It will grow up to be a really, really big tree. We have a baby tulip poplar, planted by birds, that has grown from a seedling, as you have, to 20 feet tall in about 8 years. It's blooming this year for the first time and we are quite excited about it. Great tree.

Took me some time but i knew i remembered this tree. The Yellow Poplar, also called Tulip Poplar or Tulip Tree, is named for the tulip-like flowers. The scientific name is liriodendron tulipfera. It is easily identified by the lyre or cat head shaped leaves.

Susan, I don't know about water, but I often use a dry microfiber cloth to clean the stones. Yes, better lighting can help. The light on all the above stones was actually excellent--late day, aimed at the proper side. I posted one picture on a FindAGrave memorial because it was so much brighter and clearer than the one already posted. Standard advice says to photograph gravestones at noon. But I've had much better luck late in the day--provided the stones are facing in the right direction.

He is over at UBC Botanical Garden Forum username JT1. He has always been very responsive to questions and has posted many threads on his garden so a lot of what you want to know is probably already there. I think the MOST amazing thing about his garden is the fact that he lives right next to the lake he is actually in a warmer climate zone than people hours south of him which allows him to grow many of the cultivars he has. If you can find that thread where he explains that information its fascinating. As far as the amount of space you have for your garden, I think 7'-10' from your house is plenty of room to grow a lot of nice maples and not just dwarfs. JMs are very versatile and will often adapt to the space they are given. Some cultivars like a lot of space but most of them will nicely fill in the space they are given and are pretty easy to keep a decent size. Amazingmaples posts a lot of videos of his collection (which is incredible) and he has a Sango Kaku that he has had for 16 years and it's only about 6' tall and 5' wide. I have two large Crimson Queens on each side of my front door that were planted about 4' from my house by the previous owner. They are a very nice size and other than a couple of limbs that I trim each year require no maintenance to keep them from "eating" my house. If you can post a few photos of the space you have to work with, people here can give you tons of advice and suggestions.