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Which trees/large shrubs for a smaller garden

zugeniezugenie Posts: 831
edited May 2022 in Plants
I’m looking at having something around 4m from the house to replace a giant shrub that’s not to my taste but does a wonderful job of screening the neighbours drive. Would a lilac work?

I’m not 100% on having a tree or shrub over having some kind of trellis solution, but I like to do my research before deciding!

Edit// forgot the important stuff, the soil is sandy loam, neutral - acidic, is east and south facing below the fence and east, south, and west above the fence, the wind tends to blow from west to east. The fence is 5ft. The most important thing for me is that it provides good cover for the birds! The rest of the garden is cottage garden herbaceous perennials. I already have an amelanchier so would like something different.
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  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    I would never consider Lilac as a specimen.
    Yes flowers are super but the rest of the year it is dull./plain/ boring.
    No fruits/ no autumn colour.

    There are many better trees..eg Sorbus, Malus, Amelanchier.
    Flowers, berries/fruit AND autumn colour.

    You will get lots of ideas from others on here.
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • zugeniezugenie Posts: 831
    @Silver surfer I like them!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Another nice small tree is the ornamental pear. Pyrus salicifolia pendula. 
    Silvery grey/green foliage. Very easy and tolerant of all sorts of sites. I had one in a previous garden and it's still there. There's a few round here   :)  
    I'm not sure why it isn't more widely planted. Maybe because it doesn't have flashy flowers - they're quite small. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    How about a weeping cherry? 
    Castor oil plant?
    Clumping bamboo?
    Trellis with a fig trained over it?
  • AstraeusAstraeus Posts: 336
    I'm falling in love with our amelanchier.

    It's in its first year. We had bright white blossom aplenty in spring and now the leaves are a soft green and they're light enough to flutter in the wind. In a few months, we'll be treated to a glut of red berries and copper-tinged leaves. It'll deliver three seasons of colour and interest.

    We've also got a malus, which greens up really well all summer and holds its red berries until spring. Evereste. Another option.
  • BlueSchoolBoyBlueSchoolBoy Posts: 100
    How about a Salix.
  • zugeniezugenie Posts: 831
    @Fairygirl that’s pretty!

    would a flowering hawthorn be ok do you think?
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    What sort of height and spread would you like the tree to achieve @zugenie, and does it matter whether it is deciduous or evergreen?  I wondered whether you wanted to screen the driveway over winter too.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • PoppypussPoppypuss Posts: 143
    If you are after a nice evergreen then I can recommend Pittosporum. We have a couple of the silver queen type with amalachier in the middle forming a screen in our small front garden. They look great and easy to trim or use as topiary if you want. 
  • parrotfeather*parrotfeather* Posts: 188
    If a large shrub would fit the bill I recommend Viburnum plicatum Maresii, which has a beautiful tiered shape, attractive white flowers in the Spring and often also in the Autumn, plus good red Autumn foliage before leaf fall.
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