[Gerrymadden]

Hi all. My house is on a half acre site which was open on three sides. I have since planted laurel hedging on all three sides. I would love now to plant trees along one side. I would love green then purple / red trees then green again etc. was thinking green beech then purple beech but would love some other suggestions. Thank you in advance

[aine]

Hi Gerry
This time last year I was thinking the same as you. However i changed my mind about beech. instead I planted Maples (Acer)...I bought a fantastic selection of lots of different types of maples and they looked lovely last year.

i bught them bare root and they were all only about 4 foot high but they were a really good price and that was important as i needed so many

best of luck!

[Gerrymadden]

Yes maples are lovely trees I especially like crimson king. I was afraid however to use maple as I read they don't like wind and where I'm planting can get a lot of wind. Maybe I could try one or two

[Sive]

Might you be thinking about Japanese Maples ? They certainly don't like wind. I hadn't heard that about the other maples.....

[Anonany]

Like Sive, I think the "Japanese" maples might be a bit iffy, but haven't experienced any problems with the taller varieties. We're on a hillside and whilst a lot of the garden is pretty sheltered, the trees do get their fair share of wind.

Crimson King is as tough as they come, but -- lovely as it is -- I find it has quite a solid canopy, so can cast a bit of shade. My other two were bought as un-named seedlings (grown and sold by Irish nurseries, not garden centres) and they have much lighter and more delicate canopies. From a shade point of view, not dissimilar to birch trees and just as hardy as far as I can tell. They were planted over twenty years ago and haven't had a "bad" year yet.

The two un-named's (one of which is a snake-bark type) both have lovely bark, so lend themselves well to being bare-stemmed and allowed to rise above the hedges. Birch also looks good in the same situation but -- in my garden -- I prefer the common-or-garden type rather than the fancy-stemmed ones since they fit in better.

Having said that, I do love the buttery-yellow, smooth and shiny bark of the twisted willows. Again, they can survive anything the weather can throw at them, but have a delicate and pretty canopy.

Something like flowering cherries might also be a thought if you'ld like a bit of variety in the mix.

Would you consider fruiting trees ? The medlar is fun, but can be a bit vigorous. Apples or pears might be too much of a scrumping temptation on the perimeter, but I find crab apples, wild plums and sloes equally interesting and they offer plenty of seasonal change. They're not, generally, particularly tall so might work well interspersed between the larger trees.

Most of the above give good Autumn colour as well but they none of them beat the Liquidambar when it comes to intensity. To me, it's absolutely magnificent and -- most years -- manages to hang on to many of it's leaves until Christmas Day. Slow growing, but well worth waiting for it ! It's probably most often planted as a specimen, but there's no reason why it couldn't be successfully incorporated with perimeter trees, especially acers as the leaves are very similar.

I'ld better stop now but I'm sure you've already guessed ... I do love my trees !

[aine]

wow anonany! i read your post twice....so interesting and very obvious that you love trees!!

[James Kilkelly, was GPI.]

[Gerrymadden]

Thanks Anonany for that reply. It is really informative and has given me lots to think about. Thank you so much. Glad to hear that about the maples and also the other suggestions. Ill have to do some more research.

[Gerrymadden]

just looked up liquidambar - what a magnificent tree. I love it!

[Anonany]

Delighted you enjoyed my comments, Aine ... I'm very lucky to have enough space to indulge my love of trees. I'ld love to grow more, but even a roomy garden has only so much space !

Thank you, James, for providing the picture. My snake-bark "type" seedling had quite pronounced markings when it was younger, but they're somewhat more muted now ... not as obvious -- or as green -- as the markings in the photo, but lovely none the less.

I've always thought it a pity that the texture, colour and markings of bark rarely get much of a mention. You have to look up to see the leaves ... but the bole hits you right between the eyes every time you pass it !

You're going to have great fun, Gerry, planning your tree planting. I've only chatted about some of the trees that I grow. There are thousands more equally wonderful varieties from which to choose. When I was planning my trees, I consulted lots of books and asked lots of questions. If I was doing it now, I would also scour Irish Garden Forums and Irish blogs for the simple reason that if "X" grows well for someone with a similar climate and soil, it will more than likely do well for me too.

Glad the liquidambar caught your fancy. I was completely hooked from the moment I first saw one !