Tree guilt

[Gettingbysomehow]

I feel so awful and guilty. My beautiful 60 foot tree must come down. I didnt plant it the last owner of my house did but its only a small courtyard garden and the tree fills the whole space.
If it falls down in a storm it will wipe out my house and the neighbours house. The roots are heading towards my foundations so it has to go.
The birds love it.
I'll need to replace it with a more sensible tree for a courtyard garden. Has anyone got any bird friendly ideas for a small slim growing tree?

a Sorbus could be a good shout, I had a Joseph rock in my courtyard garden, flowers, berries for the birds. I loved it. And in 25 years it didn’t get out of control. Or a small crab apple….

Evereste crab apple. Gorgeous blossom in the spring, long lasting tiny apples that will keep the birds going for much of the winter. Easy to keep in shape if needs be.

Do you have space to keep some of the logs from the tree you're having to remove @Gettingbysomehow ? You could pile them up to make hidey holes for other beasties that might still benefit the birds. A mixture of diameters will work best.

Yes I do this. Im currently building a victorian style fernery with logs. I love ferns.

That sounds lovely @Gettingbysomehow - good timing. Every cloud 😉

Just a bit of a wild card here, but how about a Dicksonia Antarctica instead of a normal tree? They are a wonderful plant in a sheltered space and the sight of the new growth unfurling in the spring is so wonderful. They can grow very tall if happy but don’t have an extensive root system.