Plants

Easy, hardy and fast-growing, it forms a medium-sized tree. In winter you will find the delicate tracery of their branches against a winter sky, and the crisp whiteness of the bark a real bonus. An attractive garden has the potential to add value to your property and that applies to small or courtyard gardens just as much as it does to large acreages. 9-15m.

However, if your budget doesn’t stretch to a mature tree, or if you’re looking for a rare cultivar, which may only be available as a sapling, then you need to buy from a reputable nurseryman and confirm the trees were propagated from cuttings (which will ensure they are genetically identical to the mother tree).For broadscale planting of woodlands, buying saplings in bulk is likely to be the most practical option. Medium-sized and slender, with a lightly spreading crown, this tree is ideal for broadscale, naturalistic plantings. By entering your details, you are agreeing to Gardens Illustrated There are many trees widely available for smaller gardens, in all shapes and sizes, evergreen and deciduous.

When young the bark is smoother, but develops with age.

order back issues and use the historic Daily Express Has a stately habit, long catkins in late spring and golden autumn leaf colour.

The smooth bark peels freely in sheets. Available from specialist nursery with 20 years experience & affordable nationwide delivery.

Your budget will no doubt guide your choice.Birches lend themselves well to cultivation as both standards (single-stem specimens) and multi-stem, with different forms conveying distinctive moods in a planting scheme.Discover some of the most glorious gardens from around the world. Compact trees for small gardens. Provides rich, golden autumn colour. This weeping silver birch cultivar, ‘Youngii,’ grows to between 13 and 26 ft. (4 – 8 m) in zones 2 to 7. 12-18m.Cultivated by Stone Lane Gardens, this highly ornamental Himalayan birch has rich orange bark and prominent lenticels in horizontal bands. With its lightly spreading crown, it’s a real show stopper. 9-15m.The rich, glossy, dark chocolate-brown bark peels freely into spectacular, fine sheets of copper orange. 25m.Birches are generally exceptionally hardy and relatively easy to grow in sun to light dappled shade, on most soils, dry or damp. USDA 2a-9b.A highly unusual tree with fabulous, rough textured flaking bark; a real eye-catcher. Slender and conical in shape, with good yellow autumn foliage.

Has a lightly spreading crown. Given that many of us have limited space in which to garden, it becomes important that any trees chosen are right for their surroundings, in terms of proportion as well as for their decorative value. 12-18m.Ideal for woodland or copse planting, producing trees in a myriad subtle shades of reddish orange, light brown, yellow and pink. 9-12m. Extremely hardy.

See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, Discover 20 trees for small gardens. They are famed for their stunning bark which looks great throughout winter. newspaper archive.Silver Birches can brighten a garden during the winter Graveyard Cypress – Cupressus sempervirens Stricta

These small trees are perfect for gardens with limited space or you can plant one in a container. 9-15m. Most nurserymen will go on to name the second most popular tree as This is one of the starkest whites of all the B. utilis var. Perfect tree for height in a small space. We are here for you. Safsaf Willow – Salix mucronata. Dark, glossy green leaves turn a good butter-yellow in autumn. 9-15m.Less showy than its white cousins, but shares the same vigour.

So my solution is to create a raised round garden bed with steel edging to reflect the rest of the gardens shape.

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Sign in to manage your newsletter preferences Get Gardens Illustrated delivered now 12-18m. Birch trees have the most beautiful bark. 12-18m.With arguably the darkest bark of all, this Himalayan birch looks as if it’s sculpted from smooth, dark chocolate. Smooth in young trees, the bark gets rugged at the base in older trees. Expect to see the following options (listed by increasing quality and value): bare root (soil shaken from roots when harvested), rootball (supplied with soil around roots), plastic-container grown, bagged (grown, or stabilised in bags for at least four months) or grown in Air-Pots (containers designed to promote fibrous roots).