You'll have to bend a bit on this one, roobix. There is no such tree, but we would all like one!

Small trees are generally at least 20 feet tall. 15 feet is more the size of a shrub.

Drought tolerant, disease free trees are plentiful, and some have flowers, maybe even a few are fragrant. But fast-growing and drought-tolerant don't generally go hand-in-hand.

A small tree will not have strong branches.

The closest I can come to your needs is a Chitalpa. It's relatively small (20-25 feet), it does not need much water, gets pretty pink trumpet flowers, and it's fast growing. It is deciduous, though. Not strong enough for a swing.

I have never seen a Japanese Cherry Blossom tree in southern California outside of arboretums/public gardens. They are not evergreen. I believe they prefer a nice chill to blossom well.

Good luck with your search for the perfect tree!

Renee

Here is a link that might be useful: Chitalpa

The only trees I've seen rope swings on are huge trees, like Mighty Oaks! A small pretty flowering tree is a Crepe Myrtle, but not sure if it's fragrant. How about a Magnolia?

Depending on how far from structures / concrete, I'd put in a fig tree for beauty and fruit, or a nice citrus. They look pretty and have structure and grow well in OC.

Suzi

Citrus flowers are very fragrant, in my garden the Meyer Lemon beats the roses, jasmine, and honeysuckle easily. The flowers aren't showy but the fruits can be bright and decorative, as well as edible depending on your selection. I'm not very experienced with citrus and have mainly dealt with Meyer Lemon trees, which have pretty nasty thorns. I'm not sure if all citrus trees have similar thorns, but it's something you might want to check out. I think I remember seeing a thornless Key Lime in one of my fruit tree catalogs...

Thanks for all your responses! I would LOVE to put a fruit tree in the front of my home, but the thought of people jumping my fence to snag some lemons, oranges, or any fruit really bothers me... if I wasn't worried about thieves, fruit trees would be my number one priority.

I am definitely willing to bend all priorities for a nice tree..

the length of my front garden is 50 feet with a width of only 16 feet...

Ha! Thieves? I wouldn't worry about the 2 legged kind, but the birds (figs)....... absolutely!! I'd plant one Avocado and one lime, so I could have free guacamole all summer!

Our entire street in Tustin had Magnolias in the front yards, and they smell incredible!

Suzi

The Arbutus unedo which is called "strawberry tree" might work for you. The fruit is edible although I haven't tried it. It's evergreen and has pretty bark and form as well as fragrant flowers and decorative fruit. A bottlebrush trained up into a 1-3 trunk tree would not have fragrant flowers or fruit, but they bloom most of the year and they are hummingbird magnets. Figs don't flower, but they are pest free and easy to grow and can be pruned to any size you want. I'm intrigued by the "Spice Zee Nectaplum" which is a peach/plum hybrid selected for fruit and ornamental value. It has large pink flowers and purple foliage, but would require more water than the previous options. Persimmons and quince are also decorative fruit trees. Citrus don't do well when planted in lawns. However, I do have a Kwanzan cherry in my yard which wasn't my choice, but which does bloom well if briefly (in Japan that briefness is part of the whole appeal) every spring on not overly generous water.

Vitex agnus-castus, the chaste tree, and Cercis occidentalis, western redbud, also might work. The first one is fragrant, but they are both deciduous. I'm not sure you'll be able to find a small tree that's strong enough for a swing and fast growing. Fast trees tend to be weak. Other options would be a fast growing, larger, but short lived ceanothus or a painfully slow growing larger arctostaphylos. They are usually grown as shrubs, but can be pruned into small trees. Wisteria can also be pruned into a standard, but you have to be aggressive with the pruning shears. Pink mimosa and pepper trees are fragrant, but you will hate, hate, hate maintaining them.

Skip the Cercis. I just got rid of all mine. They reseed everywhere like crazy, and the leaves look ratty by mid-June.

Arbutus unedo is a good idea. Arbutus 'Marina' is often seen but it gets much larger than 15' You want to keep the Arbutus away from pavement because the smashed fruit on pavement makes a mess.

Magnolia 'Little Gem' is a nice small Magnolia to 20 feet or so.

If you can take deciduous, Crape Myrtles are lovely and several varieties will be about 15-20'. They have beautiful bark and beautiful flowers in summer. Lots of different flower colors available: pink, red, lavender, etc. I have 'Dynamite' and it's beautiful. They are not good close to the coast (e.g., Newport Beach, Costa Mesa) due to mildew. Just a little inland and they are fine.

Keep in mind that 15' is more of a medium to largish shrub than a tree. "Small" trees are considered to be in the 25-35' range.

Hoobv already mentioned Arbutus 'Marina', but that is the only tree I can think of that is fast growing AND drought tolerant (relatively.) Mine are continuously putting out flushes of blooms and new leaves, and shedding their tan bark to reveal beautiful, reddish new bark that seems almost polished in appearance. Because it blooms throughout the entire year, it carries fruit at different stages of maturity throughout the year, making for a stunning display of broad, darn green leaves, reddish bark, pink, red and white flower clusters, and fruit clusters ranging in color from green, to yellow, orange and red.

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Another vote for Arbutus Unedo as a slow and steady grower that is tough as nails and will be easier to manage in the long run as a small tree. If you start with a larger size speciman that will give you the instant impact while it settles in.

Fast growing trees can ultimately be pricey in paying arborists to keep them in check.

I don't grow Rhamnus alaternus 'John Edwards', but it was another one I was considering as a fast growing drought tolerant evergreen shrub which could be maintained as a small tree.

I was admiring a pair of Arbutus a couple of weeks ago. They were planted over ground cover so fruit drop and bird poop were not a problem. Crape myrtle, on the other hand seem to mildew badly for me, here in Orange.

Of course, my favorite tree is probably not a good choice, but if you have the right conditions, a coast live oak is a fine tree. When we moved into our house in February, 2005 I almost pulled up a "weed" in the parking strip which was actually a newly sprouted acorn that still had seed leaves and only four true leaves. I left it alone and shut off the sprinklers to the juniper in that strip (not so good for the junipers). By early spring, 2011 it had grown into a bush about 6' tall. The city came out to trim the sweet gums in our neighborhood about that time. One of the sweet gums in the other parking strip was diseased and planted too close to the sewer line. However, before it could be cut down, the city forester had to come out and sign off on the plan. Well indeed he did the next day. I was sure that my oak would be toast once he saw the tree growing in my (really the city's) parking strip. To my amusement, however, he took one look at the oak bush, pulled his pruning shears out of a pocket, and limbed it up into a tree. He didn't mind the contraband tree as long as it wasn't badly grown. My baby had grown up. It's actually about 8' tall this year and starting to look like a tree. I'm prejudiced, but I think it's beautiful. There are no other oaks in the neighborhood so it's origin is a mystery.

I'm partial to crape myrtle. It's easy to grow in Orange County. A small tree won't have sturdy enough branches for a swing, so that may have to be a separate project.

Here is a link that might be useful: What's Growing On?

I would consider a big jim loquat tree. They taste good, dought tolerant,
Have nice flowers and people wont steal them.

Cherry blossom trees generally do not do that well in Southern California, but there are a few varieties that cope better with the lack of chill (the Taiwan cherry, kanzakura, okame, youkouzakura, 'Pink Cloud' ), if you want one that will flower consistently, though the blossoms are not quite as beautiful and shapely in my opinion. I have written much more on this subject elsewhere.