Tree selection for garden

tom1ie

hi all,

I’ve a south facing garden approx 90ft long with a steel shed that’s about 2.5m high at ridge height.
I was looking to plant a few trees in front of the shed to hide the shed and the neighbours house from my view.
I love cherry blossom trees but from what I understand these don’t bloom for that long a time and wouldn’t provide any screening?
Can anyone recommend a nice tree(s) (a red acer?) that I could plant and where to order it from?
Im in south Dublin if that makes any odds?
It would be great if the tree encouraged more wildlife into the garden also!

magicbastarder

Do you want a limit on how tall the trees grow?

Acers aren't native so wouldn't be quite as good for wildlife as something native. If you need to limit the height, hazels might be an option because they can be pruned hard. But like acers, they're deciduous so wouldn't provide year round cover.

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122719529#Comment_122719529

If you’re looking from the back of the house, south away from the house, the ground rises away from the house.

I suppose we don’t want massive trees blocking out all the light, but something that changed colour or a mixture of different colours that block the view of the shed (plus the neighbours house behind), encourage wildlife, but don’t require a massive amount of maintenance.

Also I presume the trees would have to be taller than the shed to get the sunlight if planted on the north side of the shed?

JVince

Go to a decent garden centre / nursery locally to you and ask for their advice.

If you get the right person, they will give you invaluable advice.

Mount Venus nursery would be my choice.

dmcdona

Get advice from a garden Center for sure. And as posted above, try and get their most knowledgeable tree person. Or you could try an online query.

If you want year round cover, evergreen is good but limited in colour etc.

How about a few apple trees? You can pretty much choose the height. Blossom, buds and (hopefully) apples give ongoing variation and they are def good for wildlife, especially bees, birds and insects.

I'm about to pull the trigger on circa 25 native Irish apple trees.

SuperBowserWorld

Native birch trees. Beautiful. Not much cover on winter, but more light. You'll need to prune them as they can get very tall. Grow very quickly.

magicbastarder

i wouldn't plant birch in a constricted space with the intention of pruning them as often as that to keep the height limited.

tom1ie

Yeah I wouldn’t be into having to prune the trees every year tbh- it’s less maintenance if possible.
I know I’m being very specific here but if I could get a cherry blossom that lasted in blossom for a few months- if that’s even a thing?

OscarMIlde

What about a weigela. There are different varieties, so likely some that don't grow too tall. If you're willing too put in the effort eith the soil than some smaller azaleas or rhododendrons are beautiful when they bloom.

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122720537#Comment_122720537

Cherry blossom lovely, if it's a sheltered space then the blossoms would last longer.

looksee

There are cherry blossoms with red leaves, some that flower in winter, others that flower in spring. We have one that is flowering at the moment but its just confused, its supposed to flower in spring. There are the rather solid and boring ones that are lovely in spring but then are just unremarkable green for the rest of the year, there are others that grow more open and delicate and look interesting even when not in flower. Prunus Subhirelta Autumnalis has autumn leaf colour and flower at more or less the same time.

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122722198#Comment_122722198

Now this is very interesting.
Could I mix different types of blossoms, ie plant two different blossoms next to each other to get varying colour and coverage at different times of the year?
The width of the garden would be about 10m wide.

mikep

Maybe you could try a few native crab apples, mountain ash and spindle.

They don't grow too tall and great for wildlife.

looksee

Yes, you could do that. You would want to check up the growth style of the various trees - some of them grow more like big shrubs - to balance out the shape.

tom1ie

see the problem is I imagine the tree would need to be taller than the shed to get the sun- a shrub would be in the shade of the shed.
So am I right in thinking I need trees taller than the shed so that they’d get the sun?

looksee

Just a point - Mountain Ash can grow huge, I have several very large - and not great for berries - ones in my garden. Presumably there are varieties that don't grow as big but you would need to check. Lovely tree.

billyhead

An ornamental apple tree would be nice.

HazeDoll

Spindle, as Mikep suggested, is a nice one. Mine is putting on a fantastic show at the moment, lots of pink and red leaves.

Holly is often underused but it can be very nice in urban gardens. Doesn't need lots of light, provides year-round cover and can be spectacular with berries. Recovers nicely if you have to top it or cut it back.

I understand why so many suggest asking at a garden center but I wouldn't have the same confidence in them at all. They often just want you to leave via the checkout. I would suggest that you keep your eyes open and see if you can spot any examples you like the look of, then just copy them.

murt101

Question for those recommending a spindle...it's on my wish list…Amy suggestions where I can buy one a decent size?

Thanks

Buzwaldo

Cotoneaster Cornubia is semi-evergreen has berries, not too tall growing, good screening but not too dense.

mikep

Future forests have them (spindle) in various sizes.

mikep

OP Maybe some native apple trees from Seed savers in Clare could be good too.

I.R.Y.E.D

Holly as some have suggested and whitebeam

Turbulent Bill

Think carefully about unintended shading of the rest of your garden. Assuming the shed is at the south end of the garden, and at a higher level than the house, anything tall might shade a lot of the area.

I"ve a Juneberry in front of my shed, beautiful shrub. It doesn't completely block the shed, but just breaks up the profile so it's less obvious. You could probably use climbers like climbing hydrangea for a similar effect.

daheff

I stumbled across these guys recently. Look to have a lot of stock & knowledge about trees. could be worth a trip out to them to see what they have/recommend

https://www.theplantcollector.com/

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122723809#Comment_122723809

Now that’s a good point.
How does the juneberry get enough light to thrive?
Does it require much maintenance?

Turbulent Bill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122725071#Comment_122725071

My garden is East-facing, so it gets some sun in parts of the day. Seems to be pretty hardy, so probably ok even with some shade.

Zero maintenance, pretty slow growing.

looksee

While your shed wall is technically north facing, if the surrounding area is open and you can plant maybe 2 metres away from the shed you will probably find that it gets enough ambiant light and a bit extra in the morning and evenings to not matter too much. The sun requirement is an ideal and varies from one species to another, but trees are generally growing in groups and don't worry too much about all day sun.