What you all say makes a lot of sense. I was pretty sure that a lot of soil would be detrimental to the trees. I took a closer look and walked around a bit and have come up with maybe a better plan. The property is only about 35 feet deep and 60 feet wide. Most of the sunken parts are closest to the house and the mature trees are near the sidewalk. If we did terracing in three different levels, closest to the house could be about 6 inches. The next level could be about 4, and then within 10 feet of the trees we could get away with covering with only about 2 inches. That way it would probably give the illusion that we had built up more than we actually did. If you can picture this, do you suppose that would work? Or would it look stupid? Oh, and that way with far less soil to be brought in, we would only have to have the soil dumped near the edge of the property. We're very good with shovels and wheelbarrows =:) One more thing. If we terraced, I could put hostas, etc., into the levels and as the years went by and the soil settled, it wouldn't be as noticeable as it is with lawn. This project can be a 2 or 3 year thing if needed to hopefully get it right. Would the trees adjust if we added a few inches every year? Thanks for your input !

Are you worried about the flowers attracting bees? What zone are you in? There are a handful of Asian persimmon varieties that are hardy to zone 6. These are pretty small trees, have very few insect or disease problems, and the flowers don't seem to attract bees. if they do, it's not for very long. Paw paw is another smallish fruit tree with very few problems, and they can take more shade than most other fruit trees. You need at least two for cross pollination. You might get more input from the fruit forum. Alex

first ones that come to mind are bald cypress and its rarer cousin dawn redwood.... what side are you lookin for though? Nyssa Sylvatica (Black Gum) is a more traditional tree shape and stays reasonably sized.

Your tree may have passed the permanent wilting point, due very likely to root damage incurred in transplanting. Watering won't help because the roots are dead or too badly damaged to transport water. If there is a healthy root somewhere, a sector of the tree may hang on and put out a live branch or two, but the tree will probably be a failing one.