When I have fresh transplants out in the sunniest part of the yard and they look a little stressed I stick leafy branches from all the weed trees growing around the area into the ground beside them to provide shade. The leaves dry up pretty quickly so I have to cut fresh ones every couple of days but I have plenty of trees in the way so I'm always trimming something. I've also stuck Dollar store umbrellas in the ground to provide shade.

1. I understand fruit trees will take some work. I also understand "significant" and couple of fruit trees is a relative term. Reason for dwarf tree versions was so I could have better access to maintaining the trees. 2. Soil is definitely acidic, since the area is basically surrounded by conifers and blackberries love sprouting up and calling for my weedwhacker. That area is away from the road and is basically at the side of the property that has about an acre of woods my neighbors own.

You will see, if you read this entire thread, that there is no such thing as the PERFECT TREE (or plant either, for that matter). All have good points and bad. You need to do adequate research and then decide what you want and what you can live with. Of your list, I can speak to three from personal experience. A Natchez Crape Myrtle would be a nearly ideal size for your home and the amount of space that you have to give it. They, of course, bloom (white) in the summer, have nice fall color, and if pruned and trained properly are at their glorious best in their sculptural leaf-bare selves in the winter. Their bark looks like a giraffe's skin before it peels, and the trunks, as they get larger take on the look of human muscle. Your own organic sculpture. They grow fast (a five gallon plant can easily reach 15 or more feet in three years) and are very drought tolerant once established. On the down side, they require consistent pruning, especially in the first few years, but this is not extremely time consuming. Simply choose three or four (or whatever) trunks that you like and keep limbing them up until the lowest limbs are above your head level. Remove other trunks and suckers that inevitably come up around the base of the tree. If the higher limbs fail to branch at a good height, cut them off ONCE and then remove all but two or three branches that form at the cuts the following year. Do not EVER just amputate limbs, or worse, trunks, because someone tells you the tree will bloom better unless you just like the look of a tree that looks like an upside down witch's broom. Give it some fertilizer to make it bloom, and congratulate yourself all winter on the beautiful structure of your un-maimed tree. (Sorry. I just can't help myself. Crape murder is a personal pet peeve of mine.) Anyway, the other downside of Crape myrtles is the blooms can damage the paint on cars parked below them. On very hot days, the blooms just seem to become one with the paint. (Position the tree away from the driveway. End of problem.) And, they create a fair amount of bloom litter over concrete. Careful positioning can solve this, or just be willing to sweep. River Birches are beautiful, multi-season trees. Their peeling bark is a big plus, and the grace of the trees swaying in the breeze is one big reason they are so popular. They are fast growing, and in this case, they tend to be brittle because of it. Expect alot of limb drop in high winds or ice storms. Although most people think of them as small trees, at least some of them can surprise you and get to be quite large. Be sure you know what you are buying. Also, in very moist soil, they can become invasive. I have planted several Red Maples over the years and have a very hard time getting them to establish. This may be because of my incredibly tight clay. I don't know. Check around with folks in your area before plunking down your hard earned money. Most maples are notorious for having very...

That's what I thought from the title, and even more so after reading the post. Knowing your location could help determine if this is a likely suggestion, if you're unable to tell from comparing pics of the suggested plant to yours and are still investigating.