I love river birches. We have two Betula nigra 'Heritage'-not sure that you have enough room with only 8'. Ours are young and already have a spread of six feet. Have you considered dogwoods? Kousas would fill the space nicely and they are very pretty. Magnolias (deciduous such as magnolia stellata -star magnolia-or magnolia x solangiana) and crape myrtles would be pretty, too, or a combination. One tree that I just planted is a Vitex or chaste tree, They are small and I love the blue flowers. I planted two and can't wait until they grow.

Here is a link that might be useful: chaste tree

Sugarberry, American Elm, Chinese Elm, Shumard Oak, Turkey Oak (Q. laevis), Sweetgum, Sycamore, Local Tulip Poplar, Local hickories, Bald Cypress.

I left out the birch because I'm assuming you don't have the site for it. Hot & sunny and probably dry sandy soil on the fringe of it's range is pushing it.

You're making a wise choice to avoid cleveland pear. Flowering cherries are ok but the stuff on my list will give you real fast shade and will tolerate your conditions.

I have a River Birch and love it even though it needs much more water than my other trees when the weather turns dry and drops twigs on the ground during windy weather. The cultivar 'Heritage' is best. I like the look of a multi-trunk rather than a single. River birches have fewer problems than other birches with birch borers and such. It's fast growing. I made the mistake, when I first moved into my house, of planting a Bradford Ornamental Pear. Beautiful & everywhere in my area, but whenever there's a bad storm, I see several snapped over or split. You're right to stear clear of them. My maples (Red & Amur) do the best job of providing shade, but for attractiveness, the River Birch is my favorite.

Bald cypress if you don't want hurricanes blowing trees down on your house.

Looks like these trees will be about 6 feet or so from the street. Is that going to be an issue for really large trees that'll send branches out across the street (e.g.: do big semi-trucks go through there?)? Is the waste from a sycamore (e.g.: fallen leaves) going to be an issue.

If it matters, longevity varies with these. It's my understand River Birch tends to live around 30 - 40 years, but Shumard Oak can sometimes exceed 450 years. Cherry Trees are said to be rather short-lived.

If size varies, a Tulip Poplar or Sycamore, or for that matter a Shumard Oak, can get very tall & large.

How tall a tree do you want? Are there powerlines near where this tree will run?

Richard.

thanks for your help so far. you've all given some good suggestions. i'm going to do some more research on the trees that have been suggested. crape myrtles would fit really well but they are so common here I wanted something a little different. all of the streets in my neighborhood are lined with them. the people I've talked to said dogwoods don't do that good here if they are in full sun. the street is a neighborhood street so no semi trucks and no power lines.

A photo of the site could be helpful.

I put a link to the google street view of the house. its from a few years ago before we moved in. the trees are a little bigger, there is a maple in the back and the swing set isn't there but it will give you a good idea. i'm thinking instead of three trees I'm going to plant one and making a plant bed around it. here is a pic of what i'm thinking.

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after looking up some of the trees that have been suggested, i think an elm, magnolia or maple are what i'm going to go with. is dutch elm disease something that would prevent you from planting an elm?

Here is a link that might be useful: GOOGLE STREET VIEW

Are you allowed to have plant bed in that area or is it your property up to the street? I've seen houses like that but never saw anyone doing anything. It's just all grass beyond the fence. Magnolia is another tree that does well against hurricane and will provide year round of privacy. It may not grow fast enough to provide shade right away though.

Many many corner houses in nearby (to me) subdivisions create a berm in that situation...but yeah you may want to check to make sure there aren't any laterals in there...water, sewer, etc.

There are several new elms that have been studied for DED...some have 99% resistance.

A Maple may be a good selection to get some continuity...if you don't care about that I'd definitly go a different route.

I personally love Magnolias but as lou mentioned they aren't fast growers. There are a couple in my area that are "faster" growing. Magnolia kobus 'Wada's Memory' and Magnolia x loebneri 'Merrill'...no idea if those are good selecions for zone 9.

" is dutch elm disease something that would prevent you from planting an elm?"

No and especially not if I lived in Florida because there is no D.E.D. in florida.

Anyway, just as I expected. You have a typical florida homesite with no shade, and sandy soil.
So here's my take. Truthfully, sycamore is my favorite tree. They're tough and fast growing but they're a bit coarse textured and grow to be extremely large trees. Would I plant one on a lot like that, absolutely. But I'm crazy for shade and don't mind the large leaves and litter they drop. Most people wouldn't appreciate them.

Something a little less extreme would be on the order of the elms, red maple, shumard oak and sweetgums. Local sweetgums down there don't have real big seedballs like most of the country but they are not that easy to transplant.
The first things that come to mind are shumard oaks & American elm for that back yard space. And for the front yard an American or Chinese elm or both.

Realistically you're probably going to have a tough time finding trees down there. The easiest to find of what I have suggested are going to be the chinese elm and shumard oak.

I used to live on a corner lot like that and had I stayed there longer was going to put a planting bed in the corner. It would be a nice space for a few trees and shrubs. Perhaps a grouping of bald or pond cypress and give you some privacy and screening from the outside world.