Need ideas for evergreens in the garden

[gardenrelaxer]

Hi,

We were wondering if anyone could help - we're pretty new to all this garden lark as we have just moved into our first home ...

We have a south facing garden, but at the bottom is a horrid block of flats which we would like to hide with some trees. The bottom of the garden though does get shady and we think the soil is fairly normal (?). We're not that keen on conifers, but are after some reasonably fast growers that will keep their leaves, grow nice and tall, and provide some interest to attract wildlife

Any ideas most grateful ...

Thanks

[aeshna5]

Cotoneaster lacteus grows fairly tall + has attractive deep green leaves, attractive clusters of white flowers around May + a good crop of red berries from late autumn which are good for birds.Though ubiquitous in suburbia Pyracantha is a good doer + again a favourite of berry feeders.

A whole range of Hollies will provide interesting foliage- as well as regular dark green, there are bluish-green + silver/gold variegated cultivars- just remember that plants are either male or female, so berries only occur on latter. Some cultivar names are confusing as they imply the wrong sex!

Mahonias provide some bright yellow flowers at this time of year + important for overwintering bumblebees in gardens + the berries appreciated by birds.

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by gardenrelaxer

Hi,

We were wondering if anyone could help - we're pretty new to all this garden lark as we have just moved into our first home ...

We have a south facing garden, but at the bottom is a horrid block of flats which we would like to hide with some trees. The bottom of the garden though does get shady and we think the soil is fairly normal (?). We're not that keen on conifers, but are after some reasonably fast growers that will keep their leaves, grow nice and tall, and provide some interest to attract wildlife.
Any ideas most grateful ... Thanks

Without being able to see the location it is difficult to be definitive about how you can best proceed but .... in principle I would suggest you don't exclude deciduous planting from your scheme and that you don't rely on a simple straight line of planting across the very end of your garden.

Even in winter many deciduous trees 'break up' the visual field very effectively and although the background can be seen behind them the eye is drawn very much to the forground - this is especially so if the trunk and branches have notable colour as with the birches.

Breaking up the visual field - which is what you want to do to hide the background - can be done most effectively by planting in both the medium range as well as the most distant range you have available, so if you have a large enough garden include one or two small trees or large shrubs between half and two thirds the distance of the gardens length.

And when planting along your fence line bring some of the plants forward so that you create a sense of depth within your garden's limits - this again will help draw the eye to your trees and shrubs, even while they are not tall enough or dense enough to completely screen the further view.

As to suggestions - a fast growing deciduous tree which looks elegant in leaf and in winter - an aspen.

CM

[tufftie]

I'd go for Cotoneaster lacteus too and perhaps Escallonia Macrantha. There's also an evergreen privet (Lingustrium Ovalifolium). Buddlias are semi evergreen and are fast growing. Depends on your soil but there's also rhody - though i have a personal problem with it - spent lots of time on conservation tasks cutting it down only to spend time at Kew gently dead heading it!

[Kayleigh]

I have fences all around my garden with climbers growing up them like honeysuckle,ivy,Russian vine Virginia creeper and a golden hop. We have what I call a winter garden as it consists mainly of evergreens. Pyracantha, mahonia, cotoneaster two large bay trees, a gorgeous 10ft+ berberis you can see it on the members garden photos thread. There are lots of ideas on that thread. We also have a variegated Japanese maple called something like pink flamingo as the new growth has pink leaves.

[twylite]

great ideas, it might help to get a book from the libary.i put some of my shrubs to close togeather so now they have grown they are a bit squashed.

[Paul mabbott]

If the bottom of the garden is already shady then don't worry about growing trees. If you just want cover then certainly don't grow conifers. Two options I have used, one possibly native and the other exotic which grow fast and create summer cover but not that much in winter (not evergreen).

The best we had for supporting native insects and other wildlife was simply allowing sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus to self-seed and grow - obscured three stories of a block of flats in three years!

More exotic, less useful for wildlife but prettier, in some ways, is to get one of the fast growing Eucalyptus species - set at 1m intervals at the end of your garden they will give you a good screen within two years ....

Personally, I'd go for the sycamore but interplant them with other native species - birch, even oak (if not too close to buildings) and Scots Pine - no good for an all over screen but nice in a mix ...

Good luck, let us know how it goes ....

Originally Posted by gardenrelaxer

Hi,

We were wondering if anyone could help - we're pretty new to all this garden lark as we have just moved into our first home ...

We have a south facing garden, but at the bottom is a horrid block of flats which we would like to hide with some trees. The bottom of the garden though does get shady and we think the soil is fairly normal (?). We're not that keen on conifers, but are after some reasonably fast growers that will keep their leaves, grow nice and tall, and provide some interest to attract wildlife

Any ideas most grateful ...

Thanks

[gardenrelaxer]

Thanks to everyone for all their ideas, really appreciate them all!

[rainmaker]

I personally love the Yew tree (Taxus baccata), but you'll find it's slow growing, so you'd have to spend money on larger plants. They do have the advantage that birds like 'em, providing both shelter & food.

As previously stated, a good idea is to break up the line of vision, so you can use deciduous trees/large shrubs. There are literally thousands that are good, so it's kind of a good idea to go to a garden centre or 4 or 5 armed with a good plant book and see what they have in the sale section - especially if you're new home owners

[gardenrelaxer]

Again thanks for all the tips - one final question (we promise!) - we can't drive (must be the only folks left in Britain without a car) and so getting to garden centres is ok, but bringing anything back is a different matter!

Does anyone know of any online ordering services that could send us our chosen plants? We've used Crocus before, but trees don't seem to be it's speciality. Or are there any garden designers in the north-west that could help us?

Thanks