Garden trees

barneygumble99

Hi , looking for advice for planting a few trees in my garden. I know nothing about them tbh. Lawn is well drained , no idea what soil. Not much shelter. It’s more to provide a bit of screening from the road than anything. I’d like a bit of variation in type of tree, 2 or 3 max. I don’t want it growing sky high or wide and straggly if that makes sense. One example I liked was the lime tree. Suggestions welcome. Need about 8 altogether.

https://ibb.co/K2R4W9k

looksee

Easy, obvious trees for that situation would be silver birch, hawthorn and mountain ash. Very hardy, though don't put the silver birch near buildings, they will survive all the weather that can be thrown at them. The hawthorn might be a bit inclined to do the wide and straggly growth that you don't want, but the other two make very nicely shaped, graceful trees.

Edit, Lime trees can grow tall, and might be inclined to drop sticky sap onto any vehicles that might be parked under them, but otherwise they are a nice tree.

tedimc

barneygumble99 wrote: »

Hi , looking for advice for planting a few trees in my garden. I know nothing about them tbh. Lawn is well drained , no idea what soil. Not much shelter. It’s more to provide a bit of screening from the road than anything. I’d like a bit of variation in type of tree, 2 or 3 max. I don’t want it growing sky high or wide and straggly if that makes sense. One example I liked was the lime tree. Suggestions welcome. Need about 8 altogether.

https://ibb.co/K2R4W9k

Mountain ash is a good call, I planted some last year are they are shaping up nicely. Italian Alder is great for screening, but may be too tall for you. Crimson King are a lovely tree also, as is weeping willow and weeping birch - but these may be too high for you also.

barneygumble99

barneygumble99 wrote: »

Hi , looking for advice for planting a few trees in my garden. I know nothing about them tbh. Lawn is well drained , no idea what soil. Not much shelter. It’s more to provide a bit of screening from the road than anything. I’d like a bit of variation in type of tree, 2 or 3 max. I don’t want it growing sky high or wide and straggly if that makes sense. One example I liked was the lime tree. Suggestions welcome. Need about 8 altogether.

https://ibb.co/K2R4W9k

Lime is an excellent choice for a garden because it can be pruned to almost any size or shape and always bounces back rapidly the next spring. Limes have wonderful multi-toned and multi-textured green, full foliage in summer, turn yellow in October, and have colorful twigs in winter. I have 25 in my own garden, albeit pleached.

The lime shown in the picture you posted is subjected to annual pruning from a young age to maintain that pleasing structure. The pruning is easily done and has no cost, apart from a good secateurs.

There are several varieties but if I were you I would get Tilia x europaea, which has a larger leaf than Tilia cordata and comes into leaf a week or two earlier (usually the last week of April). The lime in your photo looks like Tilia x europaea or Tilia x europaea Pallida to me. Either would be perfectly fine for you. But as said earlier, I would keep them away from paths or cars, due to the potential for dew drop (though my own limes don't drop any dew). This won't really be a problem if you maintain yours to the size shown in the picture.

You could also go for Acer Globosum (a version of Norway Maple), which have a very similar shape to the trees in the picture you posted. They are easily maintained to specific shapes, have yellow flowers in late March, leaf out quite early, develop helicopter seeds, and have excellent autumn color. They attract honey bees in summer due to their sugary sap.

phormium

Make sure you get the right Mountain ash, I'm no expert on them but have one in my garden and while a beautiful shape it's growing waaaay too tall! I already had about 6ft lobbed off it which messed of course with the shape but it's seriously big and the girth of it is just huge compared to the other trees in the garden.

I might end up taking it out altogether later this year which will probably cost me a small fortune, it should never have been planted in a garden of my size but I have a few other Mountain Ash and they are fine, much smaller wispier trees so watch out for variety!

looksee

I think you will find it is the ornamental cultivars (ie the ones you buy with variety names on them in the garden centre) that stay around 15ft or so, the ordinary rowan or mountain ash does grow quite tall, I have several in my garden but there is space for them and in fact I have planted another 5 or so.

I have alder which are not nearly as tall as some other trees in the garden, but they have extremely greedy roots and will rob water from surrounding trees. They really need a damp site.

Crab apple is also a possibility.