smoke, fringe, or bells

I stopped by a nursery (plant nursery) yesterday, as Nathan was on my heart, to see if they had any smoke trees in stock. I chatted with the woman, who wasn't overly friendly and actually was borderline rude/short with me. (I've been here before and the owner's at least a little better than her. What is it with nurseries? I'm not the only one with a bad experience). Anyways, I think I've settled on that as a memorial tree, of sorts, for Nathan. I want something that blooms in May (when we lost him), so she also suggested I look at the Chinese Fringetree and Japanese Snowbell. I'd like to put it somewhat close to the swingset we just built. I want something smaller in stature. I don't know how many years we'll be living here in this house (could be 2, could be 20), so I'd like something that will be a fast grower so we can enjoy it now. Anyways, just thought I'd share with you what I'm thinking about today. Anyone know anything or have one of the above trees?