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.

I'm with eimearcahill, there is absolutely NOTHING tasteful about my Christmas decorations, it's excess everywhere. I did suggest when my daughters both got to their twenties that I might scale things back a bit but, after a reaction that could have earned them a walk on part in The Grinch who Stole Christmas, I realised that it was obviously very important that I spent the best part of a day turning the house into Santa's grotto :D I now have a granddaughter so I am resigned to many more years to come....

Hi. I think pruning the roots on a birch tree would be prohibitively expensive( and probably pointless). Ideally trees need to drop their own leaves onto their own roots and for nature to take its course in terms of temperature control and moisture retention etc. As soon as there is human intervention the roots will suffer, from compaction, dehydration or just severance. Certain trees will 'put up' with interference better than others. Birch is a colonising species and therefore fairly tough. I think your options are as follows; cut straight through the roots and take a chance that the tree will be unaffected. Stop the edging where you have and start again a similar distance the other side. Or you mention slabs to the lawn edge? if you are laying them horizontally as in a patio, lay the ones over the roots on sharp sand or a very lean mix of sharp sand /cement. If you are using 100mm x 1000mm slabs as edging, get a local builder to cut one piece lengthwise and don't dig it in so far. The last option is the preferred one and will appear visually the same as the others. Brian

A better photo would be helpful, all I can see is 1 yellow leaf amongst a bunch of healthy looking ones, leaves do get shed by any deciduous tree - this is what scab looks like: Personally I'd keep it, you can spray it which would help but you're probably not going to eat the fruit anyway unless you're intent on making crabapple jelly? I have an old Bramley apple tree in my garden, it's completely rubbish, covered in canker but it still has blossom, the apples are still edible & it allows me to grow climbing plants up it so it serves a purpose for me. Taking a tree out of a garden really needs thought as it will totally change the space & as you say, shade is really welcome (unless it's a Leylandii tree, in which case it should be torn out & burnt, possibly with celebratory dancing round the fire...)