Which tree?

[IcelandicWarriors]

Hot garden needing shade. To be planted at the edge of a sunken patio.

I like foliage and to sit under.

Peach Avalon Pride. Apparently it can get to 4M, cercis chinensis shirobana or Indian bean tree. I think this is late to leaf.

Indian bean is v late.....mid/late May but worth the wait. Marvellous colour (ours is the light green..see piccie, but the black version is lovely too) Ours is well above 4metres but it's mature. Magnolia grandiflora also lovely and in leaf/flower all year round. Will drop leaves and buds on your head though so possibly not the best choice!

Is your garden very big? Is that multistemmed? We are a new build but garden ok size. It will be over the patio. They can be pruned easily? Do you love it?

I have many trees.
Ornamental plum - very pretty, purple leaves.
Rowen - quite dull
Variegated maple - lovely.
Pear
Apple
Willow
Lilac.

I would go for the plum.

Do you have a picture of the plum?

Anyone have a peach or cercis?

The plum is to the left. No idea how old it is. We have it pruned a bit every few years.

Many trees!!

That plum is lovely too. I love trees!

Hi OP. Yes, v big garden and over 60 trees of all varieties. The Indian bean is one of our favourites though as it's just so pretty when in leaf. Yes, it seems to have a couple of main trunks and spreads out rather than up (ish) We've pruned the odd dead bit and also a large lower branch which just got in the way. No adverse reaction. It's a small tree in comparison to most in the garden but it's just v beautiful. We are considering getting a black one too.

You got me wondering about the trunk so another photo here. The top of the photo is approx 7 feet high so tree must be about 25 feet in all (almost 8 metres) I suspect that you can make then straighter with better pruning!

I like the split trunk as DD could sit in it. Would it stand its own in a smaller garden?

We have several Graywood ghost birch and am amelancheir already.

Absolutely....it would suit a smaller garden better to be honest. X

We have cercis forest pansy which is a beautiful tree & works in a space space with split trunk. The wood is brittle & not for kids to climb though