I have just planted under an "ancient" common Lilac and found no interfering roots anywhere near the normal depts. of my hosta plantings. I've put in 6 hostas this spring and they are doing wonderfully. Plus there is the early spring fragrance of Lilac. They make a nice small tree fairly quickly when you prune them up. Except for falling walnuts, and a hunting dog going crazy over marauding squirrels the foliage and root system of the American Black Walnut is perfect. My only experience with Ginko was at our library in Mtn. Home AR. They are so unique, having no twigs from which the leaves grow. I can see where the airiness would be excellent for a mix of shade and sun. I haven't seen any up here in Northern Illinois. Their fall color is great and there is little litter to clean up in the fall. Being native to Japan Ginko would fit nicely into the hosta theme gardens. Theresa This post was edited by gogirlterri on Mon, Aug 5, 13 at 13:29

I can try. The woman is tough. Wants a small tree (that doesn't get big... of course... haha) to immediately cover the gutter. This is not your normal house either. It is huge. I will try and run off pictures of the shrubs you mentioned along with my suggestions. I am suggesting a Weeping Hemlock, although that will require pruning quite a bit, and I am trying to stay away from that. Sigh... I am such a standstill. Thank you for your help!

I'm too far north to imagine what the banana might look like, but I bet it would be nice. And the fan palm would be lovely. Chaste tree, Vitex angus-castus, is a pretty southern substitute for lilac, with grey-green leaves and beautiful blue flowers. Desert willow seems like it would be nice, too -- not sure how tall they get. Fothergilla is beautiful in bloom; you could prune it to a single stem I think. Sterile Rose of Sharon, trimmed to tree-form would be an unusual, tropical looking plant. (I did this with regular ROS and while I loved the look, the seedlings were killer!) Hope you find something that works for you -- looks like a lovely space!

Is it dappled shade from trees or fuller shade from buildings? I have a Eastern Redbud in an area that is quite sheltered (shed and fence on two sides) and is under the canopy of mature Manitoba maples. It gets about an hour of direct light. In the early spring the tree is covered in little pink flowers and is just starting to finish leafing out now. The leaves are heart shaped and can get to be as big as my hand. Fall colour is yellow leaves. I also have a Serviceberry in similar conditions. It has white flowers in the spring, yellow leaves in the fall. I also have an Elegantissima Dogwood. She hasn't flowered for me yet, but the minty green of the leaves is quite showy for most of the year.