New build - need trees!

[DieLemma]

I’m very much a non-gardener. We have recently moved to a new build and I need a couple of trees or bushes which will hide some fence supports and the bottom of the garden.
As we’ve just moved, I can’t afford a lot but just wondering what you Green fingered guys would recommend!
Thank you!

I love trees in gardens and even in our tiny town garden we have a silver birch and three fruit trees on dwarf root stock (so they don't outgrow the garden)

But you need to think about your garden as a long term project. If you buy bare root trees in autumn or spring they will cost a fraction of the price of potted trees and will romp away next year.

In the meantime you could just attach some hanging baskets with trailing flowers to cheer things up instantly.

Yep. I agree. If you plant a tree now it will need loads of regular watering until autumn or winter or it will die. I would spend the summer flicking through websites for tree nurseries and daydreaming about beautiful trees. Should give you plenty of time to find a perfect tree and then you can order it in autumn for winter/ spring delivery.

Also worth knowing that newbuild gardens are often full of rubble, so it might be worth trying to improve the soil a bit/ dog some rubble out before you try to plant a tree..if its really bad you moght need to put a raised bed in first.

For trees I like good bang for buck so something with a few different seasons of interest like a flowering cherry or an Acer or an amelancier.
If you pick a columnar version then it won't take up much space either.

My favourite tree which I planted is a liquid amber. Beautiful colour changing leaves. Not enormously big but not puny. I just stuck it in a hole and it did the rest.

For that right hand corner to hide those ugly supports, you either want something growing on the fence to cover them, or a bushy evergreen shrub. If you put a tree there you'll just see the supports past the trunk. Plant a tree (following the various recommendations re type and time) in the other corner.

So.. shrubs... depends on the location (how much sun, what sort of soil) and what sort of thing you like eg are flowers a must or not?

You've got some lovely suggestions there for a small garden. Acers are wonderful and can be bought everywhere at the moment in pots. The supermarkets even have them - and I've had many from there that have all thrived. Just bear in mind Acers do not like a windy spot or being too hot!

You had good advice on buying later in the year re watering, etc. Also if you put your trees in after Autumn you'll be able to save money (or buy bigger specimins) bare rooted. There are some really good companies online who sell bare rooted trees - they sometimes advertise themselves as selling hedging but if you look they'll have a big range of trees. Some decent nurseries sell through Ebay as well.

Are those drainage holes at the base of that wall? Is your neighbour higher up than you? If so, you may find that you get quite a lot of water through them in winter, you may want to choose varieties that don't mind that.

Which way does your garden face? How much sun will that spot get?

The younger the trees you plant the faster they'll grow and establish. They're more likely to find their own way in the possible rubble than an established tree that is a couple of years old and will need more of a fuss for planting.

Choose carefully though, as PP said think what it's going to be like in the future and be aware of roots potentially damaging walls.

We live in a rubbly new build and planted two apple trees, two cherry trees and a hawthorn which are all doing well. I also have a pear which I have to treat every autumn/winter for some sort of insect problem otherwise the leaves drop off in the spring. It's fine if I do this though and has healthy leaves and fruit.

Trees can become stressed in trashy soil so try to dig out as much as possible and replace with top soil. Fertilise and mulch every year. Assume soil fertility is poor and pamper the trees a bit.

Trees won't be any good - they will be too tall and won't hide the fence supports. You need some bushy evergreen shrubs, like viburnum tinus.

Yes, or maybe some sort of laurel?