We have all of the plants you have plus others that are supposedly poisonous and have never had a chicken die from free-ranging and eating what they want. I don't believe they would eat something that would kill them in spite of their tiny brains. That said, we garden organically and don't use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides on our property. That might be more of a danger than actual plants.

I guess our yard is a good size ... we have 1/3 acre ... and we love it ... but when the tree service cut down our maple, he said "These trees shouldn't be grown in small yards like yours." It kind of intimidated us to planting anything but "small" trees. Nevertheless, as I have been aptly reminded by many comments here, and I thank you for them, our yard really isn't that tiny, and there is a lot we can do. I just remembered that my neighbor is growing a white pine at the back of their property, so I don't know what I am worrying about. We do have a large white pine at the far back corner of our property, so there is shade there, but not until the afternoon. We love that tree even though it's huge (80' I'd guess). The rest of the backyard is a blank canvas. Thanks for all the suggestions ... we will look around more & consider all our choices & not be too hasty. The thermometer said 98 today ... this shouldn't be until July !

I'd consider the "Autumn Blaze" cultivar of Freeman maple. Freeman maples are crosses between Acer rubrum (red maple) and Acer saccharinum (silver maple). They inherit a tendency towards red fall color from the rubrum and a bit more tolerance to soil alkalinity from the silver. Pretty good trees. You have enough room there for most any shade tree(s). I like Northern Red Oak too, and the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) also. The latter tree does have the genes to get very tall, but I don't consider that a problem. I'd not plant ash trees where you are. EAB is in your area. And while yellow birch is one of my very favorite hardwoods, it is very much a denizen of cool, northern forests. Unlikely to be happy in the Chicago suburbs. +oM

ken, thanks so much for taking the time!! The camera angle is from our family room where we spend most of our time in winter. Winter here is super, super long. And it doesn't snow much so it's just depressing. I would definitely give up the tall tree thing (or plant a deciduous tall tree) to get a rich looking four season back yard. Or just keep those stupid pines and underplant if necessary. I think that pink tree is a hydrangea paniculata (the blooms come out white then turn rosy). And then all the red stuff is burning bush. The previous owners also REALLY liked that. But burning bush is all going to come out, it's doing terrible. Lawn space meh--but hosta space is important! But I have a few big hosta beds (compared to my tiny lot size). My issue is, unlike a true conifer lover, I don't really have the patience to baby something from 1 foot to four feet for ten years. Or I would buy something bigger AND also the interesting babies to put in front. But am happy to pay specialty prices for interesting, appropriate, vigorous plants. PS All my neighbours have tall trees so no one will complain if I plant something sizeable. But that doesn't mean I have to. This post was edited by robotropolis on Wed, Apr 30, 14 at 15:42