[GillP]

I am involved in chooosing some large trees for a large, open courtyard, north facing and with bitter winds in winter.  It's to one side of a large farmhouse in the Vaucluse dept of France - summer highs around 35°C most years, winter lows down to -10°C, sometimes more.   The purpose of the trees is not to give shade but to soften the effect of a rather severe facade on the building.  Owner thinks plane trees are too banal  - we are  thinking about Gleditsia, Koelreuteria, Sophora japonica.  Just wondering if anyone has any other ideas.

[Bolanthus]

Plane trees ...banal? This would probably be the last word in a dictionary for the aesthetic value of these trees!!!
Anyway, I think that a photo of the place would help inspire members of this forum to come up with ideas.
Just to name a species of large beautiful tree:  Tilia tomentosa

[Alisdair]

Yes, a site photo would help!
Koelreuteria does very well for us in SW France, similar temperature range, grown from seed about 20 years ago it is now a good 25 ft high, and was already a pleasing shape with real character by the end of its first decade. Even as a young tree its foliage looks good. (It is undoubtedly happier there than its children in our hot Greek garden.)
I agree with Aris - don't knock plane trees! Of course they need a big courtyard, but I have seen a couple of stunning courtyards owing their appeal to majestic plane trees. Are your friends patient?

[pamela]

Magnolia grandiflora?  Liquidambar styraciflua?
I too love Plane trees which are one of the main features in London streets and squares and they always give me huge pleasure when I see them.

[Fleur Pavlidis]

I have a Sophora japonica which is doing its job of shading a south wall very nicely, but I've found it's very droopy - this year it flowered well and now the weight of the seeds has bent the branches right down - so I can't really recommend it as a specimen, free-standing tree. How about our old friend Melia azedarach which is deciduous but has the seeds for interest in winter? There are two in a small garden near me which were so lovely last winter that I deliberately took my route by them whenever I could to see them.

[GillP]

Sorry, I don't have a photo.  I would like the planes but others not keen!  I do like Tilia tomentosa but it is apparently toxic to bees which makes me a bit wary of planting it.  Had wondered about Liquidamber but have no experience of how well it will do in a harsh Med climate.  Like the Magnolia idea too though we are tending to do for deciduous to avoid winter gloom in house!  I love Melia too but was worried about the wind since it reputedly is susceptible to losing branches in strong winds.  Thank you for all the ideas!

[Bolanthus]

I do like Tilia tomentosa but it is apparently toxic to bees which makes me a bit wary of planting it.

I had no idea that it could be toxic to the bees. From what I'm reading http://www.jas.org.pl/jas_54_2_2010_7.pdf its toxicity is considered significant only for bumblebees (not honeybees). I’m guessing that planting a few trees wouldn’t lead to an environmental disaster for the various bumblebees. It is a native European species after all…

[pamela]

Grevillea robusta....quite cold tolerant and certainly can tolerate extremes of heat.  Must be kept on the dry side in the winter. Its a beautiful tree.  I have had mine for 6-7 years and every spring we get a tree laden with these beautiful, beautiful yellow/copper inflorescense. The leaves are lacey in form, not at all heavy..... its worth its place in my garden.

[Alisdair]

Bees died by the hundreds on just a very few summer days each year, feeding on a Tilia tomentosa at my English primary school (as far as I remember, both honey and bumblebees - but it was so very long ago that it could easily have been only bumblebees). It was a remarkable and intriguing sight for us little boys, the ground below the tree carpeted with dead and dying bees.
We had a Tilia here at our Sussex house, a lovely tree until it was blown down in the "hurricane" of 1987, and oddly I don't remember ever seeing any dead bees below it. But the honeydew from the aphids (which love its soft leaves) did make a beastly mess; and it was all too attractive to small green caterpillars floating down into one's hair on their gossamer lines.

[pamela]

Gill ...what about a Walnut? I have never grown them but they could be very suitable with the added bonus of the delicious nuts. Also, your own Heteromeles arbutifolia.  The one you gave me four or so years ago is looking very good. Such a pretty tree.
Morus alba??? It will tolerate cold and heat...but can be messy

[GillP]

Pamela - like the walnut idea, should work in that climate too.  Think Morus would be too messy and the Grevillea wouldn't stand the winter - I envy you yours.  Glad the Heteromeles is doing well, it is something that deserves to be more widely grown. 

[pamela]

Today I was in the The Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid and saw a beautiful Elaeagnus angustifolia. These seem to survive the extreme temperatures of the Iberian peninsula well. It might be an idea.

[Umbrian]

 :(Sorry Pamela but I cannot endorse your suggestion of Eleagnus angustifolia  - they sucker terribly and would be in danger of taking over the courtyard. I planted a couple several years ago and they cope reasonably well with the drought and high temperatures although can look a little sad in the height of summer. However I am regretting my postioning of them near to a gravel path as they regularly send up suckers in the path and, this year, in the bed beyond that is at a slightly higher level and bounded by a dry stone wall!

[David Bracey]

Two more are Ziziphus jujuba  (another exotic fruit missed by John) and Cinnamomum camphora.