You know Kim, I don't believe I've ever seen (or noticed) any fruit on my Sargent Cherry. There was an exceptionally good bloom this Spring, I need to check and see if anything is there this year. tj

i would not call that a 'yard' .. i would call that utility access ... and if i understand the map.. this connect one driveway with another from the alley ??? why is/are the a/c on the sidewalk ... is that permanent??? i dont understand this part: The wall is on our property but the top of the wall is our neighbors i see some patio stone.. to go around the a/c?? ,,, is the rest of the walkway poured.. or is that also block that can be moved??? thinking outside the box.. if possible.. you could make a much wider usable bed.. if the walkway was moved to the house.. to to the wall ... arbors.. strategically placed.. can aid as exterior window covering ... i am not TX expert.. but morning glory.. clematis.. autumn flower clematis [better be a stout arbor.. lol ..] ... all could be trained to provide a vertical screen.. with little or no footprint ... frankly.. i can think of no 'tree' that would work ... as i do not like planting things that i have to trim.. 2 or 3 times per year ... ken

The southern magnolia magnolia grandiflora) will grow huge! Please note you said 30m-that is meters, not feet! In feet that would be 90 feet. It can easily reach more than 70 feet at maturity. Most in our neighborhood are at least that tall and the branches are way too low to play under. Even though it is slow growing, it will be way too big for that site in 20 years (or less) and it will cost a fortune to take down. A deciduous magnolia would be a better fit size-wise, but may not provide all the shade you want. We put one in a couple of years ago and it is about 12 feet high now and does provide shade beside it, but it is not one we could sit under. It is lovely with a great shape and it provides three seasons of screening for us. I also like the idea of an oak-I might try to place it just a little further from the house than 12 feet. We have quite a few oaks on our property and several are about 15 feet from the house with no problems. We have willow oaks, a nuttall oak we just planted to replace an oak that died, white oaks, a pin oak, and red oaks.Fabulous for shading the house in summer and it will not be as visually filling of the space in the yard as the Southern Magnolia, which will leave you no room for anything under it.

I have seen Redbud used in this way with fairly nice results. I do not know enough to recommend them for California however. 2 standard size Crepe Myrtles would be my next thought. Most nice small trees have flowers and fruit, like Mexican Plum.