the space between the garage and the patio is about 3 feet, and so is the space between patio and kitchen. I am looking for a nice tree to plant in between the sidewalk, driveway and patio. Its about 15 ft X 10 ft. Eventually I will plant some ornamental trees of some type along that left side of the patio, but I only have like 12 ft before you get to my neighbors garage wall. all suggestions welcome, as this is my first major project (patio included). I am very pleased with the look my patio has now, and dont want to screw it up with bad plant selection, but the key is fragrant to keep my wife happy.

Nice work joe! I'm sure your wife is -already- happy!
You mentioned NE exposure. What is your zone and approximately how many hours of sun, if any, do you get on that garage wall? If u get lots of sun, you could use that wall for climbing clematis or fragrant climbing roses.
Regarding a tree for that small area, think carefully about what it will look like FULLY GROWN and the root system close to the garage. Personnally, I would put a large bush or -very small- tree.

Thanks Clairabelle,
the sunlight it will get is from 8am till about 12 during the summer. I am not real up to speed on all the different types of clematis, but Clematis may be out of the picture. My original idea for the tree was an Oklahoma Red Bud. My wife loves the way they look, but I am afraid I will have to trim it ALL the time to keep it off the garage and/or my arbor. thanks for the response, need more help :)

Forgot to mention im in zone 5.

Well this is just a suggestion...
{{gwi:60190}}
The tall green things next to the garage are "Sky Pencil Holly" (http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=47020&PrevMainPage=advsearchresults&scChannel=Shrubs%20and%20Trees%20AS&SearchText=p16.v227;p10.v63&OfferCode=TH1)
The pink and yellow things are roses - various kinds but choose with fragrance in mind. And pick ones that are hardy rather than fussy if possible.
The blue stuff in front of that is salvia of some kind. There are various ones...most likely something that will like your climate.
And around the outer edge, mixed daylilies...cause they are so easy and neat and colorful.
The tree is a redbud. The one I sketched there would be a regular old native and there's nothing wrong with that. But I have two that I put in recently that are the "Forest Pansy" variety and I am so pleased with them so far. Give that a thought. (http://treegrowersdiary.com/forestpansyredbud.html)

I just had a thought...the redbud might cast too much shade for the roses in your climate (it would be fine here because we have to avoid really FULL sun on just about everything). If that is the case you can surely find some fragrant plants that will take part shade to go in that area, possibly locating the roses along the far side of your patio.

Linda,
thank you very much. I will probably replace the roses with Hostas of some sort. Just because I like them. But the rest is perfect. I will look for a nice mix. Hopefully I will have some nice pics for you in the spring of next year with the finished product.

Thanks

You can't miss with hostas! I look forward to seeing those pictures!

No pics yet. I will try to have some posted next spring.
I planted an Oklahoma Redbud in between teh walkway and patio. I also planted 2 Phlox between the redbud and the wisteria covered arbor. I dont have the exact name right now, but these dont look like normal phlox. The flowers are big round pink balls kind of like Hyndrangea's only not quite as full.

I planted some grape hyacinths along the outer edge of the walkway mixed with Balloon plants. On the interior of the walkway I have planted some Alliums. they are expensive so I was unable to do as many as I really wanted to put there.

I will eventually put some hosta's there also. Along the driveway I put some naked Lady bulbs. Hopefully next sprint It will look very nice.

Alont the house I put two types of clematis. One is purple the other is pink. (that was the wifes choice). and as I posted in another forum (hosta) I put 5 hostas along the wall with the door on it. they are between the house and the patio. Like I said, I will try to get som pics up here to get a verdict from you true gardeners out there but for now use your imagination ;)

Ok the season is about to start, I am already seeing my hostas I bought last fall are showing their eyes. My Redbud seams to have made it throught the winter. I found some really cool looking Phlox (pink) and several Globemaster Alliums to surround my redbud. My Wisteria has basically eaten my arbor, but I am cutting it down in half because my father and I are going to put a 2 foot tall stone base under the arbor to give it more heighth. I planted Several variety of grape Hyacinths along the outer edge of my walk way. I will get pics for you all once they all come up and show you the new picture, probably at the same time I begin to plant all my new plants I am going to buy very soon!!!! :)