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help needed for small garden centre piece
chad gibson
Posts: 34
in Talkback
Hi once again i wish to ask for more help.
I have a small front garden 6mtrs x 4mtrs and i would love to place a nice flowering evergreen shrub/tree as a centre piece.
Preferably i would like something to grow too around two mtrs high, evergreen and very hardyas well as very fast growing. My garden faces east and the sun hits until noon.
The soil is more clayish than of good drainage as prior to my work in the garden there had been hardcore and plastic sheeting covered in gravel however the clay is easily trowelled. I have seen many types of shrubs but i don't know what will be best for me and i'm hoping someone can help. I have seen a pic of what i think would look like but i don't know anything about it.
Thanks
Chad
0
Posts
Hi Chad, I'm very new to gardening but that looks like a magnolia to me, have Google at a picture and see what youy think, best of luck with your project
Thanks Pansy
I seemed to remember they are slow growers, its the reason I don't have one...very impatient womble! 
they are beautiful though 
Heck what a fast response i love the Magnolia you have identified for me but gutted it doesnt grow quickly. Would you by any chance be able to recommend anything similar?
You could have a look at Viburnums. V.Bodnatense 'Dawn' is not quite evergreen, but it holds its leaves for quite a long time in a mild winter and comes into leaf early. It has bunches of little pink flowers on the bare stems in mild spells through winter and then flowers more generously in summer. The flowers are very sweetly scented too, which is a treat, especially in winter. It can get quite large but will take pruning. V.tinus 'Eve Price' is semi-evergreen, but a dark, sombre, unglossy green that may look a bit gloomy in winter. It has clusters of white flowers, tinted pink in bud, followed by blue-black berries. The flowers are not noticeably scented, but again it will take pruning. I don't know where you are, but it doesn't like the cold winters where I live and struggles, even though it is classed as hardy. V. Bodnantese on the other hand is a delight!
If you like the look of the magnolia it is still worth thinking about. M. Stellata is a smaller tree/shrub that flowers earlier than other varieties in the Spring and has pretty, starry white flowers in generous numbers. The leaves are a pretty light green and very tidy. In winter you have an intricate twiggy skeleton to look at, with exciting furry grey buds as an earnest of joys to come. The one in your photo is probably M.'Susan'. I have 'Satisfaction' which has lived up to its name for me, flowering reliably from the beginning, even in a pot. These are deciduous, but the new 'Fairy ' hybrids are mainly evergreen. Crocus has a good selection of Magnolias - they are mouthwatering plants, but most prefer acid soil.
supposed to be semi-evergreen. I have 'Satisfaction', which has lived up to its name for me, flowering reliably from the beginning, even in a pot. The new hybrids are better for your purposes than the older varieties as they flower when much younger. Crocus has a good selection.
As pansyface says, anything growing quickly isn't going to miraculously stop at a couple of metres, so it's best to decide whether you want something attractive which will take time, or just something fast growing which you'd need to prune and trim regularly. If it's the latter, you may want something you can turn into a topiary specimen, such as yew or box. If it's the former, something which will provide flowers in spring or summer but also some autumn colour to extend the interest.
Buttercupdays has given you some good choices already, and I'd also add Amelanchier lamarckii for flowers in spring with berries and good autumn colour later. The spindle tree Euonymous alatus is renowned for autumn colour too. Sorbus ( Mountain ash not Whitebeam) have spring flowers with berries to follow and good autumn colour. They all get bigger than 2metres but they have light canopies. There are also shrubs like Hydrangea which would be happy there. For a specimen, I'd go for something with a good strong shape as a main priority.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Oooh, a pieris would be lovely!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Well what can i say the response has been fantastic and for that i thank you all for the terrific advice. I have decided to go to my nearest garden centre armed with all recommendations and see what i can find. Sorry about my late messages last night i did not realise how late it was.
Thank you all.
Chad
I've bumped a thread for you of Fairygirl's suggestion of Spindle tree. SugarRay uploaded a cracking picture of his in Autumn Colour. It's gorgeous.
Not a camellia in an east facing position as it won't like the early sun on frosted buds and they too look dull when not in flower so are not for a prominent position.
Have a look at choisya ternata Sundance and other golden froms of this shrub. The golden foliage will light up the space all year and, when happy and settled, it will produce scented white flowers.
Avoid fast growing shrubs as they are, by definition, thugs that will need constant pruning and shaping to keep under control.