Gardening: Flowering trees bring spring color early

It really is all about the trees.
Most of the correspondence sent my way involves trees. Questions about fruit trees, especially citrus trees, are the most common.
Suggestions also are sought for fast-growing shade trees of manageable size (silk tree or Albizia julibrissin, for example), for trees that grow in limited space (“Little Gem” magnolia tops the list) and for trees that can serve as hedges (“Oro Blanco” grapefruit trees serve that purpose admirably and provide f