Solved Shrub and tree identifcation and care help please

Hi all,

I'm wondering if folks can help me to identify some shrubs and trees in my garden and advise on best care (although, once I know what the plants are, I could just look up guidance on care ...). All these plants are in a garden inland in North East England with acid soil (I think) and east-facing.

Here goes:

Plant 1 = prickly shrub with small burgundy leaves

 

Plant 2 = Tall, thin trees - the twisty stem in front of the shrub shown appears to be the same type of plant as the three very straight trees in the centre-left of the picture, because they all have branches ending in two- or three-parted dark-brown buds. I'm not sure these trees are the best things to be in this spot aesthetically or in terms of what their roots might be doing ...

 

Plant 3 = shrub with small dark green leaves and lovely bright yellow flowers (my inclination is to nurture and encourage this and plant 1, whereas plant 2 I might consider getting rid of ...)

 

Berberis I expect

Ash (self sown probably ...)

Berberis - B. darwinii perhaps

 

Plant 4 = struggling, straggling thing which I have no idea about. It seems to have lots of woody, straggly branches and not much foliage. To its left (so the right of the picture) is a buddleia which I've pruned heavily. Looking at the stems of this plant, I had assumed they might be dead buddleia stems, but following some of them along to their tips I discovered they have some small, light-green (with unhealthy brown blotches) leaves on the ends ...

 

Thanks very much Kristen. I shall now go and read up

I'm thinking "self-sown" for the ash possibly supports my initial thought that those trees might not be the best thing to have there?

 

I doubt you want a full sized Ask tree there!, and I can't see it being any use to you as "a small bush". I'd have it out and plant something else.

not sure about #4, can't see enough of the leaf ... looks like there is a Bramble in there as well ...

Escallonia maybe?Would have expected a lot more leaf on one of those though ...

 

Agree on 1 and 3 Berberis.
2 and 4 cannot see sufficient detail to positive.