Any chance you can post a picture of your house, or one like it? Often that helps suggest a specific tree, as they all have their own unique character. I am so excited, I got a Prairefire crabapple tree for Mother's Day!! Our house is a tall, old colonial but the crab will frame our front picture window, without blocking out all the sun. I plan to plant some large hostas and maybe bergenia underneath the canopy. The rest of the bed will stay sunny, so I can still have a few blooms in summer. Maybe it's smaller at 15-20' H X W than what you want, or think you want? We're going to plant it today, since rain is forecast for tomorrow. It will be planted in my west-facing front yard. It has dark pink flowers, dark green leaves, supposedly persistent fruit (about 1/2" in diameter), and excellent disease resistance.

So I finally saved a patch of bermuda by cutting back some live oak tree limbs to let the light through, but now that I'm starting to look down a little more often, I can see some areas where I have very shallow roots close to/at the surface. Suggestions welcome! I've seen people cover them in dirt, some dig them out, some build beds over them, etc... I'm not opposed to some manual labor, but I don't want to hurt the tree & my neighbor says he had no regrowth after digging roots out of his previous lawn. Pics to follow.

you can not significantly change soil depth ... the trees put their roots there.. because that is where they want and need them ... and even if you did put soil above.. within a few years ... they will fill the soil with new feeder roots ... dont do it ... think about lily of the valley as a ground cover.. in hard circumstances ... ken

A machete? Scythe? This thing: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ames-Double-Blade-Weed-Cutter-2915300/204476217 Okay, maybe not a machete ... but there's probably a similar tool that garden centers do carry. And Home Depot also carries this scythe: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Razor-Back-12-in-Grass-Hook-with-Wood-Handle-62220/303209945 You'll also want a heavy duty shovel for getting invasive roots out, though some vines are actually easier to yank than dig. We picked the double blade weed cutter when we were dealing with an overgrown area. Stand clear when someone's swinging ... its vicious. Whack the mess to a manageable height (to the ground), dig out as much as you can, and cover with heavy black plastic to sun bake what's left. You'll still have some come back that you'll have to keep after, but it should help with a lot of it. Watch out for poison ivy, and good luck!