A friend is looking for a small flowering tree for a semi-shady city back yard. He wants one tall enough to look like a shade tree, but not large enough to hit telephone or cable lines.

He wants flowers in the summer that are big enough to see from a kitchen window without using binoculars. It can produce fruit of any kind as long as it is showy overhead but not too disgusting under foot.

Impossible? Not really. But remember: Even a small tree in a modest back yard occupies considerable space.

If it is spring color that you want in a tree, select from among the ubiquitous magnolias, cherries, flowering crabs, etc.

TIPS FOR NOVICES

• If your soil is capable of growing a wide range of plants, don't amend it when planting a tree. • Do not fertilize a newly planted tree. • The ground around a tree can be mulched with compost and well-rotted manure after the tree is established. • It doesn't hurt to prune a little after transplanting. Remove any broken branches.

But don't forget how long and dull summer in a garden can be if the trees are selected only for spring.

You might consider the Chinese dogwood (Cornus kousa), similar in flower to the closely related flowering dogwood, except that its flowering occurs after the tree has leafed out. Blooms last a full month or more, depending on the variety. Fruit appears in early fall after the foliage has turned red.

The Chinese dogwood grows to about 15 feet at maturity and exceeds that in its spread. It branches close to the ground, but you can limb it up to suit yourself.

The golden rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata) is at its peak in midsummer. It bears showy trusses of light yellow flowers followed by unique brown seed pods. The foliage is unremarkable in the fall, but the fruits will provoke comment.

Another worthy prospect is Stewartia pseudocamellia, which blooms late in the summer. It bears large solitary white blossoms with golden stamens, similar to a magnolia. The leaves sometimes turn vermillion in the fall.

Contact Tim Morehouse by Web site: www.getmoregarden.com; mail: c/o Cincinnati Enquirer. (If writing, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.)