Redbuds in my yard are quicker growing than dogwoods. The dogwoods seem longer lived.

My dogwoods have berries on them right now. Cant say i have noticed a rash of colored bird droppings. Redbid fruit is hanging seed pods. It is less formal looking.

Oh, dont all the redbuds flower purple?

those are the two i am experienced with.

I agree with you, if your house is red, a white bloomer would contrast nicely. I had an eastern redbud that recently bit the dust, I would not get another, if for no other reason the fall color (important to me!) is so lackluster & they are disease-prone & short-lived.
My kousa dogwood blooms for weeks and there are beautiful named cultivars like 'Venus' (kousa hybrid) and 'Milky Way'. Don't get a generic grown-from-seed kousa -like I did- because it will take years to bloom!! A 'Pagoda' dogwood is resistant to anthracnose which killed a lot of dogwoods in Va. I have a 'Cherokee Princess' dogwood which is supposed to be more disease-resistant. There are a lot of other cultivars of dogwoods that are more disease-resistant available these days. There's a double-flowering dogwood that I have been drooling over, the flowers are GORGEOUS but they are very hard to find. I think Merrifield Garden Centers sell them if you're close to one. Hey - you're a Virginian - you gotta have a dogwood, lol! I'm not familiar with the other trees you mention.
I'm a huge japanese maple fan, that would be a great spot for one - their fall color is unsurpassed, IMO!

Thanks Tornado and Sue! Sue, you've talked me into the dogwood. We had a Kousa that never looked great and I bet it was the generic grown from seed kind. Will see if the nursery (Fort Valley in Woodstock) has Pagoda or Cherokee Princess.

Thx again!

Another suggestion:
Hydrangea Pee Gee Hydrangea paniculata - it's also sterile.

Dax

Excuse me, cultivar 'Grandiflora' is sterile and has white flowers...

Dax

Dax -

A neighbor had recommended a Limelight hydrangea tree. That is PeeGee I think? Now I will consider that vs. dogwood.

Thx.