You could plant some trees, shrubs and perrenials.

Need more info.

What USDA agricultural zone are you in?

Roughly how large is your yard, and how far would this tree be from your house, and from the sidewalk & road?

Do you have city sewer service or a septic tank?

About how tall do you want this tree to be?

Do you like evergreen conifers like cedar and spruce, or broad leaf deciduous trees like maple and oak?

To get you started, do a quick Google search for these:

1.) October Glory Red Maple Tree.

2.) Bloodgood Japanese Maple Tree.

3.) Northern Red Oak Tree.

4.) Paperbark Maple Tree (from China).

These are some trees a number of people like. None are conifers, though.

Richard.

Moshi,
If you have alot of sun out front, observe sun exposure both front and back during day, and especially in spring, for sun, plant a larger crape myrtle tree.
Just don't plant it too close to the water line that runs to your home from the street.(not right on top of one)
Crape myrtles aren't real expensive for a decent size tree, and don't plant it too deep, try to mound it up abit.
You can go to a local nursery, not home depo, in the spring and ask the people who work there for suggestions.
They would know what grows in your area and inform you as to what would grow the best and the care for it.
Big box stores are ok for some things, but if you really want educated advice, go to a regular nursery.
It's worth it, trust me.

Since you said you are a complete novice, see the document at the link below. It will give you some fairly detailed info about how to plant trees and shrubs.

Planting a Tree or Shrub - http://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

Here are links to two hardiness zone maps so you can determine which zone you are in. The first one is the old USDA map. It's considered by many to be less useful because it's based on old weather records, but it is the "official" map. The second map is a new map put out by the Arborday Foundation. In most cases, it more accurately predicts current zones. There's lots of debate on the topic, and neither map is perfect. Also microclimates / small mesoclimate (local variations due to buildings, small geographical features, etc) cannot be determined.

USDA - http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-ne1.html

Arborday - http://www.arborday.org/TreeInfo/ZoneLookup.cfm

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree or Shrub

I love crape myrtles, have 9 in the back & side yards, but I wouldn't want one in my front yard as they leaf out SO late in the spring.
If you are planning to sell your home in 3-4 years, you may still want to put in a nicer tree to add "curb appeal" for potential buyers.
Recommendations on trees would depend a lot on whether your front yard faces north, west, east, or south. Ornamental cherry trees (as seen at the Wash. DC cherry blossom festival) are fairly cheap & grow very fast in a sunny spot, and personally I love the spring blossoms. But they usually don't live a very long time.
The "Akebono" is my favorite Yoshino cherry cultivar because it has those whisper-soft pale pink blooms I remember from my childhood you see around the Tidal Basin by the Jefferson Memorial in D.C.

First things first.
Walk a cross the street and take a picture of your house AND yard, possibly with a little bit of your neighbor's yards also. We can then give you some advice such as lawn shape. That's more of a priority than what plants to plant where. You have all winter to prepare. Don't get in a hurry and start planting trees, shrubs, and perennials here and there. That's the quickest way to lose a cohesive design and you will end up with something that doesn't 'work'.
Now go out and get a picture and post it for us.

Posted by whaas 5a Milwaukee (My Page) on Tue, Dec 15, 09 at 19:58
You could plant some trees, shrubs and perrenials.

HAHAHA. Nothing like a wise acre. Love it.

Yeah, but I wonder what he would have thought if someone had answered one of his posts like that??? I hope it didn't run Moshi off.

True, but hopefully the poster will understand...lol.

Thats like me asking "what should I wear today?"

For a self-admitted novice to ask for suggestions for a fast-growing, pretty tree & when to plant it in MD are very intelligent questions, IMO. I don't get the sarcasm.
It really makes you look petty, Whaas.

Some get it, some don't...I meant no offense.

I think your looking way too much into it to say I or anyone looks "petty".

Your interpretation of the question "a fast-growing, pretty tree and when to plant it" was not the question.

If it was you would have answered instead of badgering my post.

Don't plant bradford pear or Silver maple please! You want deciduous tree in the west or south so you'd get some sun to warm up your house a bit and keep sun out during the summer.

There's too many nice shade tree out there to list.

Focus on curb appeal so you'd sell your house for more. They are investment so do your homework and see what kind of landscaping you'd want to put in. I'm getting old and I have no desire to start from scratch in Texas. No trees and nothing but sun during the summer is too brutal. There are probably people who feel the same way and would pay a little more for nice landscaping with nice decent sized tree.

When thinking how to lay things out and what to plant, a great way to get ideas is to look at real examples. Drive around your area. Look for houses of a similar style as yours, but ones that have been in place for 10-15 years and some that are maybe 30-40 years old or more. Then, whenever you see one that is attractive, take note of the mix and general locations of the trees and shrubs. This ought to give you ideas of how to lay the yard out and what things will look like as time goes on--you might even want to plant some permanent and temporary items. Permanent trees well spaced to grow to maturity, temporary things to fill in all the huge gaps between the small trees, then take them out and redesign the landscape a bit as the landscape matures.

Suggestions of species and varieties are great, but seeing them in person gives you a much better feel for the tree. Again, when looking around, if you aren't familiar with different species, take note of plants you like, then check out the garden centers to identify what you saw. Or, visit a botanical garden or other area where the landscape is labeled. A digital camera to record what you see and help identify it later is a useful tool.

More important than what tree to plant, is which ones not to plant. I'm unfamiliar with your area and what grows there, but I'm sure lots of folks on here could tell you some trees to avoid. You're almost always safe if you choose a plant native to your area so long as its rooting and propagating habits are not too aggressive.