Square Park - new trees offered. But what types?

In that case I would choose trees that will grow on clay. Of the trees you list above, hazel, apple, hawthorn, holly and wild cherry will all do well on clay. Rowan does not do well on my clay soil which is not well drained. You could consider Hornbeam, a member of the beech family that is attractive, has nutlets when mature and grows very well on clay. Alder could also be a possibility. Both Hornbeam and Alder are good for wildlife. Silver Birch would also be good, is fairly quick growing and is an excellent choice for wildlife.

 

Thanks Redwing!

It's not really clay-clay. It's actually quite good soil. The picture below is off it after it had been squished onto the pavement after a week of rain.

 

More news: unfortunately the tree planting has been put back due to the time of year and the Council refusing to sign off the finance until April. Which is too late to plant trees. So I met up today with the Head of the Parks dept and she has said she will find out if she can get some whips for a hedgerow to get us started. She wants me to organise a planting day for the locals in March. So fingers crossed....

I'm also thinking of doing a Buy One, Get One For Square Park scheme. When someone buys a plant for their garden, they buy another one for the Park. Means we don't have to handle money and people have a physical marker of their donation.

 

Good news! Just got an email from Parks that they have sourced 100 free whips for us! Should make a fairly good hedge eventually. Not sure what species yet but what the hey. Free plants!

 

Planting Day is April 4th!

Now I've just got to get people to turn out and help. Will be highly embarrassing if it's just me.