Garden design - adding trees

I adore all your knowledge and I couldn’t give any advice, but reading the word Eucalyptus, that reminds me on an entry in the GW forum last year. Somebody opened a thread telling that his garden had a huge Eucalyptus tree but he never liked it and chopped it down. Winter 2022 to 2023 was wet but not even half as wet as the last winter, and the problem he realised was that his Eucalyptus was a very thirsty one and kept unknowingly the ground just right. After the tree was taken off, his garden turned into a swamp impossible to walk anywhere. He sounded really desperate.

@machtucker There are probably different Eucalyptus trees but my thought is that I would check first the ground, the average rain I get and a tree’s demand for water.

 

Hi Simone, thank you I grew my first ones from seed in Northants 40 years ago and have loved them ever since. I've got space for quite a few different species here You're absolutely right about them being thirsty though. Considering that they're Australian natives, you'd expect them to thrive on drought but not so!
What I've been hankering for for years is a definitive book about trees and their relative root systems. It would be so useful when planning what to plant! Even the RHS doesn't give much info in that respect, apart from a few well-known problem trees.

 

Being evergreen gum trees are possibly a good tree for wet but not water logged spots, unlike willows that do nothing for water extraction in the winter, mostly when you want it.
Mine is making a comeback after the brutal pruning last winter with new shoots out of the trunk.
I'm slightly prejudiced when it comes to trees and like Trachycarpus or another good one is Feijoa. Both rarely get out of hand.

 

Ooooo good news about the Eucalyptus, @pete! I'd never have heard the last of it if it had died Unlike my Ensete...do you ever hear me mention that?

 

Hi @machtucker
Zooming in, I can make out that in the article it says that they are Carpinus betulus ~ pleached, boundary hedge and the multi-stemmed. The garden is designed by Colm Joseph.

I'm a new member here so I'm not allowed to post links - so you'll have to Google his name to take you to his website to see more photos of the garden and his portfolio.
. . . . . .
"In other gardens he has used multi-stem Birch, multi-stem Amelanchier lamarckii or multi-stem and pleached forms of Malus toringo [crab apple]... Among his favourite trees for a smaller garden are Crabapple, Cornus Mas, Amelanchier x lamarckii and multi-stemmed Cratageus (Hawthorn) [..…and] Carpinus betulus. The form of the tree chosen for a small garden is also important. The multi-stemmed specimens used here are ‘umbrella pruned’, to preserve the views through the (scheme?) and across the garden. “There’s no foliage low down so they don’t feel too heavy but you can still appreciate the mass of canopy, which is useful for creating dappled shade over the seating areas.”
. . . . . .
To help visualise / ideas for your garden Google "GAP Gardens" - a garden & plant stock photography website.
In the SEARCH BOX enter, for example, 'multi stem trees small garden'… 'small trees' or whatever. If you hover over the images it usually give names of the some of the plants.
. . . . . .
Or visit a tree nursery in your area.

 

Fantastic, thanks very much for the info and your time. I will definitely check out that website tomorrow.
Many thanks.

 

I've just seen your post from Friday with more info @machtucker, so I'll try and have a look.

When I was doing something the other day, your garden came to mind. I didn't mention privet. Most people think of it as a hedging plant, but of course, like any hedging plants - if left alone, it becomes a tree, and a very nice one at that, with flowers for pollinators and a place for birds to shelter and nest. The golden/variegated one can be a useful plant too.

 

Loving the GAP photos site. Really useful to see how the trees look. Thanks!

 

Hello! There are some great suggestions in this thread.

I'm not an expert, but I do have one specific Amelanchier (Canadensis) and found it too slow to grow for my liking (plus, a bit prone to powdery mildew). Garden designers seem to love them though and they prefer slightly acidic soil, like yours.

I had it where I needed some screening so after 2 years I moved it to a different spot and in its place I planted a rowan tree (mountain Ash) "Apricot Queen". I think they are less trendy because they are more common but there are interesting cultivars to choose from and it's doing so much better. In less than a year, I already have so much more screening, the tree is thriving (the cultivar is based on the common rowan, which is native in some parts of the UK), the leaves are interesting and I'm waiting to see exactly what colour the berries are - I think they start as orange before turning to apricot. Rowans can also take pruning really well, so you can keep it the way you want to.

Another tree I have and love is crab apple "Praire Fire". If the colours go with your scheme, it is a gorgeous little tree. Not as vigorous as the rowan, but not as slow as the amelanchier either.

 

Having looked at your plans I fear that some of your trees will be too near the fences. Bear in mind the size of canapy and shade it will make over your neighbours gardens. Where I live in France there are laws about heights of trees near boundaries and how far you can plant them from fences but I couldn't find the same thing for the UK, apart from half a metre from the fence and stricter rules for leylandii. My OH has a cottage in Norfolk and neighbours have planted trees very close to the fence which block out a lot of light from his garden and make the borders by the fence very dry. Maybe you should talk about your plans with your neighbours.

I think you are wise to look for small trees. Betula Jacqumontii are lovely, but they grow tall in time, I had one in my last garden. It was a big garden and the tree wasn't near a fence. One thing about birches is that they are taller than wide and the canopy is delicate so the shade is dappled. However, Albizias have a very wide canopy and they too can grow pretty big. My son has one and his wife moans about the mess it makes when the flowers fall off.

I think rowans, crab apples, cercis, cornus kousa (various sorts), cherries and, possibly hawthorn are good choices for gardens.

 

Ok. I've had a look, but I find those images quite difficult to get my head round!
I think the border in your last image [western border] is narrow, but that doesn't mean you can't have a tree in it. I have a very narrow border along the back fence [roughly north west facing] which has an Amelanchier in it and it's perfectly happy. It always comes down to your soil and conditions. I don't have to worry about watering, for example, but if I'm reading the image correctly, your border could be in a bit of a rain shadow. With the right prep, that isn't necessarily a problem, it just means you may find something like Ceanothus might suit, as it doesn't mind drier conditions once established. Those last two words are the most important for any tree planting, in any site.
Upper patio area is probably the easiest as there seems to be more room, but - you want another tree behind the Acer, rather than to the other side. I think that's a bridge too far. The problem with those new images is that you haven't got the other planting showing. It probably wouldn't be ideal to move the Acer, so you may have to resort to a support on the fence with a climber. The amount of ground space will also dictate what will thrive and work best in the site. It would need to be something that will be happy with plenty of sun, because, although that fence seems to be north facing [roughly] it's quite open, so it seems to be getting a fair bit. If you were to add some horizontal supports across the top of the pergola/screening [?] you could train that across to give some shade and privacy.
The other, lower area, is also quite open, so there's more choice of options, but if that was mine, and I really wanted several trees [you have three sites showing in the image] I'd pick three of the same type, rather than three different ones. I'd go for trees that have light, airy canopies, because eventually- most trees get pretty big, and you may regret having so many in a smaller space. I appreciate you may want a bit of shade for sitting on your patio, but by the time those are big enough to give that, they could be very large trees. That's where a climber across the top of the patio might be a better solution. Insurance companies can also be difficult about trees being too close to the house, so bear that in mind too.
The other factor is - what else are you intending planting into the garden? Having a good colour scheme which will be complemented by the trees, is worth thinking about.

 

Just wanted to say thanks very much for the amazing replies. I notice a lot the posts here are extremely detailed and people are obviously putting in a lot of effort. For someone like me who's a keen novice I find it very useful to hear different views and your ideas. I will get back with another update tomorrow when I have some time and will reply to your post too @fairygirl

Ed

 

Morning everyone!

The western border is quite narrow (1m deep). To get a better idea of the size of the borders I've included a plan view with a few dimensions on it. After a bit of consideration of everyone's comments I now think that having a tree (maybe a crap apple?) in the larger central section just by the corner bench will be a better idea. There's more room there and will hopefully balance the Acer nearby. This will also provide some privacy from overlooking houses to the west and will eventually provide some needed shade over the bench too. See what you think.

I like your idea about repetition @fairygirl and I'm also thinking about how big the trees will get in time.That was one of my main concerns. One question I have is that I see lots of gardens that have small trees planted (at the time) like those umbrella pruned multistem Hornbeams in Colm's Garden. When I search the Carpinus Betulus on the RHS website it tells me that the ultimate height could 12m+ and 8m wide. Is it just a case of pruning them each year to keep them under control and to a size that suits? Pollarding as someone suggested?

Another area where we do need some privacy is by the Pizza Oven. The garden slopes, hence the small retaining wall and the back is higher than the front leaving the patio area quite exposed to people approaching the back gate and our (lovely) neighbours who occasionally use the path to get to the back of their house. I've included an image of the approach from the path. We want to have some sort of tree/hedge there to shield that area. Initially I was thinking a tree but after your suggestions maybe a hedge/shrub might do the trick?

I have visions of the square border having a central feature and do love the trees with airy foliage like the silver birch and the Amelanchier. We also like the umbrella pruned multistem Carpinus Betulus as a feature with underplanting below. My only concern is controlling how big all of these get. I have no problem about spending time doing garden maintenance so that is not an issue, I love being in the garden. Going back to your repetition idea maybe having an umbrella feature Betulus there and then a in hedge form by in the corner by the pizza oven.

My big problem is that I'm terrible at knowing if something will work without seeing it. I know what I like when I see it but piecing everything together from individual components is tricky.

In terms of planting etc it's a blank canvas and I thought I'd start with some structure and then build up from there. I do love lots of green with different forms and accents of colour. I'm more pastels whereas my wife loves colour and neat forms. I like a more naturalistic form of planting (like the garden I've included here).

Anyway, see what you think, I've got to go a shift some soil and paint the retaining wall!

Ed

 

Having looked at a few options online I think I will go for a Crab Apple as the main tree in the centre of the garden. I’m still deciding what to go for the small square border I from the lower patio. Here I’m tossing up between a multi stem hornbeam or Amelanchier. As @fairygirl suggested I like the idea of repetition but am struggling to think how to do this with the tree beside the pizza oven. I will have to go for a columnar style tree there unless anyone else has another idea of how to provide so privacy as you approach the fence from the side of the garden.