Garden trees

This is my front garden. All the trees have been styled myself from things i've dug out of gardens or grown from small trees,except a couple of box balls i got cheap . I just have to wait for it to mature a bit more to get the shapes i want for the clouds.

Very cool Smithy. Almost has a whimsical feel to it.
Steve

Agreed, very colorful as well! Do you happen to know what the pink maple cultivar's name is in the 6th picture, love that pink placed in with all the greens.

Your garden is very pretty Smitty! You have put a lot of work into it. I like the pink maple too. I am also intrigued by the tulip tree; has it bloomed for you yet?
Todd

Looks great, Neil. What's the thing with the big leaves to the left of the pink maple in picture 6?

Thanks guys for the good comments,i do love my garden.

The acer is 'butterfly ' i think.

The tulip tree hasn't ever flowered and maybe won't as i have to keep it trimmed to fit in the garden. I have a mature one in a garden i work that is flowering at the moment and looks great. I would love mine to flower.

The big leaved tree is Pawlownia tomentosa, foxglove tree.

Beautiful yard!

Smithy wrote:The big leaved tree is Pawlownia tomentosa, foxglove tree.

Careful with that one....it grows super fast, it can ruin your yard's balance. Untouched, it will probably be more than 10 feet in less than 2 years.

Poink88 wrote:Beautiful yard!

Smithy wrote:The big leaved tree is Pawlownia tomentosa, foxglove tree.

Careful with that one....it grows super fast, it can ruin your yard's balance. Untouched, it will probably be more than 10 feet in less than 2 years.

Thanks Dario.

Nothing goes untouched for long in my garden. By chopping down every year it sends out these big leaves. I must have had it for at least six years. I was considering digging up and putting in a big pot as i was thinking of letting it grow big.
I've got a few things that if not touched would go wild , like sequiodendron .

Is that big tree in photo #1 a tulip poplar (liriodendron)? If so...how does it respond to pruning? Will it put out multiple growth spurts in a summer? Have you ever chopped the trunk? That is a tree that I'm going to be experimenting with but am just in the very early stages.

coh wrote:Is that big tree in photo #1 a tulip poplar (liriodendron)? If so...how does it respond to pruning? Will it put out multiple growth spurts in a summer? Have you ever chopped the trunk? That is a tree that I'm going to be experimenting with but am just in the very early stages.

Hi Chris ,
If you look at pic 7 you can see the new growth at the top from when i trimmed a lot of shoots a few weeks back. I think it would put a few out in a year. Last year i took most of the leaves off so i could see the branches and tied some down into place . It bounced back nicely. I've never chopped the trunk on it though .

I'm growing the bottom branch out at the moment to thicken it up.

Smithy that is beautifull, and will be even more so in the future.
What is the tree in pic nr 3, is that Wich hazel? Not something we find here, I'm very jealous.
Here is my Cloud...... It needs a trim desperately...takes hours hours... and only on cloudy days.

Hi Andre. Thanks.
I really like your cloud tree. What do you use to trim with . When i make clouds in other peoples gardens( I am a gardener) i use a petrol hedge cutter. A lot quicker and i find i can get a smoother finish .
I have started to trim my own garden by hand as i like the relaxation of not using machines but i need to find the right tool. Something spring loaded . I was wondering what the sheep type ones are like.

The hazel is a corylus avellana 'contorta. I really like them and this i grew from a whip. I have one big one as a bonsai.

Hi Smithy. I thought I was looking at some of my own trees for a moment! You've done a good job - bet you get a lot of comments from passers-by! I use blade shears, the old fashioned manual sheep shearing type. Not only are they perfectly balanced, but they are efficient and easy to keep sharp and amazingly satisfying in the hand. Once you've mastered the technique they are also very quick. I guess you can pick up a pair easily in your neck of the sheep-shearing woods!
In passing I'll mention Chemaecyparis Pisifera "Boulevard" as a long term candidate for your "Niwaki". I bought one as a pot plant 30 years ago in Cornwall, and was assured it was a dwarf. Like all garden dwarfs, given long enough it will grow tall. This one did 10ft in 20 years and formed a thick foliage canopy. After another 7 years the wife wanted rid of it. I pulled all the brown inner dead foliage out, leaving only the outer foliage and behold! - a Niwaki cloud tree. Bit more trimming to smarten up and she changed her mind. Now it seems to get a lot of admiration. When she gets back from her short holiday I'll get her to take a pic and post it. Looking at your Avatar you have plenty of time left to do the same to a "Boulevard"!!
Cheers. Rick.

Smithy that is truly awesome, and I've got to have one. Does it form seed redily? The Hazel. And does it grow from seed easily? You can see where I'm going with this.....right?

I trim the cloud and the toparies in the garden with my new toy..... the shears doesnt do it for me anymore... ha
Hedges also gets done with the Petrol hedge cutter.

Hi Rick, I would love to see your "Boulevard. I should have kept the two i had as bonsai that i got rid have ,they would have gone well in the garden. The garden has got a few bits in that i thought would make good bonsai when i first started. What you did to your "Boulevard is what i get people to try out with unwanted things in their gardens. If they don't like it then they can always chop it down again.

Here is a clump of ash that was at least 15 foot tall and in overgrown part of the garden.



Here also is a garden that was just planted with shrubs and over the years i'm shaping it all. This is a few years ago so it has matured a bit since.

Andre Beaurain wrote:Smithy that is truly awesome, and I've got to have one. Does it form seed redily? The Hazel. And does it grow from seed easily? You can see where I'm going with this.....right?

I trim the cloud and the toparies in the garden with my new toy..... the shears doesnt do it for me anymore... ha
Hedges also gets done with the Petrol hedge cutter.

I had looked at those Andre and thought i should get some . Just find it hard to spend the money on them. I will get the shears like Rick suggested for those relaxing clips and will look out for some of the shears like yours . There will be someone out there who some sitting around they don't use.
The hazel is usually grafted and i'm not sure if it comes true from seed. Mine does have a few seeds now and again , i should try them out some time .

Smithy, here's that Boulevard I mentioned. (An older pic, before it was smooth trimmed this year). Showing you because I've not come across one that grew 3 metres - no doubt someone will prove otherwise! Cheers.

Thanks for showing Rick . I love seeing peoples creations in their gardens. Do you balance on a ladder with your shears doing the top ones.


anyone else got any creations in their gardens.

Morning. Yes on steps, but holding on to a fixed trellis and leaning precariously! Good idea to ask others, but I guess we should be in "The Lounge" - Fiona will be chasing us! This is Niwaki, not Bonsai - or is it?

Nice bit of colour starting to happen .

I see you have same problem as I do Smithy....take good picture on the boarder of the light and shadow....Love your garden...just need a lot of time to build and grow