Very small trees for the small garden

 Here are three trees suitable for patio containers or borders in a small garden.    

        

Acer palmatum 'Orange Dream', currently a light green colour, has wonderful spring and autumn foliage that gives it its name.  This tree has been growing in this pot since 2007 with an annual spring top-dress of fresh acidic compost and fertiliser and plenty of water in dry spells.  It thrives in semi-shade, its position in my garden, and occasionally needs light pruning to maintain its largely upright shape.    

Betula apoiensis 'Mount Apoi', still rare in the UK, is one of the two birches of choice for very small gardens (the other being the betula pendula fastigiata I described earlier in the year).  This is a young tree, planted in March, but it already has, in miniature, the multi-branched structure and white/tan bark of a large birch.  I bought this from Junker's Nursery for rare plants, www.junker.co.uk, where it is described as 'surprisingly dwarf ... with tremendous potential in a small garden'.  It is growing in enriched alkaline clay and I have tried hard to keep something of an exclusion zone around its roots to prevent it having to compete for water and nutrients (as I was advised to do by the nursery),  but for a gardener in a small garden bare earth is a wasted opportunity!  I compromised by planting a few small perennials and ornamental grasses beyond the root ball (like the primula and sedge to the left and right).  The other major plant in this border is the golden variegated dogwood to the back left of the picture, which is cut to the ground each spring to ensure there are bright young stems for winter interest (the subject of a winter blog, perhaps).              

 

Another acer, this one conspicuum 'Red Flamingo', a striking plant in summer and winter with its fascinating variegated pink, white and green foliage and bright red stems.  Housed, fed and placed like the 'Orange Dream', it has thrived thus far.