Help with trees for garden - dont want to make mistakes

[Namechanger0800]

Beginner gardener here who has got the bug but am really stressing now about choosing the right kind of trees to screen the back of the garden.

Last summer we spent a silly amount of money for a tree surgeon to remove 5 or 6 humongous trees at bottom of garden including a 60ft leylandi, other large conifers, a eucalyptus and damson- all put in by previous owners and overgrown, creating a huge hemmed in feeling and nothing growing underneath. They'd also knackered neighbours fence who was so grateful we'd removed them he put new fence up straight away as had been asking previous owners for years to do something- so I really don't want to do anything that will damage the fence or cause issues

But - I am now left with a view we want to screen and soften and had thought we'd just put a hedge in but I do miss some kind of trees and want the height and shape. There is an awful corner as well where 2 different types and sizes of fences meet.

I'm now looking for advice so I can order trees for the autumn. Be really grateful for any thoughts on what I'm thinking

• the length we want to cover is about 10.5 meters
• do want a bit of shade but dappled shade rather than the complete block we had
• tree surgeons are expensive and it feels awful cutting trees down so nothing that might lead to this even in 20 years

• would a Himalayan birch be too big for corner of garden to hide horrid corner? Either that or a slightly smaller version? Or 3 trees in a triangle shape maybe but not sure how far apart to plant

• then either a crab apple or a cherry blossom - one of these in the middle at the back with a stone circle around it like a feature?

• a small rowan - like crab apple
• then a holly tree for winter interest

• how many trees is too many for this space and how far apart should they be planted? How far away from a fence?

As you can see in abit clueless - so anything you can suggest is most welcome

Rhododendrons can grow big. We just planted some for long term screening.

Be careful with Handkerchief Tree. If it's the one I'm thinking of, there is one along Marine Drive in Vancouver that is absolutely beautiful, but enormous.

Namechange- male holly doesn't produce berries.

I didn't know there were self fertile hollies.

Laburnum is beautiful but highly poisonous.

In Scotland it is thought to be good luck to have a Rowan tree at the corner of your garden. I have two and once I knew this, I noticed that a lot of other gardens have them too. It makes me smile when I see them. A hopeful message from years ago when they were planted.

One of the pieces of folklore is that you should have a Rowan near the front door, as it keeps away witches. That seems rather discriminatory nowadays.

Have a think about the shape and density in winter. So rowan - dappled shade in summer, not much substance in winter; hawthorn, denser in summer, but that's useful in winter as lots of fine twigs does more 'obscuring'

Both are great for birds too -hawthorns particularly so as the birds are protected from sparrowhawks in the thicket!

My hawthorn has just finished flowering, and the rambling rose (goldfinch I think) that grows up though it has just taken over. Very pretty! Then we'll get the dark red berries though the autumn until the birds have finally eaten them all.

Mind you, I love my rowans too, but the display or both flowers and berries, though spectacular, is shorter lived ime

I would avoid elder though, its not a great neighbour to other trees, and its awfully smelly to prune!

We have a smallish garden but have planted 5 Himalayan Birch at the bottom. They don't grow as large as native birch and some varieties don't get too large at all. There are many to choose from. The white stem is amazing. If you bring them forwards a bit and grow pyracantha up the fence, it offsets the white. The shade is dappled and they are not imposing.

We also have a few rowan but I think the birch give a better screen with lovely movement.

I find my amalancheir a bit boring tbh!

Also have a Judas tree, the white one. It doesn't come into leaf until late June.

I would go for silver birch and crab Apple.
Silver birch is the loveliest residential tree imo, it’s lovely and light and airy so creates gentle, dappled shade.
Crab apples are fairly small with lovely blossoms

The best tree I've planted is the winter flowering cherry. Just as everything loses its leaves and starts looking bare it explodes into blossom. And keeps blossoming right through to late spring. Stunning.

How about a Viburnum Opulus (snowball tree)? This is mine a couple of weeks ago (excuse the builders bag!) Easy to keep in shape by pruning once every couple of years in January.

@squashyhat

How about a Viburnum Opulus (snowball tree)? This is mine a couple of weeks ago (excuse the builders bag!) Easy to keep in shape by pruning once every couple of years in January.

DH put in one because his parents had one and he liked it - ours is a mass of suckers from the base and gets badly affected by some critter (I think viburnum beetle). I'm going to hack it right back when it's finished flowering and then try to keep it under better control. Yours looks lovely.

We have a dwarf silver birch, (been there 20 -30 years +) it's beautiful and a lovely size I wish whoever planted our garden had been as careful about all their choices! We have a cherry blossom tree too that is really lovely and a similar height. I'd give the holly a miss personally it's very dark, very sharp and I'm always trying to get rid of it as it blocks light to other things but it just keeps coming back (and never has berries) - I guess if it's where you want it, you make sure it's one that gets berries and is regularly clipped to shape then it might be different.

@squashyhat

How about a Viburnum Opulus (snowball tree)? This is mine a couple of weeks ago (excuse the builders bag!) Easy to keep in shape by pruning once every couple of years in January.

Beautiful.

Wow that's beautiful @squashyhat

I'm so easily swayed- now back on the Birches but I do like the paperbark maple suggestion as well

Might have to rethink the holly as would def want berries but if I need a male to for that it sounds far to confusing

Any other suggestions for something evergreen but not a conifer or eucalyptus - no way DH will go for that having just chopped a monster down

How about a dwarf pear or apple? I have these on dwarfing rootstock and get tons of fruit every year. Pear Beth is lovely, as is apple "discovery " or beauty of bath.

Try an ornamental pear, Chanticleer, for example.

Hawthorn, as already suggested.

A willow or two?

Cotoneasters are lovely, lots of blossom and great for wildlife.

I've just taken delivery today of a Betula Albosinensis Fascination - Chinese Red Birch, and it's beautiful. The leaves are quite close together compared with my Himalayan Birch trees, so give denser coverage. It doesn't look imposing, it's 4 m at present, grows to around 7 metres, just what I need to screen out the third floor extension that the house behind me has just acquired. I want to buy another. It truly is gorgeous

I already have a crab apple, Amalanchier, Himalayan birch, three Acers. It's really not imposing if you have a group of deciduous trees, evergreen trees cast shade.

I think I'm nearly decided

Acer griseum for ugly corner needing largest tree and most screening

Red sentinel crab apple for middle towards the back so as not to encroach on neighbours

Joseph's rock rowan the otherside

Will ditch the holly for other corner but if room after those may look at a winter flowering cherry as like that idea if you can get a dwarf variety

Any comments ??? You help has been amazing

Presume I can plant shrubs etc around this one I get the structure in and to fill in gaps?

All very well behaved trees that are quite special as well. I have a Joseph rock and really like it, the birds love the berries and it glows in autumn and is lovely in spring.

Maybe a winter flowering shrub rather than a cherry? www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwja3_uLuKPxAhX14uAKHQccDA4QFjAHegQIDhAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rhs.org.uk%2Fplants%2Farticles%2Fgraham-rice%2Fshrubs-and-climbers%2F10-agm-winter-flowering-shrubs&usg=AOvVaw188leF-0zrH8O-EU_FTim8

I have a prunus Kojo no Mai as a standard in a pot that flowers really early.

Shrubs under those trees should work well, just plant giving everything enough room to grow.

How long is your garden, out of interest? It sounds like the back border of our garden is similar, we also cut down leylandii years ago which had broken the fencing. We planted laurels all along the back as screening and have shrubs and other plants in front of them for colour but I find them a pain to prune now as they’re so fast growing. I yearn for a tree or two instead but the garden is really short especially since we had Ann extension done.

Thanks for the further replies - doing one last measure tomorrow but think def going for those 3 for now

@CurlyhairedAssassin the gardens about 17 ft long.. pretty much a blank slate since we had all the conifers out and done horrid spiky hedging

All we have is grass and a ton of weeds but I've been slowly digging the borders back in on one side and preparing the back for trees. Actually think'll put Laurel in the other side for ease as plants and trees are not cheap !

Acer Grisham I'd very slow growing. So if you want screening, it might be a while before it's large enough. It only grows to around 4 metres tall