What region are you located & what is your planting zone? It will help with suggestions :)

Because you want all four of these trees along a primary walkway, the Crape Myrtle is going to have the best tree form to accommodate human traffic.

Zone 9b.
I like the idea of the crape but concerned about shade. Will it provide enough shade for the dining table centered on the patio?
The wall is directly to west, the bocce ball is to the east. So the sun by two pm is usually behind the existing pines behind the wall.
Thanks!!

Nothing practical in this scenario is going to provide shade for the dining table centered on the patio in the middle of the day. After that, the amount of shade on the table is a matter of seasons, time of day and characteristics of the tree.

You really need the Crape Myrtle's growth habit and form here. It doesn't have to be a CM, but Magnolia and Cherry are not good alternatives. Zone 9b where? Location matters for alternative small tree suggestions with that growth form and perhaps a touch more shade.

Crape Myrtle is an invasive plant, so I try to avoid planting them, especially in southern states.

Thanks so much for everyone’s help so far! Greatly appreciated!
I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area. To be exact I’m in a small town called Alamo in the East Bay, about 25 minutes from SF.
Super hot during the summers, 95-100 for much of the hottest parts of the summer.

Are there other fast growing trees I should consider? I had also thought of building a shade structure such as shade sails.
Directly to the left of the patio I’m also building a pool

Thanks!

Crape Myrtle can take the heat. it seems they get planted a lot more on the west coast than this Southerner ever imagined. Now you need a west coast gardener to offer some good alternatives with that growth habit. A pool means the tree debris is something to consider as well.

One thing that comes to mind is a Podocarpus grown as a tree. Dense shade.

Possibly Arbutus unedo or A. 'Marina'. You could have a reasonable expectation of shade with either.

Invasive Plant Atlas

@Carrie B, look at that webpage again :-) The green color only shows where the plant may have naturalized or the species has been reported. If it were a listed invasive, the state(s) where it IS considered to be invasive would be brown. No brown showing. And on the far right side under the heading 'State List' is this statement: "This species does not appear on any state or national invasive species lists."

We’re in Southern CA and have 6 mature Crape Myrtles. Definitely not invasive.

Is your landscaper not suggesting trees? Randy Blair, Blair Landscaping out of Pleasanton is a trained horticulturist, but not sure if you're already contracted with a landscaper if he could consult. Knowledgeable guy! Love what you've done so far.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the Saint Mary Magnolia?

The problem with the magnolia is your walkway is not wide enough to be lined with trees that have to hold their lower branches to look right. The tight space means you need a tree with the lowest branches high enough to walk under. The only thing that is going to fit in there are tree trunks.

Ah thanks Christopher. Last night I started looking at multi trunk Natchez Crape Myrtle. Looks interesting, architectural and narrow enough to walk by, and later under. Thoughts?

I love crapes, have been growing many varieties of them for 25+ yrs at different houses here in Texas, but they can be a bit messy. Otherwise, Natchez is a great old-fashioned hardy choice.

ETA: I have no experience with other plants being discussed, so can’t compare.

The nice thing about crape myrtles is that they have nice bark for all the time they are nekkid. But shade trees? I'm in the east bay and 50-year old crapes are still small trees here.

You can grow just about anything in Alamo. And you'll be using this patio almost year 'round. So why not something evergreen?

Arbutus 'Marina' (evergreen)

Pink buds open to white flowers.

That’s a gorgeous tree and looks like it has interesting bark (a bit more cinnamon than the Natchez Crape Myrtle). By the way as someone commented on growth rates: my four year old crapes are already 25 feet…but don’t think they get much taller than that.

As a northerner maybe this won’t work but I think the Redbud has a beautiful shape, grows a nice size and has beautiful colour. Maybe there is one for your region