I want trees, lots of trees!

[WildFlowerBees]

Ok not lots but more than the 2 we have. We have a 30ft x 40ft garden. Neighbours to the bottom right corner. We've planted crab apple and a Gleditsia but I'd like evergreen trees. I want a sort of forest feel if that makes sense. Issue is our garden has a gentle slope to the bottom, clay soil and it's so so wet.

Is there anything that loves water doesn't have a huge root system that's got some interest all year round and importantly good for the birds?

I have a great book on forest gardening that lists the following to tolerate winter waterlogging:
Alders
Downy birch
Oak (English and sessile) but too slow and then too huge I imagine!
Hawthorns

None evergreen! But hawthorn great for wildlife and lovely blossom.

Then for waterlogging tolerant shrubs it suggests bog myrtle, Highbush cranberry and willows.

Thank you! May I ask what book you have?

I have a Strawberry Tree (Arbutus) which is evergreen, quite a few Photinias, including some variegated and a Pink Crispy. I thin them out all the time so that they don't become too dense and oppressive. Also a couple of Ceanothus grown as small multi stem trees.
Of these probably the Photinias would do best in your wet clay.

It's 'Creating a Forest Garden' by Martin Crawford. A lot of it is aimed at bigger spaces but my garden is similar to yours and I found it an interesting read in terms of thinking of it as an ecosystem.

Thank you, that's helpful

@napody thank you, I'll take a look.

Agree Strawberry tree is a lovely one.

Alder and willow love water and you can literally just snap a small branch off a willow and shove it in the ground and it will form its own root system and grow into a tree. Magic!

Also, if you plant sufficient trees I can almost guarantee the sogginess of your soil will improve. We had a heavily waterlogged garden from years of sheep compacting the soil, but we filled it with trees and it is like a giant sponge now soaking up the water even with heavy rain.

Like you, I am very fond of trees, and have around 200 of them in my garden.

They are nearly all in bonsai pots. 😂

I have a very small urban garden but also wanted lots of trees. After watching this video from Wild Your Garden, I created a similar mini woodland border at the end of my garden. I did it with bare root trees so they are only tiny right now, although I did add in an existing holly shrub for some evergreen interest. I can't wait to see how it will look in a few years - very excited to give the birds somewhere to hide/roost/perch.

We have clay soil and a soggy garden but nothing stops the hazels and holly sprouting all over the place.😠

Hmmm... might be worth trying a rowan. They have lots of fruit for the birds. The one I planted has done OK, but it's not in the wettest part of the garden.

Viburnum × bodnantense 'Dawn' not evergreen blut flowers a lot of the winter here in the south and attracts insect eating birds. Viburnum opulus has berries birds love but little winter interest once they've gone.

Ilex can be attractive and there are some smaller/slower growing varieties, we have Ilex × meserveae which grows to about 2ft and as males they can serve as a pollinating partner to female Ilex. While not providing food, when they grow larger the can provide shelter.

Betula utilis have amazing white, pinkish or brown peeling bark all year round and provides nectar for bees and butterflies, shelter and a safe spot for birds.

Evergreens I'd suggest are Thuja ( conifer that can be cut back hard without turning brown, often used in hedging) Magnolia Grandiflora and don't forget the bamboos.

Deciduous would be Ginko, Kerria, some pears and cherries, wegelia, sambuca, lime and the very hard working Amelanchiers for interest in all seasons.

I m so chuffed my username is relevant 🤣🤣🤣

Willow trees. Surprisingly quick to grow as well. Ten years and it’ll look quite mature.

As an aside
We moved house last week
Went back to our old house that we had planted 2 silver birches out the front to add to the existing 4 already there ( about 50 years old ) . The b…… new owners have cut the lot down.
All gone.

Our old neighbours also told us they removed the 100 plus year old cherry tree, willow ( we planted ) and two more silver birches from the back garden. In fact every single tree. What sort of an idiot does that.

Lesson learned if they get flooded now they have no trees 🌳☹️ .

How long has it taken for your rowan to gain some height.
Our willow grew 3/4 metres in 10 years but the rowan only about 1.5m. ( clay soil too )

I'd be careful not to plant anything that is going to be a problem for your neighbours. Make sure you check the typical spread of any of the trees you plant and see how much they are going to encroach on your neighbours garden. I never plant trees on the edge of my garden.
Having said that I have tree in my garden that overhang my neighbours gardens (they were plants before I moved in) and it's not a problem as I check with my neighbours and get a tree surgeon in every couple of years to keep the trees in check.
There are some beautiful evergreen trees around and some awful ones. They can make gardens feel dark and the fact that many have very dense and 'heavy' looking foliage can make them more static and one dimensional looking than some deciduous trees.
I'd also really think about how thirsty the trees you are looking at are. You don't want a tree that's going to leave the ground dry and useless (eg eucalyptus)
Id look at copper and regular beech - they are inexpensive and although they are deciduous they retain their leaves over winter. They are also very happy to be cut back.
I also like silver birch but you need to check the type and check its a good fit. I'd choose a multi stem variety with a more compact shape. It would need planting more centrally in your garden. I like the dappled light they give in the sunshine and the way the leaves move in the wind. The silver trunk gives year round interest.

Not sure how my suggestions are in your type of soil but they are usually tolerant. You can check!
I don't think willow is a good idea unless you have a massive garden / they are know for having massive root systems. (But maybe there are some varieties that aren't as much of a problem) again, you can check.

The devils in the details with trees - you need to know the exact type you are buying.

Sorry for all the typos

Beautiful as they are I think beech is supposed to struggle in wet clay- when I planted a hedge in a wetter bit of my garden I was recommended hornbeam instead, which is also a lovely standalone tree.

@plantatreetoday that must have been upsetting to see :(

@BingoDingoDog OP says her garden is very wet, so trees drying out the soil is unlikely to be a problem. Beech on the other hand I think prefers a better drained soil.

There are many species of willow, the smallest not growing to more than about 10cm in height.

In the wet end of my garden I have a swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum), deciduous with good autumn colour, Cornus mas, covered with yellow flowers in Jan and Feb, a Whitebeam (Sorbus aria) which shouldn't be happy there, hawthorn, a couple of flowering cherries, lots of hollies. Next door has a lime (Tilia sp) which they pollard but which still goes to 2-3 times house height. By”wet” I mean after rain tge water can go to 6inches deep while it soaks away slowly through the clay

Mount Aso willow! Gorgeous pink catkins in early spring, only supposed to grow to about 3m, and being a willow I think it should survive wet soil.

So many suggestions! Thank you.

Really good point about some trees making it look darker in your garden. I'm off to look at trees tomorrow at my local nursery. I do need some for screening plus my neighbours kids ball is forever making its way over and last year took out my rose tree. So if I can get something that won't let a ball through, all the better!

Eucryphia could be lovely if your soil is acid?

Can't remember when it was planted - it was a small sapling my MIL got from a friend. Must be 25 to 30 years old. It's pretty tall - maybe 15 metres? But it's quite a slender tree and would be OK in a normal garden.

Holly, variegated holly, laurel, camellia, eleagnus, evergreen shrubs which can get pretty tall.