For those of us with only postage stamp-size gardens to play with, perhaps the very hardest decision to get right is trees. Pick the wrong one and in a few short years it will swallow up every inch of precious space, block out light and may even wreak havoc with your foundations. But if you don’t plant one at all – out of fear of such setbacks – you miss out on one of the best ways to bring structure and seasonal interest to your plot; not to mention welcome shade, tasty harvests and a magnet for wildlife. For me a garden without a tree just isn’t a garden.
So as the autumn tree-planting season is well and truly upon us, here is a selection of species that will sit perfectly in even the tiniest of gardens. All of them are easy to grow (and source), should never grow more than 5m tall and yet have the character and form of a much larger, mature tree – just in miniature. Let’s kick off in order of size.
Amelanchier Alnifolia ‘Obelisk’
The choice for designers of chic city gardens, this North American native has it all. White clouds of pretty spring blossom give way to a summer of tasty purple blueberry-like fruit, before the leaves turn blazing bronze in the autumn. All this on a stunning, branching mini tree that won’t grow more than 4m tall and barely over 1m wide, so small it can even be grown in a patio pot. There’s a good reason why they are guaranteed to grace half the entries in the “small garden” category at Chelsea Flower Show every year.
Liquidambar Styraciflua ‘Gum Ball’
Clever tricks performed at plant nurseries have resulted in a horticultural miracle. This species is an American forest giant, but has been turned into one of the tiniest garden trees, no more the 4m tall and 2m wide, yet with the same stunning star-shaped, maple-like leaves which erupt into crimson, purple and orange in the autumn. The ingenious idea of grafting the branches of this variety on to regular liquidambar trunks has created a super neat, surgically enhanced new form of the tree, which produces a dense “lollipop” canopy of foliage atop a perfectly straight stem.
Magnolia ‘Jane Platt’
If it’s show-stopping spring flowers you’re after, it’s got to be a magnolia. While there are many dwarf flowering cherries out there, for me these trees lack the naturalistic character of magnolias. A magnolia will always look like a proper tree, rather than a stunted sakura sapling.There are loads of small ones to pick from, but the delicate feather-like petals of M stellata ‘Jane Platt’ take some beating. All this on a tree that rarely ever reaches more than 3m tall by 3m wide.
So as the autumn tree-planting season is well and truly upon us, here is a selection of species that will sit perfectly in even the tiniest of gardens. All of them are easy to grow (and source), should never grow more than 5m tall and yet have the character and form of a much larger, mature tree – just in miniature. Let’s kick off in order of size.
Amelanchier Alnifolia ‘Obelisk’
The choice for designers of chic city gardens, this North American native has it all. White clouds of pretty spring blossom give way to a summer of tasty purple blueberry-like fruit, before the leaves turn blazing bronze in the autumn. All this on a stunning, branching mini tree that won’t grow more than 4m tall and barely over 1m wide, so small it can even be grown in a patio pot. There’s a good reason why they are guaranteed to grace half the entries in the “small garden” category at Chelsea Flower Show every year.
Liquidambar Styraciflua ‘Gum Ball’
Clever tricks performed at plant nurseries have resulted in a horticultural miracle. This species is an American forest giant, but has been turned into one of the tiniest garden trees, no more the 4m tall and 2m wide, yet with the same stunning star-shaped, maple-like leaves which erupt into crimson, purple and orange in the autumn. The ingenious idea of grafting the branches of this variety on to regular liquidambar trunks has created a super neat, surgically enhanced new form of the tree, which produces a dense “lollipop” canopy of foliage atop a perfectly straight stem.
Magnolia ‘Jane Platt’
If it’s show-stopping spring flowers you’re after, it’s got to be a magnolia. While there are many dwarf flowering cherries out there, for me these trees lack the naturalistic character of magnolias. A magnolia will always look like a proper tree, rather than a stunted sakura sapling.There are loads of small ones to pick from, but the delicate feather-like petals of M stellata ‘Jane Platt’ take some beating. All this on a tree that rarely ever reaches more than 3m tall by 3m wide.