Yay almost summer!

A few of you may have heard that my mom and I are STOKED that we are finally getting our AC moved OFF of our little patch of dirt on our patio. Can't wait- it's happening JUNE 1st!

It's a very precious patch of dirt, since we live in a townhouse and it's all we have to plant in besides planters.

The only picture I have of the space was taken the morning after our devastating microburst/hail storm last July. Heartbreaking.

{{gwi:255873}}

Anyways, that gives you an idea of the space.

Reasoning behind having a tree: this area gets baked, so dappled shade from the trellis, and maybe the tree, is very helpful.

Details:

I. The AC will be gone, but the giant honeysuckle are still there, and we are getting a new BEAUTIFUL wood trellis made by a carpenter that will be the same dimensions as what is there.

II. Our soil is awful, very close to clay, but we will be able to work in a lot of compost and manure once the AC is moved.

III. We don't know how deep this dirt goes, I might be able to find out after June 1, when AC is moved.

Concerns:

A. Obviously, the tree needs to be small.

- Maximum height can't be more than 5 feet.

- Maximum spread shouldn't be more than 3 feet.

B. The root system needs to be compatible with a garden above it. We're good at being careful if it's shallow.

C. A slow-grower would be nice.

D. Flowers are nice, but not required.

E. Suckers are evil.

So, any ideas? You all are such a wealth of information!

Thank you so much and have a wonderful weekend!