polkadotjen you need to look out for different root stocks when buying an apple tree. Apples are grafted onto different roots so you end up with different sized trees. M27 and M9 are the smallest - and you can keep them compact by pruning and cordoning. If you are only having one apple tree make sure it is self pollinating - Cox's Orange Pippin needs another variety to pollinate properly though new self fertile forms have been developed. Good luck with your move.

Morning Jacky, I am a keen gardener with an RHS course behind me and I was taught that looking for trees with 3 seasons of interest for a garden is always a good idea ie blossom in spring, pretty foliage in summer and autumn fruit. Something like Amelanchier lamarckii which gets to 10m high and 12m wide has pretty dainty blossom in spring delicate bronze foliage in summer and red orange leaves in autumn. The birds also love the purple black fruits which follow. Or a Malus 'John Downie' or Malus Floribunda both vigorous crab apple trees with a long season of interest. I would probably not go for the Tuscan pillar conifers because they will act as pointers drawing your eye to the houses you are trying to screen. Birch (Betula Utilis var Jacquemontii are beautiful however they will reach 15m or possibly consider weeping birch Betula Pendula "Youngii' which makes a dome shape and gets to 8m high and 10m wide. Perhaps have a look at the RHS website which is very helpful.

With the kids we took some apple pips and got 6 of them to sprout. we now have 3 little spouting trees, thought they were all dying then this happened to one. Any tips on keeping them alive? I know it's a long haul to seeing an apple!

Having given it far too much thought, what I reckon you want is small trees with open canopies that don't shade the office too much. Birches would be fine, except that they grow too quickly. I started thinking of perhaps Prunus 'Amanogawa' (or Malus 'Van Eseltine') in the centre, with ten-year-old Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana' whose vivid green and shell-like swirls would make a superb contrast with the vertical, orangey wall - but you'd have to wait for them to make the impact. My best suggestion, though, is Acer griseum in the centre, whose peeling bark colours would blend perfectly with the wood walls but also soften them - its vivid autumn colours would give great anticipation through the summer. On the outsides, I'd have Eucalyptus niphophila, which also has striking bark, and its evergreen, sickle-shaped blue leaves would really complement and soften the office wall, and break up the strong edge all year round. You could plant under all three trees as neither species casts a heavy shade. Or, if you want to create a rhythm, stick with three 'Snow Gums'; but I quite like the idea of the 'Paperbark Maple' softening the centre of the double doors and bridging that big hole in the vertical planking. If you do this, please post a photo in ten years' time !