A small tree that ticks all my boxes is Cornus kousa. It has gorgeous white or pink bracts in May, red berries in late summer and good leaf colour iin the autumn. Amelanchia is good too for the same reasons - I have both in my garden.
Cornus Kousa looks very nice Tony, another fab suggestion. I'm glad I turned to the Forum as I now have a good handful of tree ideas. Now to turn to the planting - I definitely want a Black Sambuca in the garden and a budleia, will have a browse of the catalogues to find plants to attract the bees and butterflies I think and work out a good choice of colour/interest for all seasons. Also getting some bug hotels. Getting excited now!
8000wildflowers, just googled your verbena suggestion, it's really beautiful. Think my garden may be a bit small for it with some of the ideas I have, however, I'm seriously thinking of introducing this to the front garden project - hmmm.
Amelanchier is a great idea--very good for all-round interest, white flowers in spring and then berries which turn black and are loved by the birds, with brilliant red autumn foliage.
I've just planted a new columnar crab apple from Belgium called Malus 'Red Obelisk'.
Another excellent tree for small gardens with a wild theme is Sorbus. There are lots of wonderful forms like 'Eastern Promise', 'Pink Pagoda' and a new columnar form called 'Autumn Spire'.
On the whole these are all more for spring and autumn than winter, but here are some other thoughts. Acer griseum became my favourite small tree in a previous garden. Photos don't do it justice and it has no flowers, but it has shining red-brown bark and very brilliant green leaves which turn to flaming scarlet in the autumn.
If thinking of shrubs, in a small garden buddleias don't have too much of a shape or much to offer out of flower--how about something more unusual: Heptacodium miconioides, the 'Seven Sons Flower'? It is a big shrub but very interesting at different times of year. Ceanothus are also good, and flower at different times; and so are Pyracantha, Cotoneaster especially as the last two go on to have berries that the birds love.
The other thing to go for is perennials with lots of small flowers in heads. Verbena bonariensis is good, also umbellifers like Anthriscus sylvestris or Chaerophyllum hirsutum or Selinum wallichianum. Any member of the composite (daisy) family usually attracts butterflies, so Rudbeckia, Helenium, Helianthus (try 'Monarch' or 'Lemon Queen'), and Anthemis are all good.
Sure you will have a fabulous garden! Don't forget to post some pictures...
It is lovely, go ahead, it's so wispy and tall you can jam it in with other shorter plants easily.
Here's a pic below of it in my crammed bed (in the middle). I think the bed was only 1 metre wide by 2.5 at the time. I've since made the beds near it bigger to make room for more...
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A small tree that ticks all my boxes is Cornus kousa. It has gorgeous white or pink bracts in May, red berries in late summer and good leaf colour iin the autumn. Amelanchia is good too for the same reasons - I have both in my garden.
Cornus Kousa looks very nice Tony, another fab suggestion. I'm glad I turned to the Forum as I now have a good handful of tree ideas. Now to turn to the planting - I definitely want a Black Sambuca in the garden and a budleia, will have a browse of the catalogues to find plants to attract the bees and butterflies I think and work out a good choice of colour/interest for all seasons. Also getting some bug hotels. Getting excited now!
8000wildflowers, just googled your verbena suggestion, it's really beautiful. Think my garden may be a bit small for it with some of the ideas I have, however, I'm seriously thinking of introducing this to the front garden project - hmmm.
Amelanchier is a great idea--very good for all-round interest, white flowers in spring and then berries which turn black and are loved by the birds, with brilliant red autumn foliage.
I've just planted a new columnar crab apple from Belgium called Malus 'Red Obelisk'.
Another excellent tree for small gardens with a wild theme is Sorbus. There are lots of wonderful forms like 'Eastern Promise', 'Pink Pagoda' and a new columnar form called 'Autumn Spire'.
On the whole these are all more for spring and autumn than winter, but here are some other thoughts. Acer griseum became my favourite small tree in a previous garden. Photos don't do it justice and it has no flowers, but it has shining red-brown bark and very brilliant green leaves which turn to flaming scarlet in the autumn.
If thinking of shrubs, in a small garden buddleias don't have too much of a shape or much to offer out of flower--how about something more unusual: Heptacodium miconioides, the 'Seven Sons Flower'? It is a big shrub but very interesting at different times of year. Ceanothus are also good, and flower at different times; and so are Pyracantha, Cotoneaster especially as the last two go on to have berries that the birds love.
The other thing to go for is perennials with lots of small flowers in heads. Verbena bonariensis is good, also umbellifers like Anthriscus sylvestris or Chaerophyllum hirsutum or Selinum wallichianum. Any member of the composite (daisy) family usually attracts butterflies, so Rudbeckia, Helenium, Helianthus (try 'Monarch' or 'Lemon Queen'), and Anthemis are all good.
Sure you will have a fabulous garden! Don't forget to post some pictures...
It is lovely, go ahead, it's so wispy and tall you can jam it in with other shorter plants easily.
Here's a pic below of it in my crammed bed (in the middle). I think the bed was only 1 metre wide by 2.5 at the time. I've since made the beds near it bigger to make room for more...
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