i have a real hate for maples ... because i grow hosta under them.. but this might be a perfect spot for a seedless maple ... anything in the freeman or norway families ... key word: seedless ... much faith in the z6.. but it might make a small difference ... anything sold by the extension office will be tiny ... under a foot or two .. probably not the way to go ... ginko in my local experience.. is extremely slow in MI ... i think its the long cold season ... as compared to further south where they might have an extra month on each side of winter ... i would skip that ... im wondering.. what you budget is ... you really probably should be looking at 4 to 6 footers at a min ... so you can get them above peeps on the sidewalk and the street faster ... the first few years after transplant usually are very slo motion i have a real hate for maples ... because i grow hosta under them.. but this might be a perfect spot for a seedless maple ... anything in the freeman or norway families ... key word: seedless ... some maples.. like silver maple.. night cause the root issues you speak of.. in 50 to 80 years ... but i dont think they all do ... when we talk of wet feet ... in the tree world ... we are talking fen... or near year long bog type issues ... i frankly dont see that being an issue in the pic provided above ... lets not go too far on this topic .. imo ... have you ever dug a hole there.. any idea what the soil structure is ... all of detroit was a flood palin after the glaciers.... i would suspect... if there is anywhere near native soil.. drainage should not be a year round issue.. and a week or two of lots of water in late winter is not a big deal.. if it otherwise drain ... any issue would be when all the pavement was made.. and what they did to the soil ... even if you have the stumps ground out.. plant on planting at least a few feet away from the precise locations of the prior trees .. and 3 thumbs up.. for getting rid of the invasive pears ... they should be planted starting around 4/1 ... when the soil thaws ... thru about mid may.. in a perfect world.. dormant.. leafless but when they could grow some roots before they actually have leaves ... here is a decent primer on such .. note timing https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub if you cant get them in on that schedule .... you might want to wait until next fall ... unless you use some of those tree irrigators.. to provide some proper moisture during the near 100 degree heat of july and august in detroit ,... not to mention all that pavement is going to be a nightmare as far as retaining sun deep into the night .. and reflecting sun onto the leaves... which loosely translated means.. watering issues ... with trees.. we talk in tree time... which is counted in decades .... so dont get tied up in instant gratification.. unless you are going to spend a thousand dollars a tree ... but that said ... for the most part ... you are responsible for all water the first year or two .... but the 2nd or 3 rd year.. only in drought ... depending on what ma nature provides ... and then should be more or less free range after that ... except for pruning... due to the height issues mentioned above ... to properly water.. you will probably be using a hand trowel.. and digging a few 3 to 6 inch holes around each tree... TO FIND OUT about moisture in the soil .we cant tell you about that.. and it really isnt a schedule thing ... and this is why the tree gators might be well worth the investment ... ok.. coffee buzz just set in ... i will have to review this later.. when i quit sweating ... and the screen quits jumping around.. lol .. oh... there is a spectacular tree farm a few miles north of jackson off I94 .. gee tree farm ... it would be worth contacting them .. maybe they have a church discount.. who knows... but its worth a shot ... they might even beat out the local nurseries on price .. since.. as noted above.. you really do need some size to start with ... ken ps: if done in early april... there is no reason this couldnt all be done bare root ... rather than trying to move huge potted plants ...

The space is so narrow you really don't have room for much beside a ground cover. If it's as sunny as it looks, Sedum 'John Creech' will fill in well and have pink blooms in summer. As for privacy trees, you don't want something narrow, you want something that will bush out as it tops the fence. Small trees like Red Bud, Viburnum prunifolium, etc. would work with maybe one conifer for winter interest. Maximum heights for the trees would be about 20 ft.

@Yardvaark firstly, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to shop that out so I could see it and thoroughly explain your feedback, I really appreciate it. Second, I do have some follow up questions to your post, but if you don't have the time/desire to reply, I do completely understand. I am just grateful for the initial feedback and I don't want to capitalize on anyone's time. Regarding our existing elm tree...I'm totally seeing the need to limb this up but I admit it's also very scary as I don't want to damage the tree. We inherited it this way as the previous owners did minimal maintenance. I am frustrated because I asked the certified arborist we hired what approach we should take with this tree and she told me that trees like this should only be minimally pruned with the smallest cuts possible and you never want to take large limbs out. But looking over these pictures my eyes are opened to how ridiculously large it looks covering our deck! I am afraid that the limb to the right you mentioned, however, is integral the tree at this point and don't want to totally stress it. I wonder if we could keep these limbs but really thin them up? Is that even a thing? I can have someone else out to take a look. Harder right now as we are in lock down. We were also told never to prune our elm after March 31st to avoid attracting the beetle that can spread dutch elm disease, so I'm afraid we have to wait until next year to fix this either way! Here is a picture of the elm closer up: And from the backside of the tree, note the left limb that is the right side from the street view is pretty connected to the main trunk: And regarding the street tree and redbud on left, from the placement in your mock up that's pretty spot on to where I was imagining them, so I'm happy I'm on the right track there. I am, however having second thoughts about the redbud only because upon seeing it I wonder if a tree there would block too much of the house creating something similar to what I'm currently dealing with on the right (albeit smaller scale with the size of the Redbud vs Elm). I'm really intrigued by your suggestion to curve the walkway, as this section has been totally stumping me. My husband strongly objects to curves because of our houses squared edges, but I am trying to show him the value of juxtaposition and contrasting lines. I agree with not wanting to close in the sides of the walkway, although I'll admit I was considering adding a front border at the street and planting there, so I'll definitely reconsider this. The one thing I'm not sure of though is continuing the pavers in the planting area in front of the courtyard. I've had my mind set on creating a little separation and privacy in this area as right now we are super exposed to our street. I want to sit out here and see my neighborhood but not be totally open to it, if that makes sense. I envisioned plantings in front of the courtyard that would create this soft separation, my husband has even suggested a low fence. So I don't know if I love the whole area being hardscaped. I tried a photoshop app on my phone so please forgive my shoddy attempt at this, but this is what I had in mind for that dirt area in front of the courtyard (not these specific plantings, but something mixed like a low grass, perennial shrub, and maybe dwarf evergreen shrub. Keeping things 3-4' max height and natural looking). I would wrap it around the whole courtyard towards the house and in front of the left brick wall. The dirt area here separating the courtyard from the walkway is 5' deep: But this is where I'm not sure if the Redbud would block off that left side too much. I think I would love the view from inside, but street view does it cover this side of the house? And then I thought well what if I didn't do the Redbud there, but maybe a cedar screen with some plantings so it's less of an obstruction but still living: I had really wanted to put a Redbud somewhere, just love them. Maybe in the center with the screen in the courtyard? But from straight on, I'm afraid it would block the front door too much. I cheated it left and forward a little here, but maybe that doesn't matter.. And finally (yes!) do you have any other alternatives to grass in that middle section? I was hoping to remove the grass for something less water heavy since we are keeping the other lawn areas. I was also wanting to alleviate the water hitting the hardscape so much when watering as we have hard water and calcium deposits abound. But if the lawn would really be best to tie in the two sides of our property, so be it. It's already irrigated anyway! I know this is so much info. I am trying to be thorough but also without expectation as I understand this is a lot. We have already spent money on a consult and design advice with the arborist/designer so I was just hoping to have a better picture before paying for more. Thank you again!

Do you own that strip of property or does your city/town? In our community, that “tree lawn” belongs to the city and they decide what cannot or can be planted there. Check with your town’s arborist. They can give you advice on what will work best in that area. Some trees have distinctive root patterns that can heave sidewalks and, thus, are not appropriate for planting in tight areas.