other potential problems as possible. A small tree (height 10'-15' spread 10') that has caught my interest is the prunus nigra "Princess kay".

Assets-
Fragrant, abundant white double-flowers in spring
Foliage emerges with red tones
Produces little to no fruit
Excellent fall color
Black to near black bark is very attractive (particularly against light backdrop)
Described as "long lived" for its family (40 years)
Fewer of the typical prunus disease tendencies
Bonus -- native to northern US and Canada

Weakness-
Very hard to find

If you think she's interesting, and if you locate a source  let me know! Maybe someone here can tell us more about how this one does in the landscape.

Wellspring -- who hasn't been able to log-on since my computer "forgot" my info  Then, GW wouldn't recognize name / password. Had just about decided that I'd never be able to post again (I do it rarely enough anyway) I changed all the info once before, but every time my computer loses it, I find it takes multiple times of entering exactly the same stuff before GW finally agrees that I am who I am and I haven't forgotten my password.  tried one more time this morning and  Voila! I have no clue whether my suggested specimen tree was worth the effort it took to post, but I'm happy!

wellspring: thank you very much for posting - it certainly is appreciated and the suggestion was a good one. If I can locate a source, I will let you know.

A friend also suggested we look at Harry Lauder's walking stick (Corylus avellana), so we trying to find an example of that as well.

I wanted to post a picture of how the site looks now, with the first plantings in. We had settled on a Sargents Crabtree
(Malus sargentii) for this spot, but then our landscaper told us that because there are so many apple orchids, there was a good chance the fruit would be infesting with coddling moth. Apparently, the county has the right to insist on spraying for any trees in the apple family and if you do not comply they can cut down the tree. So, back to the drawing board...

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:44053}}

Here are my favorite small specimen trees:
Dogwood--american and kousa
Cornelian Cherry, scientific name Cornus mas (hard to find)
Some type of Japanese maple (If you amend your soil to make it less alkaline. Maples like sweet soil, not too acid, not too alkaline.) There are so many pretty ones to choose from if you find a good nursery or someplace online that specializes in them
Crabapple
Musclewood, scientific name "Carpinus carolinia" For some odd reason Persian ironwood, called Parrotia or something like that, is more popular with the nurseries. Supposedly had good fall color.
Amelanchier/Juneberry/Shadbush
Some people like Redbud but I find them to be dullsville in the fall and winter.

I have ironwood and japanese maple and japanese snowbell in my yard as specimens. The snowbell has been a real snore for me so far.

Here's two of the ones I mentioned, with the maple in the background being one I mail ordered, called "fireglow." Doesn't get as big as "Bloodgood" and supposedly more sun tolerant. Snowbell is in the foreground, to the right of the juniper. I put lots of peat moss in my soil and mulch with pine bark to counteract alkalinity.

{{gwi:44057}}

lpinkmountain: thank you for posting your picture. We actually decided to go with a 'Fireglow' Japanese maple as well for the specimen tree in front of our house. Out of about 2,000 images I found on Google, I picked one that best represented the form I wanted. The landscaper then went to Seattle with that picture and after looking at about 100 candidates, picked out 6 for me to evaluate. I have enclosed a picture below of the one we chose.

For the rest of the landscape, we also put in Amelanchier, Cornus kousa, Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy', but added in some other plantings we really liked, such as Cotinus coggygria ÂRoyal PurpleÂ, Crataegus laevigata 'Paul's Scarlet', Corylus avellana 'Contorta', Juniperus chinensis 'Torulosa', and Sambucus "Black Lace". We'll see how it all works out.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:44056}}

I didn't read that part about the crabs. They can get awful buggy this time of year! You've got some lovely selections Swanoir! Thanks for posting that picture, it gives me hope for what my little baby "Fireglow" might grow up to be! I also enjoy the Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, we have a couple here on the grounds of the biological station where I work. They are really cool in the winter, which as you know is a significant part of life in Zone 5! We have japanese snowbell too, but it is just a small nondescript tree. The snowbell is out of the ordinary and I've seen some beautiful pics, so maybe mine will become a fun tree someday if it takes hold. I wanted an alternative to the ubiquitous dogwoods, but I should have realized that dogwoods are the classic specimen for a reason! The one outside my folks door is stunning in the spring, it's just your basic white dogwood, pure poetry!
If I had more room I would have gone for the "torulosa" too, but instead I planted what is called "robusta" which is a slightly smaller type of juniper.
I've never seen a specimen hawthorne in a nursery, but we have one here that is gorgeous. Have fun with your choices, they are some of my faves!