Jenniffer, where are you? You don't have any information about your location, climate, or even hardiness zone. It sounds like you need to pick the right tree for this area, but more information will be needed for appropriate recommendations.

Oops.. I'm in zone 6-7 north of Philadelphia PA. Does that help? We get all 4 seasons.

Agree with the taxodium distichum recommendation - the common Shawnee Brave variety is well-mannered for a small yard. Another nice one for boggy sites is blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica). Magnolia (especially Moon Glow) is another. And if you want to go exotic - Katsura tree could work there as well. I have all four growing in my swampy back yard and all are thriving and not overwhelming in size.

I do think you need a medium sized shade tree though (as opposed to going with a small, flowering tree). You need something with some height based on the looks of your development.

dig a hole.. and perk it ... fill with water.. and time how long it takes to go away ... then you have some real info to work with ...

take some time to read this link

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

Hi ken.. Yes I did do that trick with digging the hole and filled it with water. The water sat there over night... It barely drained at all. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with .. No rain in several weeks? I have 2 rose bushes I bought and was going to plant them but after seeing that the soil may drown them I planted them in pots till I figured out what to do next. Which is my other dilemma.

As for trees.. I always loved the flowering trees but nothing taller then say 30 foot at maturity. I don't want anything that will cause too much shade that it kills the grass. Nothing too messy in the fall.

I always loved the magnolias but it would have to be on the smaller size.. Also dogwood is a favorite.

the link i gave you discusses planting in poor draining clay ... half above ground.. half in the clay ... read up ..

roots need air.. as much as water ... if you dig a soup pot in the bad clay ... then it might hold so much water ... that the roots will rot off.. before it can get going ...

the plants will have no problem.. rooting down into the clay ... THEMSELVES ... the problem is us transplanting into such ...

so by planting high.. we give them the air they need... to get around to rooting down into the clay ... over the years ...

read the link.. and learn the process.. before you go buying plants ...

buy small ... they will cope much easier with the whole process .. as compared to any plant over say.. 4 feet ...

ken

A good limbed up metasequoia would look neat back there. Rocky and dry though or wet and puddly. The record heat of 2012 defoliated mine

. The tree recovered fully with LOTS of water.

That is not mine, but a limbed up one.

That looks like one of the trees I had out front but it's dead now and needs to come down. I should mention.. I probably need something with deep root system.. I have a ranch style house and if the fell over onto it that would probably go right through my roof! Lol ..

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.