Japanese fern trees are used all over the place as street trees here in South Florida. One community where I did some design work had over 100 of them planted along their major roadways. These two, across the street from me, are a job I landscaped in 2002. They went in the ground 8' tall from 15-gallon cans. They both tilted in one of the hurricanes several years later and we never got them straight again. The one on the right was tore up by Wilma and the homeowner's trimming efforts. Damn good tree for shade. Most big box stores sell them or they will order one for you. Bushel Stop usually has them for less than $100.

How lucky you are! If it were me, I would probably also want to make it look like an extension of my yard. I would consider it a playground of sorts. Maybe make the front strip a beautifully curving St. Augustine strip, so it looks like your yard continues that way. Then, approximately 30 feet in or so, I would plant all kinds of lovely flowering trees in extremely large, mulched beds. Make nice, curved, groupings. Poinciana, Jacaranda, Floss Silk Tree, Tipuana Tipu, Hong Kong Orchid, Potato Tree, Cassia Fistula. Don't forget a couple of beautiful, evergreen live oaks. These trees would take up a lot of space in your acre eventually and give you a park like appearance. Once established, they also require very little. I would make a very large seating area where you could have cookouts, or a fire pit, with the privacy of the trees partially blocking the street. If you have kids, you could make the more natural area in the back a field for them to play, run, or have a playground. Alternatively, maybe a water feature, as someone mentioned, although this would require more work and money. It could also be a great place for a raised veggie garden or fruit grove. In this way, you would only have to keep the very front looking mowed and tidy, and still get the look of it being your yard. It could be a fun, well-used area for you and your family that would beautify your neighborhood. Anna

I think Poincianas are not so worried about minimium temperatures of about 40F in the winter months but low day time temperatures in the order of 60F which slowly kill the tree over the winter months. This is based on seeing the tree's performance in Brisbane (50F to 73F in winter) as opposed to Sydney (48F to 63F during the same period). In Brisbane Poincianas thrive and grow everywhere but in Sydney they struggle and rarely become mature flowering trees. However there are a few exceptions on the northern beaches and in the Gosford area. In general I think the key is having a daytime temperature of above 68F during winter and an absence of below freezing temperatures at night.

@ Sari Swede I guess it's good as is where You live. You can make a little shelter for the plant for the unusual cold winter days, but maybe it's not necessary. The roots are at least 10-12 inches (or more) below the ground and they will never be under 45F. Even if the leaves frost, the roots will be fine. Anyway it's not a bad idea to pour some wood chips around the trunk as a thermal insulation. Jacarandas drop almost 90-95% of their leaves in the winter. Just a few remain. As for the pruning: the best time to prune the Jacaranda is late winter. I usually prune mine in January. Make sure that the tool is clean you prune the Jacaranda with! Jacarandas are sensible to infections. Wherever you cut, it will branch out 2, sometimes 3 ways! Jacarandas usually bloom first when they reach 3-4 or so years of age. The tiny buds will appear in september-october and they will "sleep" during the winter. In spring the Jacaranda blooms even it has no leaves! Beautiful sight and very good smell! So You have to be careful with the pruning, because you can cut the tiny buds off when prune your plant and it will not bloom in the spring. But it's a bit far away now, you have to wait for the first buds 2-3 more years. Good luck!