Allotments 4 All
Produce => Non Edible Plants => Topic started by: honeybee on April 29, 2005, 11:12:45
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I have a newly found space in the corner of my smallish garden.
I am thinking of planting a tree there, something with not too thick a trunk, i want something that grows fairly tall to encourage as many birds as possible.....and maybe a bit of colour, but thats not a neccesity.
I was considering a blossom tree, ive already got a girl thingy willow, any suggestions would be more than welcome.
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I have a crab apple that is covered in blossom at this time of year and produces loads of fruit for the birds in the winter. It doesn't need polination.
Phil
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:o..... girl thingy willow :o :o
I didnt type that :o :o :o
O.k i was saying that i already have a P. Willow.....hope that makes sense.
Thanks for the suggestion Phil :)
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(http://www.francerama.com/W/RED/photos/album/fruitiers_printemps_h_107.jpg)
How about a quince tree, makes lovely jelly. I will have a pot if my idea is the best.
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Oh thats lovely heritage, thanks for posting pic :)
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I went to the nurseries yesterday and their crab apple trees looked beautiful.
I need 4 trees to screen a new building going up at the back of us and am thinking of a crab apple, a pink hawthorn, and acer and a rowan. Don't know if this is any help.
Have had to talk my husband out of planting a horse chestnut!
I think the crab apple flowers first and the hawthorn will follow, they are beautiful when they flower. The acer I will have a variegated one for long interest and autumn colour and the rowan for the colourful fruit and different leaves.
We are not planting until the autumn so this may change but this is the plan at the moment, They are all trees that can have bare trunks with the screening at the top.
Apart from the acer the RSPB lists the others as all encouraging birds into the garden.
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Thanks Tulippa
We are planning a visit this weekend, to a garden centre that ive not been to before so i am going to go armed with the advice here and see what they have available, thanks all :)
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Have fun and let us know what you decide. Happy tree hunting!
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Thanks T, I am really looking forward to it now that i have some ideas :)
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I had a tiny garden and planted a flowering cherry Tai Haku. Very beautiful. I also planted an amelenchier l. which does something all the year round. It has black berries, autumn foliage and white flowers in the summer and is small and easy to look after :)
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Honeybee,
Just another thought. The graceful and easy to control silver birch. It has beautiful bark all the year round, looks dainty and delicate all year, makes the most wonderful sound in a breeze and, provided you top it, will not grow too high so that it doesn't dominate. Only disadvantage I have come across is that it sheds bits of branches during winter months - just a matter of picking them up. Mean twiglets really because their branches are so delicate. More like deadheadings from an herbacious plant.
What a lovely idea. Everyone who has enough space should be able to have a little tree! :D
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Quite a few of the acers are small but lovely. I like the one with the peeling bark - griseum but that's not one of the smaller ones though - pity :)
I had an acer which was top grafted onto a trunk and it remained small - it was brilliantissimum and the leaves turn pink. That never got too big
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Could i make a suggestion for the Prunus Serrula.Blossom is'nt brilliant but is made up by it's fantastic bark, which is mahogany-coloured and looks highly polished.The paper thin bark peels in narrow strips round the trunk to reveal yet more highly polished young bark.It looks good all year round.
Has been my best buy for the garden.
Anne
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Thank you GG, that sounds interesting.
I had a good look round at the garden centre but most of the trees available were very well established and too big to get home in the car, something that i had not thought of ::)
So i will look elsewhere and maybe have a look online too.
Thanks again everyone
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If you want to attract birds, then you're best bet is to go for a native (they attract more insects, which in turn attract more birds).
Some of my favourites are Mountain Ash (gorgeous leaves and lovely orange berries) and silver birch.
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Does your local council offer free trees? Ours does and I got a lovely crab apple tree a few years back. I looks great for a couple of weeks, covered in blossom but unfortunately so is my car parked underneath. The apples go a wonderful red and the birds love them, had half a dozen waxwings helping themselves to fruit year before last.
:)
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Japanese cherry or Lilac for me
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/hmstrouncer/CherryBlossom006.jpg)
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/hmstrouncer/CherryBlossom004.jpg)
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/hmstrouncer/CherryBlossom009.jpg)
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:o That is gorgeous :o I want one 8)
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When the blossom drops it looks like the garden is covered with pink snow
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I don't want to cut my grass at the moment, it looks beautiful with all the blossom on it!
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I love lilacs too but they seem to be really out of favour these days which is a pity. :(
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Lilacs grow really well on our slightly chalky soil and nearly every garden has at least one around here, we have three and they all look ans smell lovely right now.
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That is very preety Merry Tiller, i love it :)
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The memory's going and I can't remember the variety but all Japanese cherries look fantastic
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An Autumn Cherry is nice as it flowers through the winter before coming into leaf now. Not too big either, latin name is huge!
Prunus subhirtella autumnalis rosea.
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As I trundled through Chelmsford today (along Broomfield road) I saw a pink grass verge where 3 cherries had shed all of their blossom. It looked glorious! Like a huge pile of marshmellows! As I passed by about 40 minutes later, a chap was out there with his garden hoover collecting them all up! :( I felt like stopping and asking for them as I thought they would made a good mulch around my broadbeans ;D (big girly that I am), but number one son wanted his lunch, and I feared for my sanity at the thought of scattering cherry blossom around my allotment! :-\ ;D
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Trees Latin names are fantastic....Fraxinus Exelsior.......Quercus Robur....etc.
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What about an Amelanchier? Lovely spring blossom, good spring and autumn foliage, and the birds love the berries (though this means you can't admire them for long)
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Honeybee,
Just another thought. The graceful and easy to control silver birch. It has beautiful bark all the year round, looks dainty and delicate all year, makes the most wonderful sound in a breeze and, provided you top it, will not grow too high so that it doesn't dominate. Only disadvantage I have come across is that it sheds bits of branches during winter months - just a matter of picking them up. Mean twiglets really because their branches are so delicate. More like deadheadings from an herbacious plant.
What a lovely idea. Everyone who has enough space should be able to have a little tree! :D
I agree lovely tree, but,,,,, they attract nesting pigeons when they get bigger & the amount of seed becomes over whelming, iy blocks gutters etc so it will keep you busy! !
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Amelanchier is good, especially the autumn colours but the blossom on ours only lasts a week or so, one gust of wind & it's disappeared down the road