If you ask 10 gardeners what tree to plant, you'll get 10 different answers :-) Plant choice is so subjective to personal taste but should also be attuned to what is appropriate, hardy, diseases resistant and non-invasive for your area. A visit to a good local nursery or garden center (not a home improvement or big box store) should provide some choices as well as staff advice as to what might work best. You might also want to review the archives of the Trees forums for many, many similar discussion.

One of my favorite smallish trees is the serviceberry or Amelanchier. Various species are native to much of the US, it has few problems, offers attractive spring flowers, great fall color and produces a small (and tasty) fruit that is valuable for wildlife. In zone 7, fall is perhaps the best time to plant - soils stay warm for root development, hot summer temperatures are moderated and rains are more plentiful. Height at time of purchase should not be your primary concern - smaller trees often establish faster and adapt better than larger, more established ones. Just get a good, healthy tree with a decent rootball, plant it carefully and water deeply at the root zone as necessary.

PS. Good for you for removing the Bradford pears. They are becoming an increasingly problematic species in many parts of the counry.

Thanks gardengal,
I looked it up on the web and it is a beautiful tree. I am going to check the local nurseries to see if they carry them. I know that it is all in the "eye of the beholder", but I just don't want to buy something because it is pretty. As I don't know much (or even less) about gardening, I want to make sure I don't purchase the wrong tree for the wrong area. If you have any other suggestions, I am definitely open to them. I need to replace atleast three areas where the bradfords came down.

If there is one thing I do know, it is I don't like Bradford. It is as if every subdivision planner had to put two in each yard. I have recently learned they are very weak trees and have a tendency to split at the main truck. I want originality!

Take a look at Carolina Silverbell.

In the midst of all this heat and our drought, I'd avoid planting anything right now. In your climate, fall through early spring would be good planting times. Younger trees are much easier to establish into a new site than larger, older trees. Woody plants will not begin to grow new shoots or put on 'weight' while they are devoting their energy into re-establishing a root system. The younger plants can establish within a few months are are raring to go!