Welshonion, would it not at least tempt birds into the garden as perching space? I think with the size of my garden I'm not going to be able to do much else, other than have a place birds can perch and fly down to the feeders and use as cover from predators.
Ideally I'd have Sorbus', Alders, (highly toxic to have with children and a dog) Hazel, Birch, Malus', Ilex's, Crataegus, Etc, but I have to work with what I have.
I've been reading on tree spacings, nothing helpful has come up, but a couple of places have recommended 3m apart. Does anyone know if this is for woodland trees only (smaller ones) or can this be used for, let's say, a malus, (Golden Hornet) a Sorbus, Prunus, etc...
A perching place, what's the point of that when you can plant something which will be of use to bees, or other insects or provide food for birds? For instance a wild cherry, rather than an ornamental cherry would be suitable. Elderberry would be suitable too.
Alders are pretty big trees. Have you thought of trained fruit trees along your fences?
I think you need to do some more research, and certainly ignore any tree that will grow to 10 metres!
Adam, I'm wondering what your neighbours have. Do you need a tree? I know that websites/books say "It's a must" for wildlife but if your neighbours have trees, you could have a complementary place-- a sunny border. With a small garden you can't provide every type of habitat. I want as much sun as possible in my small back garden but I'm lucky in that my next door neighbour has two trees. I get plenty of birds in my garden. If you do want a tree, Crabapple Laura is small and upright. Also... I understand about the need for fences-- my dog easily goes through the toughest hedge--but why can't you have shrubbery up against the fence? We have euonymous and ivy that was there when we moved in an birds fly into that. Or a pyracanthus? I think those of us with small gardens have to be realistic about our spaces and we can still welcome wildlife but have to limit ourselves to just a few habitats. Good luck.
You have probably now made a decision and got soreted out by now, but as this is a forum I thought I'd get my two-penneth in!
My own take on wildlife gardening is that whilst I generally choose plants of maximum value to wildlife I also sometimes choose ones because I like them - hope I don't get lynched for saying this (only kidding!)
I also have one of those columnar cherries and for the fortnight that it's in blossom the bees love it almost as much as I do. I hang a bird feeder from one of the branches (above the reach of cats and a cage -type on to prevent collared doves from spilling half of it and gorging on the remainder!)
To prolong human and wildlife benefit I have also trained wild honeysuckle up it (it doesn't grow vigorously and won't do any damage to a young tree) and also some sweet peas. Tying in the latter is a bit fiddly.
My own garden (both front and back) is pretty tiny but it's surprising what can be done to maximise limited space. Once I've figured out how to attach photos I might start a new thread with some of my own tricks.
I do agree though that native trees or cultivars of them might well serve you better. Some commonly used native hedging trees e.g. hawthorn stand up to pretty austere trimming and some native trees such as hazel can be coppiced - cut to almost ground level - every few years.And you could always train a honeysuckle up them too!
Thinking laterally here, there's no pic, but it reads like your path is straight. If you were to introduce either curves or zigzags, you could get both a wider section of border on the sunny side and a wider section of lawn for playing on. The tree could easily come towards the centre at one point, as Obelixx suggests, without looking wrong, and your garden would be less obviously narrow. Don't know if the idea has any appeal or if it would be possible, but more food for thought!
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Welshonion, would it not at least tempt birds into the garden as perching space? I think with the size of my garden I'm not going to be able to do much else, other than have a place birds can perch and fly down to the feeders and use as cover from predators.
Ideally I'd have Sorbus', Alders, (highly toxic to have with children and a dog) Hazel, Birch, Malus', Ilex's, Crataegus, Etc, but I have to work with what I have.
I've been reading on tree spacings, nothing helpful has come up, but a couple of places have recommended 3m apart. Does anyone know if this is for woodland trees only (smaller ones) or can this be used for, let's say, a malus, (Golden Hornet) a Sorbus, Prunus, etc...
Alders are pretty big trees. Have you thought of trained fruit trees along your fences?
I think you need to do some more research, and certainly ignore any tree that will grow to 10 metres!
Adam, I'm wondering what your neighbours have. Do you need a tree? I know that websites/books say "It's a must" for wildlife but if your neighbours have trees, you could have a complementary place-- a sunny border. With a small garden you can't provide every type of habitat. I want as much sun as possible in my small back garden but I'm lucky in that my next door neighbour has two trees. I get plenty of birds in my garden. If you do want a tree, Crabapple Laura is small and upright. Also... I understand about the need for fences-- my dog easily goes through the toughest hedge--but why can't you have shrubbery up against the fence? We have euonymous and ivy that was there when we moved in an birds fly into that. Or a pyracanthus? I think those of us with small gardens have to be realistic about our spaces and we can still welcome wildlife but have to limit ourselves to just a few habitats. Good luck.
You have probably now made a decision and got soreted out by now, but as this is a forum I thought I'd get my two-penneth in!
My own take on wildlife gardening is that whilst I generally choose plants of maximum value to wildlife I also sometimes choose ones because I like them - hope I don't get lynched for saying this (only kidding!)
I also have one of those columnar cherries and for the fortnight that it's in blossom the bees love it almost as much as I do. I hang a bird feeder from one of the branches (above the reach of cats and a cage -type on to prevent collared doves from spilling half of it and gorging on the remainder!)
To prolong human and wildlife benefit I have also trained wild honeysuckle up it (it doesn't grow vigorously and won't do any damage to a young tree) and also some sweet peas. Tying in the latter is a bit fiddly.
My own garden (both front and back) is pretty tiny but it's surprising what can be done to maximise limited space. Once I've figured out how to attach photos I might start a new thread with some of my own tricks.
I do agree though that native trees or cultivars of them might well serve you better. Some commonly used native hedging trees e.g. hawthorn stand up to pretty austere trimming and some native trees such as hazel can be coppiced - cut to almost ground level - every few years.And you could always train a honeysuckle up them too!
Thinking laterally here, there's no pic, but it reads like your path is straight. If you were to introduce either curves or zigzags, you could get both a wider section of border on the sunny side and a wider section of lawn for playing on. The tree could easily come towards the centre at one point, as Obelixx suggests, without looking wrong, and your garden would be less obviously narrow. Don't know if the idea has any appeal or if it would be possible, but more food for thought!