Anyone got any suggestions for a small but beautiful tree for my little front garden?

October 29, 2010 12:17 PM

Anyone got any suggestions for a small but beautiful tree for my little front garden?

I'm looking for a small tree, around 2m to about 4m high, for a pretty small english front garden (you know the ones!) that gets sun most of the day as it is south facing.

I had some kind of flowering cherry tree in mind but wondered if anyone here had any personal favourites that I could ponder over...

posted by aqueousdan to Science & Nature (15 answers total)

I've always been partial to dogwood varieties.
posted by valkyryn at 12:18 PM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Don't know where you live, but if you keep it trimmed back every year a crepe myrtle is a beautiful bloomer all mid to late summer!
posted by matty at 12:26 PM on October 29, 2010

I have a star magnolia about that size, which I like very much. They need a lot of dampness, though, which your location may or may not provide.
posted by ErikaB at 12:36 PM on October 29, 2010

What's your climate like?
posted by cyndigo at 12:37 PM on October 29, 2010

How about a Japanese Maple?
posted by talkingmuffin at 12:37 PM on October 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

Seconding Japanese Maple.
posted by seventyfour at 12:38 PM on October 29, 2010

princess flower tree is also a nice smallish flowering tree
posted by supermedusa at 12:42 PM on October 29, 2010

Juneberry (aka shadberry, serviceberry, saskatoon) vary by variety from about 2m to about 5m. All have lovely white flowers in spring and turn vivid red to darker crimson in the fall, giving you or the birds moderately-tasty berries in mid summer. Good cold-hardy option.
posted by aimedwander at 12:42 PM on October 29, 2010

Response by poster: @valkyryn I have a couple of dogwood trees in the back garden looking absolultely wonderful this time of year. I had thought of one for the front too as I love them so much but feel a change coming on :D

@cyndigo Pretty hot and dry in the summer, exposed and wet pretty much the rest of the year!

I had pretty much ruled out the little acers as I have a few lovely ones out the back on the patio but I could be persuaded!

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I love the look of the Juneberry!
posted by aqueousdan at 12:54 PM on October 29, 2010

My parents have had a lilac tree in front of our house for as long as I can remember (full sun, lots of rain in spring/fall). It's probably about 3-3.5m tall now. Bonus: in the summer, they open the front windows, and the entire room smells like lilac.
posted by specialagentwebb at 1:01 PM on October 29, 2010

Seconding lilacs (I have a couple) and Japanese maple (I've got one of those, too).
posted by thomas j wise at 1:15 PM on October 29, 2010

I love redbuds, and they can be pruned to stay smaller. Also the red-twigged dogwood (really more of a shrub) which is insignificant in summer but provides such a nice burst of winter color.
posted by cyndigo at 1:36 PM on October 29, 2010

There was a house down the street from where I used to live that had a wisteria in the front yard. I always thought wisteria was some kind of a vine but this was definitely a small, tree-looking bush. Planted right out in the middle of the front yard.

It was absolutely stunning, even when it wasn't in full bloom.
posted by TooFewShoes at 2:27 PM on October 29, 2010

The Arbor Day Foundation website is pretty good. They match you with trees appropriate for your climate zone.

I just checked your profile and it seems that you are in the UK. The Arbor Day website is UScentric. Sorry.

Have you considered a shrubbery?
posted by Gringos Without Borders at 4:57 PM on October 29, 2010

Rose of Sharon is a wonderful tree that flowers from mid summer until frost, beautiful blooms all over the tree. I love lilac and I love cherry as well but they are a short lived thrill. The Rose of Sharon can be pruned to tree or kept as a shrub.
posted by InkaLomax at 6:00 PM on October 29, 2010