What tree for play area - help needed

[PeregrineDive]

We are in the process of landscaping the garden and are creating a play area on one side for DC with a playhouse/ swings etc. There are currently no plants in the garden which is an ongoing project and DS(nearly 3) keeps asking for trees as he's currently obsessed. We want to encourage his love of trees so want to plant a tree in the play area for him by the playhouse (he calls it his treehouse so this will be 'his' tree) but are not sure what's suitable (novice gardeners learning as we go!). Can anyone suggest some trees that meet these requirements?

Max height 6m, spread 4/5m. Ideal height probably 4-5m
Clay, well draining soil
Sunny spot (south facing garden, but tree will be about 2-3m away from the SW corner fence)
Fairly quick growing so DS can watch it grow
Fairly hardy (to cope with toddler touching it, and we are in Scotland)
Something of interest for him - tactile/flowers/fruits etc. He loves purple
Price - as cheap as possible!

Does such a tree exist? Is there anything else we should consider? Thanks in advance for any suggestions

As your in Scotland I’d go for a Rowan.

You’re *

Hi @Beebumble2 thanks for your response. I like the look of rowans, but aren't the berries poisonous? I wouldn't trust DS not to try and eat them as he loves fruits and berries.

We have a Rowan and our whole garden currently stinks (will do now for a few weeks - it’s the blossom) then it will be covered in poisonous (but not exactly deadly) berries.
It’s a pain and I wouldn’t choose it! (Wouldn’t chop it though)

An apple tree

Thanks @ForkedIt I think we'll give rowans a miss then. It's a shame as they are pretty cheap at my local nursery for a decent height.

If you have a limit on size, there's no point in getting something fast growing, because they don't know when you want them to stop!

How about an apple tree? An eating variety. Flowers and fruits. There are loads in flower available now.

Ahh, sorry I didn’t think of that! Stupid me! I would plant a fruit tree, but it depends how sheltered you are.

Ooh, DS would love something he can eat fruit off of. By fast growing I just mean something that each year there is a noticeable height difference (unlike acers etc which I think can take years to grow). Would apple trees be suitable for this, or maybe pear or cherry trees?

Japanese maple would be great, the leaves are a deep red and lovely to touch, it grows into an umbrella shape, mine used to love sitting under it. Perfect size.

@Beebumble2, what do you mean by sheltered? We are in a housing estate with the gardens all backing onto each other. I'm on the west of Scotland under 10 miles from the coast so it can be fairly windy. The corner the tree is going in is probably the most sheltered spot of the garden as one neighbour has a large shed on their side and another has a wooden hot tub shelter. The playhouse (on stilts) will also act as a shelter I guess.

It sounds fine. I’m used to the windy West coast where the trees get blown sideways

No it's not that bad! All our neighbours have lovely gardens so it's definitely suitable for trees. It's just us that have nothing (we didn't realise when we bought the house that the garden was waterlogged clay and very little would grow in it. We've spent months sorting the soil and drainage to get to this point). All the neighbours sorted theirs years ago

Advantage of a fruit tree is that they are grafted on to a root stock which governs their eventual size.

Or crab apple - not poisonous but should cure him of any tendency to eat random fruits

Crab apples are gorgeous (how do you choose the type though when there are so many pretty ones!?). And maybe it would be good for DS to see that not everything is really tasty to discourage him eating from random plants. We will be getting him involved in a little veg garden, which he'll love.

You could go for tried and tested - John Downie for red flushed fruits, Golden Hornet for yellow fruits, both really good croppers.Fred Jade is a beautiful weeping variety which looks stunning in flower but the fruits are smaller than pea sized. There are probably modern varieties which are even better.

Thanks @MereDintofPandiculation I'll look into them. I think I saw some John Downie at the local nursery

Victoria plums are nice reliable fruit trees for gardens. Quince are beautiful trees with lovely soft furry leaves and both gorgeous blossom and really unusual delicious fruit.

I would go for an apple tree in Scotland...generally hardier than pears/plums as they blossom a bit later....if you look up hard apple tree Scotland you'll get a range of varieties...and you can get different size rootstock so not too big for a tree that's a few years old...but we probably take a while to settle in..
Only trees in pots this time of year which will be less varieties but more instant to plant....otherwise bare root usually in late autumn to plant..

If space would also recommend blackcurrants....Hardy and fruit quite quickly and don't get too big
Raspberries also fab but generally need space/training

Great, I'll have a look into that thanks.
In a slightly different direction, what's the general opinion on amelanchier? My local nursery has them at a decent size/price and I admit I've seen them a lot on tv (on mat leave at the moment and watching far too much Garden Rescue 😂).

Great, I'll have a look into that thanks.
In a slightly different direction, what's the general opinion on amelanchier? My local nursery has them at a decent size/price and I admit I've seen them a lot on tv (on mat leave at the moment and watching far too much Garden Rescue 😂).

Quince is a southern tree, but I have one in Yorkshire which is fruiting reasonably well, and West Scotland is a lot miler than E. In the same line is the more hardy medlar, again with pretty flowers, beautiful golden fruit, which can be eaten, bletted, with cream or made into a delicate fruit jelly.

Amelanchier is a fabulous tree. With the right species you get pinkish new foliage, masses of white flowers in April, tiny black fruit loved by blackbirds, and finally gorgeous autumn colour. How much most of these are appreciated by the average toddler I don't know. You could try another direction and go for hazel - catkins are attractive to any age, and finding and cracking nuts is good fun. Squirrels are an added bonus.

Katy apple trees are quite fast growing and produce lots of tasty, versatile, attractive red apples.

We are already planning a hazel elsewhere in the garden, though I'm not sure exactly where yet. I could move it to the play area. DS loves to touch plants as we walk by so would definitely like the catkins.

DH has asked me to narrow total list of trees down to 4-5. I've probably got around 20 on my short list