10 Great Patio Trees

Here are some wonderful little trees that won't take over your yard -- or your neighbor's.

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Hide CaptionShow CaptionAmur Maple

- Corneliancherry Dogwood
- Washington Hawthorne

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It's arguably one of the best aspects of summer: sitting in the shade on the patio or in the garden. But when you look up at the canopy of your shade-giving tree, do you see a monster in the making? A tree that's soon to dwarf the patio, the house and everything around? Here are some wonderful little trees that won't take over your yard — or your neighbor's.

A lovely little tree with a wide-spreading canopy, the amur maple (Amur ginnala) can either be a large shrub or a small tree, but it's more often limbed up to show off its strong sculptural form. One of the first maples to leaf out in the spring, the amur maple later offers reddish winged fruits (samara). Mature size is usually 15 to 18 feet high and wide. USDA Zones 3 to 8.