Some points to bear in mind. For shade in particular areas, say the house itself or patios: trees should be planted to the west/ southwest--large tree at some distance, smaller trees closer to the house if the area is large enough--for shade during the hottest part of a summer day. Second most important for shade is the same set up to the east/southeast for shade from morning sun.

Far too often I have seen people build a patio or sun room on the west side of the house and then find it essentially unusable during the entire summer. Trees make the difference.

Large shrubs are also important to bear in mind for shade and interest.

Can you post more pictures? Not sure where your boundaries are. Where is the garage. Hard to understand the layout from that one shot.

callirhoe, I'm not there, might be back in a week or so. We're getting our current house ready for sale before moving to this one permanently. Garage is the white building in the center distance. I'll see if I can find some other pictures.

An overhead shot from an online mapping site might be help enough for size and orientation.

Looks like your garage is quite some distance from your house. Personally I love detached garages with gardens between the house and garage -- a good reason to walk through and enjoy the garden every day. Even if you're not into flowers etc I love that you want some shade trees! Oaks grow fast when young. Tulip Trees (liriodendron) grow fast too. So many choices.

Tulip trees are really lovely. Maples grow fast, too.we have a lovely one with red leaves. It's shot up quickly and overgrown the space. Birches are fast-growing, too.

nickel_kg,

I did what I could... :^)

That really does show how narrow the plot is, but yes, it goes back a fair piece. That's a field behind the house (currently soybeans), and we don't have much problem with surface water; what does come off tends to run down the alley.

I'd very much prefer trees, but I was also thinking about movable shade, a canopy of some kind that can come down in the winter. Not sure how feasible that is. There are a lot of things I'd LIKE to do in the space -- quoit pits, BBQ/outdoor bar shack, firepit lounge, grape arbor -- but there's only so much we can actually put in there without it being stupidly busy. So we want to make the best use of the space.

We also have to consider that this is a retirement home, so we'd like at least one space for a car that's close to the house, and a level access to the door from there. So much to think about.

Good wall finishing but only as we see the is not harmonic

Before you talk to the landscape designer, prioritize. Sounds like a garage near the house is a top priority. Once you place that, you'll have a better idea of where other features, including the trees, should go.