garden experts/botanists... help?
here is a picture of my front garden. it is south facing. just finally finished throughout this summer, building a brick wall, put sleepers up, dug up old grass and laid down more soil and new turf. NOW.... slowly will begin planting. i have been looking VERY hard to find things i like, and would fit. soil is mostly clay. thing is... i would like first, the plant as least 2 small trees by the brick wall. i have been looking so hard, but when i find something i like on one website, it says something else on another. i'm looking for something that flowers in spring and has colour in autumn, and for them not to be more than 9ft high (absolute maximum) if it's slightly less, great. i know i can always prune the top, but if the roots are big, don't want my new wall to start falling apart in 10 yrs. also, the footpath is actually 1.5ft higher than where is the soil. from side to side of house it's 32 ft and the distance from the brick wall to the house wall is 20 ft. i'd really, really like to plant something by the end of month. any reputable websites or great tree nurseries(south yorkshire)? these are some what i have been looking at, but i'm nervous on sizes not being too accurate. sigh. -amelanchier camdensis, -betula jacquemontii, -acer palmatum beni maiko, -prunus incisa kojo-no-mai, -prunus snow showers, (-picea glauca albertiana conica conifer & larix kaempferi stiff weeping tree would be an extra for evergreen reasons) thank you so much if anyone can give suggestions.
Comments (19)
pannacotta
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoRelated Discussions
Help to brighten up my garden
Comments (14)Lovely potential to develop this space! Looking back towards your house from the garden area, what about window boxes under each of your ground floor windows with simple fixed shutters (louvre doors) either side of the long window? Keep your house walls light colour as at present with white painted window frames and either white or gentle soft green door, shutters, gate & window boxes. I would want to plant troughs along the left hand wall with some climbing plants as well as colour as in Kevin's sketch & I would also consider an outdoor mirror in the centre opposite the RH ? Kitchen window to reflect colours of the window box planting back to the house but I wouldn't want to restrict access back to the house by too much overplanting. Certainly power washing the yard & covering with pea gravel could be good or paving as in main garden. Instead of knocking down the wall & if expenses allow, what about a wrought iron gate giving an impression of peeping into a Moroccan courtyard?! Enjoy your exciting project & have fun!...See MoreGarden design help!
Comments (12)Thanks Rachel - that's really helpful. Agree that's where we thought the pergola would go and like the idea of a wall to separate the different areas. Plus we have lots of bricks left over from the old patio which we're taking up as it was a nightmare to keep weed free! Do you think it would be too much patio to have it going round the whole corner of house where bifolds are (at different levels) and stretching across under the pergola? Imagine we could break it up with lots of pots or some 'holes' in it for planting? Tiles - thanks for the tip. We're having a wood effect vinyl planks so we wouldn't be able to do the same look inside and outside which I agree looks nice. We'll probably choose a type of Indian stone but need a shade that will work next to whit render (new extension) and the red brick of old part of the house. Thanks again, Gemma...See MoreSloping garden with crumbling retaining wall. Help and advice needed.
Comments (23)Have you thought of gabions, provided you put the facing layer of something attractive that you like you can fill the back with all the old bricks and rubble (no soil) that would save on the amount of money you would have to spend on the facing and journeys to the tip to get rid of rubbish. If you wanted you could add a decking board, or anything you fancied on the top to use as seating this doesn't need to be the full width of the garden and is quite cheap to buy but do treat with preservative to give a long life, I definitely would put plants behind to stop people tripping over and falling on to the patio. Hope this will helps you....See MoreTriangular garden with small depth borders - NEED HELP
Comments (5)Climbers would be an excellent idea as they tend not to grow outwards as much as shrubs. Lovely scented climbers are Honeysuckle, Star Jasmine (evergreen), Climbing Roses and Clematis. I don’t think there is much room for underplanting, so I would stick with small perennials such as hardy Geraniums, Aubretia, Erigeron and Alchemilla mollis. Box is quite formal and will need regular trimming. Unfortunately they are also prone to Box blight which has affected some areas in the UK but not others - worth a google! You could also place something of interest at the end such as a statue/piece of art or a water feature....See Morebombel1972
8 years ago
PROMark Lane Designs
8 years ago- PRO
Mark Lane Designs
8 years ago 
PROSam Butler Garden Design
8 years ago- PRO
Mark Lane Designs
8 years ago pannacotta
8 years agobombel1972
8 years ago- PRO
Sam Butler Garden Design
8 years ago Kim Lesley
8 years agoKim Lesley
8 years agobombel1972
8 years agoyes kimlesley96. i'm in agreement with you. i definitely want to plant some evergreens in between, and some smaller perennials (i do have some grasses in back garden) my problem right now is funds. so i thought i'd try and hurry to get at least 2 good trees in NOW. that is my drive in front of the photo, where the sleepers are, and that's the only side of my garden where i won't plant anything, as i need somewhere to lift my mower over. to the left of the brick wall is the footpath and wall is 3 foot from the footpath side. BUT... since there is a slope going towards down the house, the wall looks higher, actually IS higher, by maybe another foot on the grass side? if my house was a bit farther away, i wouldn't mind having taller trees. i know people say, 'your tree is only as high as you let it', but i worry that very long roots will start hurting my wall in 10 yrs or whenever. i live in south yorkshire. i was even thinking about planting these dwarf gardenias in a row, where it's closest to the house??? hmmm....ha
PROLaara Copley-Smith Design
8 years agoAgree with pannacotta, Cornus have a great variety of more contained small trees, although they do spread in width, many Acers are more contained and can be thinned to show - emphasis the sculptural element on the branch structure and keep less dense. I would keep away from betula - even though there seems a craze on birch - they are large growing and short lived trees. They would be out of context with your building structure. Cercis canadensisas ( unlimate height about 4.8m - they will grow quiet wide ) suggested is gorgeous - all these cornus, acer,cercis have fabulous autumn colour.
2nd tree Below is acer palmatum - yes they can in time grow to 4m - here we have sensitively thinned out to keep the branches more open and light. Do consider the width otherwise you will end up creating - or could create a lot of shade depending upon aspect and sun movement during the year.
1st tree is Cercis forest pansy.
PROStephen Ryan MSGD
8 years agobombel1972
8 years agothanks. i have actually thought of a trellis, for the side of my house, as that would provide privacy, and it is something i can control. i like my neighbours stone wall, but they had a MASSIVE conifer in the corner of their drive (near me), and now their wall could possibly fall over to my side one day haha. we bought the house 2 yrs ago, and the previous owner just had conifers that were TOO close to the house and would grow even more. i asked my neighbour if i could cut his massive conifer.so we did (we paid). so now we just want to plant some great shrubs/trees that won't block too much sunlight for anyone. correct, we are south facing,BUT the brick wall will create shade for what's directly in front of it. sometimes i doubt myself, and ask if i should have built a wall. ah well. it's done. this is the view from my window and when i walk out from my house. toying with idea of maybe having 2 identical trees instead of 2 different ones? thanks again for the comments.
bombel1972
8 years agoredkez78
8 years ago
Tom Flanagan