Hi, Jamie. You need to tell us where you are. Suggestions for Tallahassee will be a lot different than for Ft. Myers.

How about a Chaste Tree? The leaves look like pot, gives the neighbors something to talk about.

I’m in Tampa. I like the idea of a chaste tree. I love purple and having the neighbors gossiping would be fun.

Just one more piece of useless trivia about Chaste Trees. The berries made into a tea can cause a man to not want to. They used it back in Medieval times in monasteries to make them behave. That's why it's called the Chaste tree. LOL! And this is not a joke, google it.

Also, if you like hummingbirds, butterflies and bees, bottlebrush trees are perfect for that.

Theres michelia figo. Sunken gardens in St.Pete. has one and it seems to always be blooming. The flowers smell just like bananas.

fringe tree Chionanthus virginicus (Fringetree)12-20ft; small tree; fragrant; wispy
cloud-like white spring flowers; blue-black drupes of females attract
wildlife; larval food for Rustic Sphinx Moth.
Zones 5-9

I had a fringe tree at one time. Zone 9A is at the very southern extreme of its zone hardiness range (zones 3b to 9A), so it is quite difficult to grow here. They are a very slow grower - about one inch per year. Seriously.

Mine did not survive very long.

Here's more info from EDIS/IFAS:

Chionanthus virginicus (White Fringetree)

Dogwoods and redbuds are best grown as understory trees. Neither one does quite as well in full sun in Florida. I second Bottlebrush. Very easy and a no-brainer.

Carol in Jacksonville

Re fringe tree - that's discouraging as I've got two planted here in zone 9b! I do however, suffer from zone denial and am hoping they do well. They are in an irrigated and partially shaded spot in the yard. One, I've transplanted twice. I haven't seen much growth, but both still look healthy, probably due to all the rain we've had this spring.

Sonni, yours may do fine! The UF article doesn't say it is impossible so hopefully both of yours will make it! And I see that the article says 6-10 inches per year (but only one flush of growth per year). So maybe I had an extra "bad" one. :(

Carol

I love cassia fistula:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st127

especially the x javanica variety, although I believe that's a bit more cold-sensitive (photo stolen from web):

I dug up a Florida native plant, American Beautyberry (you can browse photos), Callicarpa americanaL. and trimmed it to grow as a tree. No muss, no fuss, grows happily in the sand.