Trees for a front lawn

cuculainn

Hi we have a big lawn out the front of the house and was thinking of planting some trees to close off the house from the road.

The lawn is about 30 meters Kong so trees would be a good distance from house. Want to be able to mow around them too, so looking to plant them a good distance apart.... maybe 4 meters apart. This would require about 12 trees.

What would people recommend? Was originally thinking Acer, like crimson king and drummondii, as we have some already and they do well, but what native variety would be suitable/similar? Oak would be too slow growing i think.

The other option I thought of was an orchard?

All ideas appreciated

Sallywag37

I'd use Hawthorn if I were you. They're a fast growing native Irish tree that change more dramatically with the seasons than maybe any other Irish tree. Their bare branches in winter are very distinctive, fabulous in snow; there's a burst of fresh green in early spring followed by heavy blush pink/white blossom in April/May, followed by more green, followed by thousands of bright red berries in autumn that the birds love. They're great for attracting birds into the garden and provide tonnes of food for them heading into the winter months. Hawthorn grows quickly but doesn't grow beyond about twenty-six to twenty-eight foot high, so it provides great cover but won't grow out of control. You won't have to worry about cutting down trees or even cutting them back.

Common lilac is a nice tree to pair with Hawthorn, or if you want to add to your Acers I'd advise Prinston Gold. Google it if you haven't seen that variety, it adds a fabulous splash of very bright colour, especially in a sunny spot.

cuculainn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118594223#Comment_118594223

Hi Sallywag,

thanks for the reply, funnily i would never have thought about hawthorn! I was thinking birch, or rowan but always associate hawthorn with hedging!

i wonder can you get bareroot hawthorn trees?

prinston gold are lovely alright, as is lilac!

All food for thought!

looksee

I would suggest that you could still mow around trees that are 2m apart, and I would suggest that you think of using two groups of maybe 4 or 5 trees, one closer to the house and one a bit further away so that visually there are trees all across but not actually spread all over the lawn. Very scattered individual trees like that are not as restful to the eye as a couple of groups as it allows you to have some open sweeps of grass - little 'meadows' if you like.

As to the trees, I would think in terms of a couple of evergreens like holly, a bit slow but does make a lovely tree, or medium sized conifers. Deciduous trees would definitely include silver birch, rowan, crab apple. I would prefer to see a group of two or three of one sort (silver birch are especially good in small groups) with a couple of different one close by rather than a 'one of each' arrangemnent.

You can certainly get bare root hawthorn, quite decent sized ones if you wish. I have some that I am growing as a row of trees in an awkward spot where I need high-ish level screening and they are doing fine.

Sallywag37

You're welcome! And yes you can get bareroot Hawthorn trees and this is the perfect time to plant them. Hawthorn is often used in hedging as it's so dense when clipped and also covered in short sharp thorns that it makes a perfect hedge for both security and cover, but if barefoot Hawthorn trees are left alone and not clipped they grow into beautiful trees at least twenty-five feet high, and fairly quickly too. I wouldn't leave four meters between them if I wanted the crowns to touch though, I'd leave maybe three.

I love silver birch, but if it's cover you're after you'd be better off planting Betula Jacquemontii rather than the classic Betula Pendula, as the latter is very light and airy and lets in lots of light, but the flipside is it isn't great for cover. Betula Jacquemontii is a shorter, denser tree, but with the same beautiful white peeling bark.

cuculainn

Thanks for all the comments.

I dont really want them to close off the front entirely, that was why i was going to leave 4 meters between them. i do think that a bit closer would be better and also like the ideas of groups is also good.

@looksee would you leave 2 meters between the trees within the group and then a larger distance between the groups?

I have some good suggestions that i can go to the nursery with now anyway!!

looksee

@looksee would you leave 2 meters between the trees within the group and then a larger distance between the groups?

Yes, more or less. You don't have to be rigid about the spacing, a couple of meters will leave them close enough to be a barrier but not so close that you can't mow between them. Putting in a group forward and one back gives a continuous visual barrier but leaves 'breathing space' between the groups, I'd leave a decent gap forward/back, probably several metres. If you feel that you have more empty space than you want you could put in a striking specimen tree to one side of the open areas, maybe near the road, but you can do that later when you see how it looks.

maestroamado

I would suggest fruit trees

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058231756/trees-for-a-front-lawn

The orchard would be what i would do... i can send you a link for a guy who graphs trees and sells online...

magicbastarder

i have three birch planted in my front garden - about 3m tall now, i lifted them as they'd seeded in my garden but i put them in a tight bunch - less than 50cm between them - as i wanted a tight cluster, it's a suburban garden, and they're probably 30 foot from the front of the house.

cuculainn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118597020#Comment_118597020

Yes please can you send the link. I am going to put an orchard somewhere anyway, it was always planned for the back of house but maybe out front would make better use of the space

A2LUE42

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118597020#Comment_118597020

@maestroamado If you can send me that link too, please?

GreeBo

Silver birch are lovely alright.

Even at 4M apart, they are going to be touching soon enough. Is this the look you are going for or do you want individual trees to stand out?

maestroamado

maestroamado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118600008#Comment_118600008

https://heritagefruittreenursery.com/

maestroamado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118599976#Comment_118599976

https://heritagefruittreenursery.com/

maestroamado

If anyone here has any advise on fruit trees i be interested... the guy i mention does not really suit my needs but i will buy some from him. I want more sturdy trees... i chatted him yesterday... very nice knowledgeable guy... all his stuff gone for this year...

maestroamado

magicbastarder

i've bought one or two trees from irish seed savers, very happy with them.

DylanQuestion

I don't think it's native but Liquid Ambers are great, really nice colours in autumn. Same with Red Oak. I'm also a big fan of Hawthorns. Maybe throw in a pine or two too so there is some evergreen. Be sure to post some photos! :)

GreeBo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118597020#Comment_118597020

I have 6 mature apple trees and 4 pear trees, be warned there is a lot of fruit that you need to take care of every year...I dump buckets of apples for example every year.

secondrowgal

I'm really interested in this thread too, thanks. About to plant some and remove some (awful) conifers and replant, so following with interest!

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118609603#Comment_118609603

cider! i made a nice batch this year, very light tasting.

maestroamado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118609603#Comment_118609603

i know a cider maker who knows how to drink an apple... oddly enough i not a cider person but i know people who are...

GreeBo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118609623#Comment_118609623

I love cider, but once the trees get mature you are talking about hundreds of apples!

then you add in the pears, berries, figs and you get a slimey mess around the garden with lots of wasps

not to mention the drunk cats, birds, foxes and squirrels! :D

cuculainn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118609603#Comment_118609603

I would love to have that problem ....!!!

How long did it take them to reach maturity?

What varieties? Sorry these are dumb questions; but are apple/pear trees slow growing? Or does it all depend on the root stock?

blackbox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118594391#Comment_118594391

It's called hawthorn for a reason.

The thorns are vicious.

If you are trimming them, be sure to pick up every twig (wearing gloves!) or they will puncture your mower wheels.

.

matt.v

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118624905#Comment_118624905

Yeah, gorgeous plant but also fairly brutal. If you've children running about youd want to put it in a fairly secluded corner.

cuculainn

So just an update,

after going around to a few different nursuries, i am leaning towards the following

Crab apple

flowering hawthorn

weeping birch

rowan (possibly ornamental)

Arbutus (these are going to be very small, but like the idea of them)

So they all will be smaller trees, but as per a comment above, i make put in a bigger specimen tree later (thinking wych elem maybe)

I plan on putting the weeping birch closer to the drive way as it may be more visual driving in

I am still looking for a good evergreen, scots pine is an option and the strawberry tree (arbutus) is evergreen but they will be a long time before they are trees!!

looksee

Arbutus are very attractive shrubs/trees, though you are correct, they take a while to grow. Holly is a good evergreen, not the fastest but once established they grow at a reasonable rate. I was astonished at how expensive a good sized berrying one was when I was checking them out recently though.

I am looking at Scots Pine myself for a particular spot in the garden, I think you might find it a bit out of scale with the other trees you have selected.

I like your chosen trees, you may have to look out for rust on the apple and hawthorn, get good quality and try for rust resistant.

cuculainn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118739743#Comment_118739743

Well every tree there seems to be about 50 euro, but I did see a Holly with berries that was 159 euro.....about 5 foot high.

Holly with no berries was about 75

magicbastarder

So they all will be smaller trees, but as per a comment above, i make put in a bigger specimen tree later (thinking wych elem maybe)

Wych elm are susceptible to dutch elm disease. Is someone selling them in Ireland?

cuculainn

I was surprised to see them for sale in a few different places. So I thought they must be resistant to it or something.....I didn't ask tho

magicbastarder

they're not resistant. they'd grow to about 12 or 15 foot and then most probably die.