We are new to this house, and I would love a very green back yard - full of plantings of all sorts. I obviously do not have any gardening experience yet. :) I'm not trying to create shade, just something nice to look at.

I'd consider lilacs. They are a suckering shrub, but quite easy to keep at a narrow profile. And they love the sun and will provide wonderful spring fragrance as well as cut flowers. Hydrangea paniculata is another choice with a later (and longer) bloom season.

I would want to lay a path from the side gate to the deck so I'd keep that in mind for tree or shrub placement.

Crabapple might be a good choice, giving you spring flowers, summer greenery, and fall color.

I wonder why you would NOT want some shade ...?? You cannot sit and read a book or really sit doing anything for long if it's hot and in the blazing sun.

I think any of the aforementioned tree/shrub examples would work. (I would add Japanese Maple.) It would be a potentially more interesting feature if multi-trunked. (It is your choice to grow any that way, or as a single trunk. It may not come already in that form. You CREATE it.) 10' seems too small a goal for height of tree. !5' seems more reasonable.

BTW, what's planted below the tree will probably be of more interest to you than the tree itself. It may be something you work on in the future after some shade is developed, so you can install shade loving plants.

Something nice to look at: Japanes maple, dogwood (both kousa and the native one), some crab apples, star magnolia, paperbark maple, musclewood, parrotia, pinxterbloom azalea, witch hazel, yellowood. I love lilacs but they bore me a lot of the year. But I would totally find room somewhere around that patio for a lilac. As a patio shrub, they can't be beat, particularly the new smaller ones like dwarf lilac, Miss Kim, and the reblooming ones.

Full-on sun would not be a happy environment for the maples, dogwoods or witch hazel. These are all woodland understory trees and will do best with some protection from hot afternoon sun. Even in my very northerly location with very cool summers, these trees will stress out in full day sun.

I agree about leaving space for the path. Even with no path you'd need to plant some way away from the bench otherwise anyone sitting there would get stuck in the back by twigs and foliage.

I grew fireglow japanese maple in full sun. Did fine. I have also seen paperbark growing in full sun. Same with witch hazel and dogwood and musclewood. I'm not talking theoretically, all the trees I recommended I have grown in full sun in zone 6a. Was it ideal, no, but they did fine. I was surprised myself. This was PA, zone 6a and MI zone 6a. I just spent all afternoon pruning witch hazels and they actually do better in full sun than deep shade. Of course they like dappled, part sun part shade best. But if they have to chose, they pick sun over shade. I have a dogwood in my front yard, full sun. I baby it. It is gorgeous. I make sure to water all of these plants in times of drought and also spray them down in the hottest afternoons in the summer. Here's more on how witch hazel responds to different light conditions, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/conditions-witch-hazel-plant-90130.html

Edited to add that many Japanese maples will of course not do well in full sun. But the ones I mentioned will.

I have a Fireglow JM in full day sun and it doesn't sunburn if kept well-watered. I'm in Portland zone 8. It would meet your criteria of a 10' tree. The size is good for incorporating into a planting bed, but it's not much on its own. I'd put in a large shade tree there to sit under on a hot day, unless there's one in another part of the yard.

I am not at all clear what your goal is here. Provide a sense of enclosure or privacy? Something pretty to look at?

How wide is the area between the deck and the property line? I agree that you need to allow space for a path from the deck and back yard down to the gate.

Why is no shade wanted? Is it already mostly shaded by the building? Is there another shady sitting area and you want this one in sun? What direction are you looking when you stand and face in the direction of the camera shot?

Regardless, I would avoid fruiting trees such as crab apples and Kousa dogwoods to avoid fruit dropping on the deck or being tracked up there on shoes. I love both, just not in high traffic areas.

Yeah, and "something that looks pretty" is so imprecise because different people have different ideas about looks. There are weeping cherries that lots of people adore around here and I think look goofy, for example.

Thank you, all! We actually have a large tree in our yard that provides shade to the deck in the afternoon and evening. We also have another sitting area in the yard as well. I'm thinking about some kind of trellis/hanging vines and lights, after reading your responses and googling pictures. I'm so new to gardening, and I didn't realize how much space needs to be allowed for all of the plantings.

When you take pictures, add some taken while sitting at the table looking into the yard.

How do you feel about gardening?

Emmarene - I want to learn to garden!

I just have to comment that I love the tree by the playground area! Do you know what kind it is?

I don't, but maybe someone here does?

The picture is kind of a weird angle, but my kids were swinging at the same time. I'll try to take some others soon.

For tree ID, show a close up of the leaves, branches and trunk bark. I can't quite tell from that far away. If YV were here he'd get on your case about pruning it though (little joke). If you are new to gardening and lawn and tree care, baby steps!

I can see from the view of your yard that you have a lot of trees in the back. You might want to surround your patio with low growing shrubs and larger perennials. That way your view into the yard wouldn't be obstructed. That said, there is something nice about a small decorative tree surrounded by groundcover that appeals to me. That close to a patio, I might go for star magnolia. They are small and fragrant lowers and look pretty good the rest of the time. Another very small bushy tree is Sargent crabapple. Also fragrant. We have them at the arboretum where I work. They used to be very popular but are now hard to find. But if you're thinking about crabs, they are nice.

It's hard for a specific recommendation when you don't know what you like. I love fragrance so I'd pick smelly shrubs like lilac, clethra, fothergilla, Carolina allspice, pinxterbloom azaleas, mock orange, sweetbay magnolia, (that one is a small tree), fringe tree, yellowood, or japanese snowbell. Big smelly peonies and tall phlox and day lilies. But that's me. To figure out your style, you might Google "shrubs around a deck" or "plantings around a deck" to get an "inspiration photo. For example, this is my speed for a garden, chock full, but it might give you a headache and you might want something more orderly like the second photo. This is something you have to sort out before selecting plants--what kind of utility and "look" are you going for??

Landscaping around a deck is a good way to learn about gardening. Pink's first photo shows a very deep bed that you can enjoy from the deck, and not just looking toward the deck, which is the case when the plants hug the deck skirting, like in the second photo. It's also deep enough to incorporate an ornamental tree. Pavers from your gate to your deck could intersect a deep bed like that or run around the perimeter. It'd be a very nice garden.

Just to say. Dogwoods seem to do fine here in zone 6A/B (West Virginia and plenty hot) in full sun, especially Kousa dogwoods.

I've had them die, I've had them survive. Sun is only one factor--moisture, radiated heat, poor compacted soil, etc. are some other factors. Plants that need part-shade can probably survive one assault to their preferences, but not multiple.

I had two kousas die that I planted next to a stone wall radiating heat, on a windy hilltop with poor soil in full sun. That was too much. The crabapple next to them is still hanging on along with one kousa.

I noticed your mention of trellis and hanging vines and lights. Google "pergola on side of deck" and look at all the possibilities. For vines you could use annuals such as morning glory and black-eyed susan vine, or a perennial such as native honeysuckle , clematis or even a rose.

If you want a screen but not shade: ninebark makes a pretty unpruned hedge.