To be different.

Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia

Tulip tree, liriodendron tulipifera (pick in the fall for decent fall color)

I think they are both good @ 5.5 to 6.0

Wow, those are really cool. I like them. I've heard of tulip trees before, but never really investigated them. Very pretty.

It's kind of nice to have a living relic too in the Dawn Redwood.

I never would have thought of these choices. Thank you.

If you have a big space, go with a white oak, Quercus alba. Their "slow growing" reputation is, IMHO, overstated - they'll grow as fast as a sugar maple at least, especially if your soil is as good as it sounds, and only a little slower than the faster growing oaks like N. Red and Scarlet.

For that matter, any oak would work there.

Oaks are gorgeous. It's good to hear that they grow faster than most people believe. Like most folks, I thought they were slow growing, but am at the age where, no matter what tree is planted, I may or may not get an opportunity to see it at full splendor. So it's ok to think in terms of legacy. :-)

There are oaks around here, especially on the nature preserve nearby, and they are very pretty, especially in the autumn.

Thank you.

why not a pic???

ken

I guess a pic is a good idea. I'm terrible at it (don't quit the day job), but I'll give it a whirl.

Well, here we go. Thanks again, everyone.

Looking east from the house.

You can see the "bumps" of weeds growing around the old stumps of the mature Norway Spruces that were removed in spring of 2014. I need to get those stumps removed or ground down. I'll call and get some estimates this week.

Looking south.

Ignore that dead Japanese Maple on the left. It was another casualty of the water issue. It's coming down when my neighbor comes back from his kayaking trips.

As you can see, there's plenty of room for trees. Shade and height are sorely needed since the other trees were removed. Plus, I'm tired of mowing. By the time I'm done, I have no energy left to tend to all the weeding and other things that need to be done.

Now, for the small front yard on the south side of the house, looking east again. Where the pokeweed is growing in the foreground, there used to be a huge sugar maple. It was taken down about 5 years ago and the stump was ground down.

Lots of electric wires in the way and close to the road. I'd like to shade that area in the summer, but don't know what to put there. I wouldn't mind height, but the width would have to be restrained.

Peonies around the foundation will be coming out and planted elsewhere. Nothing here, except for the Japanese maple that was planted in the early 1990s, needs to stay. Yeah, I'll get around to removing those weeds in the foreground too. :-)

Another angle, looking west.

As you can see, there's no shortage of trees around here, except for my yard, which is pretty much naked now. :-)

A few more random pics of that part of the yard for some more scale.

Hey, I found some pics we took when they took the spruces down last year. That might help with some scale.

You can see that the 2 on the left were dead. Drowned, essentially.

It was taller than I thought, but was threatening the house, especially the new and very expensive roof.

If you like maples and want a deciduous tree but want something a little less common then maples, what about tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) or American Basswood? Both nice deciduous shade trees that should like the soil, might tolerate "wet feet", and which bees like. I also like American beech, but it is hard to establish.

If you want something unusual with fruit, there is American Persimmon.

Sassafras has a narrow profile and interesting leaves, but suckers and is hard to establish,

Nyssa is very polite and has a natural looking great fall color.

We vacationed in New England last summer and ventured into Millerton, NY, which is near the MA & CT border (near Bash Bish Falls). As we were strolling around town a large, spreading tree captured my attention: Magnolia acuminata. I was able to identify it having seen another mature specimen at Mt Auburn Cemetery a few days earlier. It was roughly 70'T x 50W. This tree is not native where I live, but supposedly hardy to z4. In any case, it was majestic and made for a great shade tree. Fall color is likely drab, but I'm not certain of that (Is there a magnolia with good fall color?). On a positive note, it's a fast grower with fragrant flowers and interesting fruit.

You guys are great. I'll look into every suggestion here. It will be hard to make a decision.

The water problem has been fixed so no more trees will be compromised. :-)

Thank you.