I was also considering a River Birch. I wonder with some of my choices whether they'd be too big for my house and thought maybe this would be more appropriate. It's a tough decision.

River birch is also a big tree, where conditions suitable. You would have the bark effect to look at, get one with pleasant bark (such as Heritage) as the typical plant can look like wet newspapers when old.

Probably the choice one on your list is the black gum, but it's slow growing, and pyramidal in the sun. The situation you describe sounds like it calls for a more elevated crown shape. Maybe one of the new hybrid elms would work, of if too big a named selection of Chinese elm (U. parvifolia). You could get nice bark from one of these also, in fact it looks kind of like a river birch generally.

Ok, well you've put the Heritage River Birch at the top of my list. There were some nice pictures of the bark on Nature Hills. I see they also have a "Dura Heat River Birch (BNMTF)" listed, but the picture doesn't show it off that well. Is that one as good? I seem to remember one or two Heritage Birch trees at my local nursery in the Fall, amidst a dozen or so White Barked Himalayan Birch trees. I had read that species was disease prone.

There weren't any pictures of Chinese Elm trees to look at in the Nature Hills site, but I'll keep them in mind as well.

Thanks for your help.

For protection against hot sun in summer, the correct place to put a tree is on the west or southwest side of the house. That provides protection against the hottest sun of the summer day. Putting a tree to the south of a house provides little protection since in summer the sun is directly over head and the tree casts little shade unless its large enough to completely engulf the house.

Also, a tree to the south keeps the winter sun out of the house, sun which most people want.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a mature 'Heritage' Birch, and was wondering if it retains the "appealing" bark as it reaches mature size?

Wipe!.... Gimme a wipe!
(sorry, had to comment on the user name)

I like the maples. Red maples are pretty fast growing. Sugar maples aren't but they're nice trees. I also like the elm idea that bboy mentioned. I think they are great trees.

The lindens are huge and tend to have branches drooping down to the ground so best to let them develop in a wide open area.

I don't think it's the right site for a birch although I'm farther south and have one in full sun, it will lose leaves in the summer no how much I water it so it wont give you good shade. River birches are more for a landscape accent for the bark than shade in my opinion.

Are you looking for a huge tree or a medium tree?

Maybe what you need is a tree that has a high arching crown, so your view won't be blocked, but which will give you shade. The ideal tree for this is American elm, especially one that has a very high-arching vase-shaped form. OK, OK, I know about DED, but there are some new cultivars being developed. I am trying a couple from the Elm Research Institute. Even if these cultivars are not completely immune, I think you could do periodic innoculations to protect the tree, but I don't know much about this.

The Chinese elm doesn't grow in such a high arching form, and from what I have seen, these trees are very, very susceptible to breakage in ice storms--I would not want one in my yard, and certainly not near my house or anywhere where falling limbs could do damage or injure or kill someone.

There are other trees that sometimes grow in the high arching form that may fit your situation, but they do not always assume that form, and not so well when growing in the open. And they are slower growing. If you want shade for your house, you will have to wait many, many years. Red oak and eastern white oak sometimes develop the high arching form you may want, but not usually if they are growing in the open and/or don't get special pruning as they develop to help them grow in that form.

Also, not all American elms arch as high as others. If you decide to go with a DED resistant American elm, try to find out as much as you can about its growth form.

Just one note--some elms sold as "Princeton" elms may not be as resistant as advertized--You can do some checking of your own on this and decide for yourselves based on the various opinions/evidence. Personally, I would choose another strain of American Elm for disease resistance.

--Spruce

Quirky and all, As for medium vs large, I change my mind all the time on this, I'm afraid :). It's a corner lot, with a fairly broad front yard(100 feet plus wide), but the center sector is only about 20 feet wide, and the house is a fairly small two story. Driving down the approaching road, the center seems empty, as if it needs a tree to screen it from the world, if that makes sense. I'd like to have something interesting to see from the window, but not something that would block the view of the house entirely. Laceyvail's comment has me thinking that the sun issue might be more readily addressed in the sector to the right of the walk, although any tree planted there would have to contend with a large street tree for space and sun. Still, I feel something in the center is necessary. I guess small to medium would be the best size range. Several months ago, the first thing I thought of was putting in was a Cherokee Princess White Flowering dogwood, but then I got focused on the sun issue, and wondered whether the dogwood would have enough presence for this prominent location. So, I started reading about Maples and the like, and have been waffling ever since :)

I hope this isn't a duplicate post, I apparently didn't complete an earlier attempt.

Red Maple is the answer then. Easy to grow and pretty fast. Relatively inexpensive and easy to find. The october glory variety has dense branching, faster growth and red fall foliage. Go to treegrowersdiary.com then click on 'my trees' then look at the october glory that julie has to give you an idea of the size.

Thanks, The October Glory seems like a good bet. I saw a few late in the Fall at the local place and it definitely was distinctive.

In looking at the Heritage Birch, I came across the new "Dura Heat Birch" which may be addressing some of the problems you were discussing. It appears to be a similar size to October Glory. If anyone's familiar with this species, I'd be interested in comments. It may be an issue of red vs yellow fall colors to think about.

Thanks again. "It's a gift and a curse" :)

Those pictures from "Julie's blog" are really great. I had seen them a couple of months ago, but didn't realize she was from my neck of the woods. I guess there's hope.

Just thought I'd add a random thought. This is an inherited property. In the 50's, I remember my folks had all sorts of fruit trees. We had a large peach tree, two apple trees and a fruit-bearing pear tree on this property. A purple-leafed plum was in the center in the spot I'm trying to fill now. Except for some ornamental pears, fruit trees seem be extinct around here now. Wonder if they'll ever make a comeback.

The problem with birches is they aren't the easiest to site. They want full sun yet a cool, moist area for their roots. 99% of the time they are sold as multi-stem which is actually not what I found them to look like in their natural habitat. There is a stand of them down the road next to a creek and they are all single stem and looks really nice. They do well there and they hold their leaves late into the season. I don't find their fall color to be good at all though. I would not plant a river birch for fall color. And a lot of time what happens with the multi-stem birches is I noticed a wind/ice event then you lose one of the stems and that's not easy to fix. In fact it's impossible to fix, you can only disguise it or cut down the remaining stem. And Monk wouldn't be able to cope with one leaning stem and one stump. I presume most of the birches used here in the landscape are heritage or dura heat and still have defoliation in the summer. Riv birch is one of my favorite trees but it's really the last thing I'd plant for shade in an open area. More for accent. Why not plant both?

"There's an old saying: "Don't change anything... ever."

Well, here's the thing. I'm inclined to plant two or three right now, but am not sure I have the right instincts of placement without everything looking jumbled and uneven :) There's also an issue of large trees limiting sun exposure on the two outer sections of the lawn. I have a potential spot to the right of the driveway, but there would then be two large trees in front and behind it, meaning three total, while the opposing side has only one large tree and a small tree (a 10 foot Kousa Dogwood growing in the shade for 7 years from 5 feet). That seems imbalanced. As I said. the center is on the order of 20' by 50' and has nothing. I guess one could be in the foreground and one background. Seems tricky for this pair. I have my landscaper to talk these things over with in March, but I need to have my story together ahead of time. When I last spoke with him in July, his first suggestion was a Bradford Pear.

I'm struggling to come up with any suggestions that haven't been given as I can't really visualise the situation properly but october glory is very nice. For some reason I want to suggest a cercidiphyllum but I get the feeling that may look totally inappropriate.

On the multistem birch point, the most successful "multistems" I've seen were actually 3 identical specimens planted in the same hole. Me I like uprights to stand in groups and multistems in an underplanted scenario on their own.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:328475}}

Those look nice but don't look like river birches. What are they?

If you decide to go with Red Maple, try a less common cultivar. "Sun Valley", "Autumn Fantasy", and "Brandywine" are some of the choices. "October Glory" is a good tree but is planted in masses.
You could also consider the "Cherokee" Sweetgum, it is a low fruiting variety. Hackberry would be another fast growing tree. SoonerPlantFarm has all of these for sale.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sooner Plant Farm

Thanks, I like the look of the single stems. I don't really have a sense of what planting it as an "accent" would mean for me, but I might run it buy the nursery people.

If I was to plant a single stemmed birch in a secondary position on the right or left sectors, it would only get 4-5 hours of sun due to street trees and a large tree at the side of the house. It's supposed to get more, right? The center section (between driveway and walk) is only 20 feet wide but is the most prominent spot of the lawn. That's where I need a tree to screen from the street and shade. BTW, there are no street trees in the center sector, although there once was. Adding one is a possibility, along with a central tree, such as an October Glory or Black Gum.

AlabamaTH, Thanks for the link and tips. I like the color in the picture of the Sun Valley, but am not sure I could distinguish it from Red Sunset. I actually wonder if the October Glory is too bright for me, but the Red Sunset seems to be a little too large. The Brandywine picture looks like October Glory at first glance. The Hackberry and Cherokee Sweetgum look like nice trees, but I think they may overwhelm my site, although I'm not sure. Anyway, I'll see if they show up in my local place and what comments I can get. Do people outside of the business often order single trees directly from growers?

you're right QQ - they're not B. nigra, it was just a handy photo I had illustrating single stems on mass. If memory serves on the left is B. papyrifera and on the right is B. utilis "jermyns".

My own favourite birch right now is B. albosinensis septrionalis but I don't have a photo of our specimen. I really like Heritage too.

The Sooner Farms site does have some interesting selections. I noticed the "Frontier Elm" which had a nice picture with purple leaves. "Dynasty Elm" sounded like the same thing. I these are what bboy was suggesting earlier, right? The "Sunvalley" red maple looked interesting. There's a nice picture of a "Trident Red Maple" as well that seems about the right size for me.

So, do many people like to order trees online? Are they typically planted in the back yard for a couple of years?

I all of the many comments.

Adrian, I doubt that most people will even be able to tell the difference between the Red maple cultivars. Cultivars are basically clones that originated from one tree. October Glory is a fine looking tree, but it is somewhat overplanted, and the other cultivars will add some extra diversity to the gene pool.

"Do people outside of the business often order single trees directly from growers?"

I'm not in any business. I think Soonerplantfarm does sell single trees though.

Well, assuming I could get one, my current thinking is the Frontier Elm seems like a nice choice. I'm not sure whether I should use it in the middle of the lawn, or as a street tree. I might be able to combine it with an October Glory, or similar maple, one in the center, one as a street tree.

I drove around several blocks and only saw two homes with birch trees which happened to be side by side. One was muti-stemmed while I think the other may have been a Himalayan. I think the Heritage might work for me in the land to the right of the driveway (east), assuming it can get by with mostly afternoon sun. This is probably a secondary project though.

Hopefully, I'll get at least something done this Spring :)

Thanks for all of the comments.

Ok, one more babble :)

I checked out a digital photo of the property taken from a distance last May. What amazed me were my three large trees (two street and one by the garage). These are virtually invisible to me in daily life, but a long view puts a different perspective on it. Anyway, the thought I got was the little dogwood on the Western section really should have a larger tree. As suggested earlier, a Western placement would help the shade situation in the summer. The dogwood is cute at times, but doesn't really do much where it is. If it could be moved to the Eastern section (between two large trees in partial shade), there would be room for a Maple to the West of the walk. It could be big and wide with no window issues. I still would like a tree somewhere in the center section, perhaps that Frontier Elm that I like at the moment. I think it would be more balanced this way.

I hope the dogwood can be transplanted. I've been waiting seven years on it, and it's just getting to the 10 foot range.

Thanks for letting me rant on :)

Get the october glory it's a better variety.
As for buying directly from growers, most are wholesale only (not talking about mail order sizes) if you get involved with a tree planting group you may get them to sell to you in small quantities. I've purchased one (a single tree) before from a wholesale grower. Also if you get a landscaper to call in the order for a few bucks that will probably work too. I go through a wholesale grower most of the time but not to save money since the prices aren't always lower than retail but they have a wider selection of larger sizes, better quality and hard to find trees. If you do buy from a grower, remember to ask them how big the rootball is first since that is really the limiting factor for what a human being can plant as far as size goes. I like american elm varieties. Worth taking a chance with them again for sure.

A little lost on the yard layout why don't you post a picture to get the creative juices flowing.
"It's everywhere! It's B.M. It's B.M. B.M. B.M"

Ok, I hate to overwhelm my landscaper with a grandios plan right off the bat. It's easier to say, "I'd like to get an October Glory for here" and then ease into the rest of the story :)

I'd post a picture, but don't know how to on this site. If they had "browse" and "upload" buttons, I could handle it, but I'm otherwise challenged.

I managed to use the Garden Photo Gallery forum to post a pic. I tried to transfer it here, but they wouldn't allow that. I'm not an expert on digital photography, so bear with me. The files for my pics are all around 480kb. The forum only accepts files under 61kB, I think. So, I used the "crop" button, which brought it to 95kB, and again around 58kB. Unfortunately, I lost the sky (ominous thunder clouds), the top of the large tree, most of the land to the right of the driveway (about 40 feet, including a large street tree), and most of the street tree to left. The large yews (sp?) in front of the house were removed last summer with new stuff put in (arbs on the side, several "golden euonymous" and a Japanese Maple in the middle. I looks a little skimpy now, but that's another story. Anyway, the picture doesn't look quite as good, but gives you a rough idea. The section to the left with the little dogwood has a lot of shade from the street tree and the right section gets shade from a street tree plus the large one in the back.

Another thing, when they took out the yews and re-did the front stuff, they widened the flower beds and covered everything with black mulch. Then, they put black mulch around the dogwood and every bush around. Maybe it's just me, but I somehow think brown mulch looks more friendly and natural in this situation. I think it might look better in front of a darker house. I'll have to figure out a diplomatic way to approach this issue.

"B.M.! Oh, the humanity!"

I just figured out the "save to my clippings" thing and have it there.

Hello again. I think I've finally figured out how to post a pic. We shall see if it works. As I said, it's dated wrt the shrubs, but you get the idea of the layout of the land.

[IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/adrianmonk_2007/p522085.jpg[/IMG]

Didn't work. I think this will.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/adrianmonk_2007/p522085.jpg

Same under thunder clouds:

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/adrianmonk_2007/.jpg

Oh ok that really sheds some light on the subject and I see what you mean. You need a tree there, you weren't kidding.

Few things that are hard to tell form the pic... Where are the powerlines? It looks from the pic like they are directly over the planting location or maybe not. And also have you addressed any needs that you have for the tree. As you can see, they can get big there shading out lawns and blocking all sunlight. How about privacy?

From the looks of things, you can either plant one medium sized tree there like a red maple or maybe princton elm then the yard is filled up. Or you can plant some smaller trees that don't fill up the entire yard and totally block out the whole house. The latter is the approach I would more than likely take as I have a small yard and took that approach with my yard. I have to think about this for a minute.

I hear ya on the black mulch. I don't know why they have mulch in all these ugly colors like bright red and all that.

Another thing to consider is access to the back yard that you might not want to block with a tree and security... I don't like using trees that people can hide behind and wait for you to come home then jack your wallet at gunpoint. There is also the fact that Adrian Monk would probably do something radical and plant a row of evergreens to completely block out the outside world and to tell you the truth I'm tempted to do the same thing.

Too tough to say where I'd put what but I can see my favorite dwarfs and columnars in your yard. Maybe the Apollo sugar maples ('barret cole') in a grouping at the street for fall color and mature size should not be a problem for the power lines. It will eventually give you some shade. Dwarf river birch ('Little King') might be a way to get you the birch you're looking for but not totally crowd out your yard. I tend to like a lot of the ordinary stuff like japanese maples and redbuds although I don't have any myself. For the front yard something like Acer leucoderme or serviceberry for more season interest in a convenient size. Columnar european hornbeams have dense foliage and make nice screen in a tight space. I'd use an evergreen or three.

Ah, thanks. You see what I mean. This one is a little more up to date and shows the new stuff.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/adrianmonk_2007/P7150075.jpg

We used to have large yews on each side of the walk used for Christmas lights, but one died and the other was huge, so I planted two myself. They haven't grown much in two years. When they put the new stuff in, they covered the base of each with the black mulch. To me, they seem to be taking up a lot of space and have all the black around it.

The Japanese Maple looked good at times, but tended to blend into the house at others. It was great for about two weeks in October, but when the leaves fell off, it became kind of empty.

As for back yard security, it would be a tree way to the side which I probably wouldn't do. There's a small evergreen in the pic in the neighbors yard, but I don't think it'll be a factor.

The power lines are actually on the opposite side of the street. We had a street tree in the middle section which the city took out for some reason. We turned down an offer to replace as, at the time, there was a large evergreen (green needles, looked like the "White Spruce" on Nature Hills) which completely covered the house, and that was enough.

Thanks again for your help. It's a lot to think about!

My preference would be for a modest sized flowering tree in front of the house (Don't plant a Bradford pear! It's an appalling suggestion on the part of a landscaper, and because of that suggestion, I'd be leery of anything he suggested.)

I'd consider a deciduous magnolia like M. virgiana (multistemmed, graceful and airy with fragrant blossoms for nearly 8 weeks in late spring and early summer) or M. 'Daybreak' (gorgeous corally pink blossoms). Or Heptacodium miconioides (Seven Son Flower)--multistemmed,shaggy bark, late summer flowers and long show of calyxes. Also fast growing.

For a larger tree, what about a Parrotia persica? (Try to see them in autumn color so you get a good seedling. The autumn color on a good one is spectacular.)

Ok, thanks for the suggestions. The Bradford Pear idea didn't really reflect well on my landscaper I take it-LOL. In fairness to him, I'm not sure, but I may have embellished on that a little. I had expressed interest initially in Cherokee Princess Dogwood. I think he actually just said, "Have you thought about a pear tree?", without being more specific. I think he also suggested a purple-leafed plum, and one or two other things that didn't register. Later, when I started expressing the need for shade, the idea of a red-leafed maple (red leaves in summer) came up, but it was July, and we tabled the whole discussion while focusing on the front beds. I've been procrastinating over it since.

I was looking the Redbuds and Serviceberry trees QQ mentioned, along with European Hornbeams and the Apollo Maples. The "Forest Pansy" redbud and "Serviceberry" at Nature Hill looked nice. "Julie's Blog" had an Eastern Redbud that showed it off well. Nature Hills only had an American Hornbeam, but I have found a few pictures of the European one elsewhere. I'm struggling to figure out how it would fit in, be it as a street tree, or somewhere else. I'm inclined to get two trees for the center section.

I also think a tree is eventually needed in the land in slightly right of the bedroom window to try to shade the center of the house from the west. That seems a little tricky with the large street tree overhanging much of that yard. I guess the priority is the center now though.

Thanks again for the tips. I'll be looking into them.

Looks like a Taxodium might work there, they're great to plant near powerlines.

You're not going to get much enthusiasm over purple leaf plums or red leaved norway maples at this forum. You can do much better. American hornbeams are really nice trees too.

AlabamaTH, Thanks on the Taxodium. I'll put it on the list to check out. Actually, although the picture gives the illusion the powerlines are running across the front, they are really across the street. So, I can consider almost anything near the street.

QQ, Do you think the a Hornbeam would be best in the center of the yard, or by the street somewhere? Might a combination of Redbud-Hornbeam, Serviceberry-Hornbeam, or Little King Birch-Hornbeam work? I have the idea from most of the pictures that a Hornbeam might block the view of any tree behind it, but there were a couple of pictures where I'm not so sure.

Anyway, the powerlines shouldn't be a factor for any ideas at the street.

BTW, if I didn't mention it, the bushes on each side of the front walk (seen in my Jan 10 picture) really annoy me :)

Thanks again, all.

American hornbeams are wonderfull trees with interesting bark. Not the best if you are looking for a focal point, but it just blends well with any type of tree.

Hello again, I just noticed the "Crusader Hawthorne" on the Nature Hills web site. Do you think this would work for me? (pics on Jan 9, 23:41 and Jan 10, 11:33).

I'm still contemplating the Hornbeams, Redbuds, Serviceberries, October Glory Maples, Heritage Birchs and probably some others as I await the mid-March opening of the nurseries. Leaning to a Hornbeam by the street and something else closer to the house (Hawthorne, Redbud, October Glory), but it remains to be seen what's available.

Update: Visited a nearby nursery. Lots of mud to walk through. They're open, but still waiting for some trees to come in.

As a reminder, this is my situation:
[IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/adrianmonk_2007/P2140082.jpg[/IMG]

On a cloudy day in the winter, the issue isn't obvious, but I have a real need to shade the house. The house faces south and really gets hit by the summer sun. In addition, there's a need for "screening". I want to look out of the window and see a tree, not the house way up the road.

Anyway, the guy at the nursery chatted with me for quite awhile and showed my some of his stuff. I mentioned that I might want to replace the dogwood on the left sector (hardly visible in the pic) in order to shade the house. I also needed a "specimen" in the center. He had plenty of white barked himalayan birches that he suggested for the left sector. This is somewhat shaded in the late afternoon by the street tree, but he thought it would be alright. I brought up the heritage river birch, and he said they'll be getting some in next week. I know the himalayan birch trees are susceptible to disease, but they are nice looking trees. He also showed my a well-shaped October Glory Red Maple (suggested for the center), along with a Forest Pansy Redbud. He doesn't carry Paperbark Maples or Hornbeams which I had brought up. He mentioned purple leafed plums as a small tree. Why is it everyone hates purple leafed plums? :)

The idea of a birch on the left sector appeals to me, although I worry about the "full sun" requirement. The street tree over on the left will shade it starting in the late afternoon. Also, there's the issue of whether to risk getting a Himalayan birch for that nice white bark.
The October Glory seemed nice. I asked if it would work in the left sector, and he seemed to think the center sector would be better for it, so it wouldn't collide with the street tree.

Well, I'll probably check out other places as well. Is the Himalayan Birch really a bad idea?

Anyway, it was good to see the trees in real life instead of the Internet :)

I just got a Yoshino Cherry today. That should be an easy one to find. Supposedly not that long lived but impressive blooms, exfoliating bark and fast growing according to what I've read. I never had one of these before. I'm planting it as a privacy screen because of the spreading habit. So if you want to look out your window and see leaves this might be an avenue to explore.

Quirky, Thanks for the suggestion. I saw a few Yoshina Cherry Trees at the nursery today. I've been considering them.

Re-visited the nursery today. I did see some Yoshino Cherry trees reasonably priced, but ended up wandering into a different section where the tree guy helped. I discovered a couple of European Hornbeams in the back ($209). They were fairly tall and upright. I wouldn't normally have a reason to be drawn to them in particular, but their leaves look nice on the Internet. I'm thinking about it, just wondering where to put it.

Also, took another look at the October Glory ($189), a fairly substantial tree. Worried if it'll be too much for me, but it's high on the list.

The guy showed me some "River Birch" ($209) trees. As I recall now, they didn't say Heritage River or Dura-Heat, just River Birch. They were clumps, with peeling bark. It's looks nice, but it's really hard to tell how it would work for me once there were leaves. Of course, I was thinking of Dura-Heat for its' supposed thicker leaves. The place has loads of Jaquemonti types ($135) both of clumps and single leads. If I hadn't read anything, I'd be drawn to them.

Today's tree guy seemed really into it. I might have one tree delivered and planted just to get some feedback about the other choices.

Thanks again for your help.

... leaning right now towards a European Hornbeam. Not sure where to place it, but I'm starting to feel semi-confident :)

Well, I went ahead, and after a chat with the landscaper, went back to the nursery, and bought an October Glory Maple and a European Hornbeam. They'll be delivered and planted the week after next. The maple is slated for the western sector rather than straight in front of the house, trying to eventually screen mid-afternoon sun. The Hornbeam will be somewhere in the center. It's about 10 feet tall, but very columnar (thin) for now, so we'll just have to see how it goes. At the very least, it's something different :)

Thanks to Quircky, and everyone, for your suggestions.

Well, planting will be next week (European Hornbeam and October Glory Maple, along with an English Holly for the beds. Of course, I'm having all sorts of second thoughts about where to place things, at least as far as the trees go. First off; I now see there are several variety of European Hornbeams, and the tree is only labeled "European Hornbeam" (noone seems aware of differences). It appears the most common one is the "Fastigiata" (sp?) form, which has an kind of an egg shape which broadens considerably with age. There's also a "Franz Fontaine" type that remains relatively thin. The tree is relatively thin right now.

So, "here's the thing".. The tentative plan was to place the October Glory in the land on the left (to shade the house), and the Hornbeam (for screening) somewhere about 10-12 feet in front of the central window, slightly towards the driveway.

[IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/adrianmonk_2007/P2140083-1.jpg[/IMG]

The October Glory might go about where the dogwood is now, although the landscaper suggested planting slightly to the right and slightly closer to the street. I'm having doubts now if this will do what I want (shading the house in mid-afternoon). The big street tree to the far left is what tends to limit placement.

The alternative scheme is the October Glory in the center of the yard, where there's basically more room, and the Hornbeam on the left side, near the dogwood position or somewhat closer to the house. The hope in this case is the hornbeam could shade the house.

I'm liable to be struggling with this all weekend :)

Well, I've got my trees! The October Glory is in the center and the Hornbeam is on the left. The dogwood has migrated over to the wilder right sector.

No leaves yet, but looks good so far!