conifers are trees ...

ALL the rules are the same as to care.. planting.. watering.. mulching.. etc ...

pruning is obviously different????

Right now I am picturing a pergola with a couple narrow gingko's like Princeton Sentry and maybe a redbud like Rising Sun or Forrest Pansy in between them. Perhaps a serviceberry like Autumn Brilliance or a variegated dogwood like Wolf Eyes instead of the redbud. If the spot is protected you can go with a plethora of Japanese maples.

Of course, cultural conditions will be a determining factor in what will do well and in the very long run the gingko's will get taller than 30' and wider than 15'

What about those columnar sugar maples?

Do you know the pH of your soil?

I recommend an oak if you want a strong nicely shaped tree. That is my opinion, anyway.

just stay away from the invasive stuff.....bradford pear, norway maple including the purple kind, tree of heaven, and royal empress.

I do recommend oaks in particular red and white oaks....sugar maple has great fall color.....red maple also has great fall color.....as far as purple go with the purple european beech.

For the oaks and maples I would check out cold stream farm...they have great selection at reasonable prices..I have bought many trees from them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cold stream farm

Ken - The care should be the same... what I said might have been a little misleading. By saying I don't know to much about deciduous trees I was just talking about the types of oaks, types of maples, etc available. Also, which ones are more hardy, have the best fall show, not invasive or messy, etc.

hairmetal4ever - Unfortunately I don't know the PH of my soil. Some parts of my yard are solid clay while others are a loam. It can very dramatically just 20' away.

greenthumbzdude- I am a fan of oak... I have a few small oaks on the property that may be around 8' tall that were naturally planted. I'm not sure what they are, but they turn fire red in the fall which is nice. I've always thought of oaks as very large trees though correct? I'll have to do some research... I'm not familiar with the different types of oaks. Across the street from my house are some very large oaks that have to be at least 100' tall.

As for Maples I was kind of looking into ones like :
Acer rubrum 'Burgundy Belle', Acer rubrum 'Embers', Acer saccharum 'Caddo', etc. What's the difference between a red maple & a sugar maple?

I'll look into the beech trees... not in my neighborhood, but on the way home from work people have a lot of dark purple leaf trees... they have to be common, just not sure what they are. I just need something purple or red for contrast.

Red maple- generally faster and more water tolerant. Get a named variety for fall color.

Sugar maple- medium growth and not salt tolerant. THE choice for natural looking fall color and not as cultivar dependant.

Add nyssa sylvatica to your list, can be a fussy transplant though.