Tall Trees and Woodland Gardens

Tall Trees in your garden may excite you or may make your heart sink. The way you feel about the trees will possibly have to do with the size of your garden. For example, a single large tree may cast pleasant, but two or three may turn even a south facing garden into constant shadow when the garden is small and narrow.

The way many of us feel about trees often has much to do with where the trees are. We may love walking through a bluebell wood in spring but have no desire for trees or even large shrubs in our small urban garden. Where does that leave us? We may acknowledge the importance of trees and small wildlife habitats in our gardens, but have no idea where to start. We may even be unsure if it’s right for our lifestyle. My hope is that the following will help…

For your entertainment and enlightenment there are a few ‘series’ of blogs on various gardening topics. One of these is wildlife habitats, with the aim to create a mesh between the needs of those important creatures and plants and the needs of us humans. Private, or domestic, gardens in Britain currently cover a larger area than all the National Nature Reserves put together. So what we do in our gardens is crucial. But my ‘take’ on this is not about turning your garden into a nature reserve. No. I would rather delve into the needs of the humans for their individual gardens and create spaces that are usable by children, dogs cats, hedgehogs, frogs and butterflies.

Woodland Gardens

There are four main types of wildlife habitats within the British Isles. See links below to read various blogs on this topic, including design ideas for your garden. These four top categories are: –

Woodland Habitats
Wetland Habitats
Grassland Habitats
Rockland Habitats

Woodlands are made up of different height sections. These are the tree canopy formed of the tallest trees; then an understorey of naturally less tall and younger trees; the shrub and thicket section and then the ground cover plants. Woodland habitats divide into four categories, although there are overlaps one with the other: –

Managed woodland
Natural / unmanaged woodland
Woodland edge
Hedgerows

NB: Much of what to the unpractised eye looks natural will in fact be managed woodland – if not currently then previously. Britain is too small an island not to have made full use of the resources available.

Benefits of Tall Trees in the Garden

Let’s for the moment just pick out tall trees from the many plants involved. Why are trees so important? Well, trees, including both individual specimens and small woodland are able to provide to a garden: –

an ornamental aesthetic – it looks pretty
a productive, edible element, for example, fruit trees
cooling shade for humans, pets, flora and fauna
an environment for wildlife to thrive in
a carbon sink, ie absorbing and retaining carbon from the atmosphere
a play opportunity for your children, for example, tree house

Why would we not have trees in our gardens? Except when we really do not have the space, of course. Although even your balcony garden may room for a fruit tree – see suggestions below. But a woodland habitat of some description is usually possible. And even a miniature one will provide not just plants, but a home for small mammals and invertebrates.

For example, one of my favourite trees for its adaptability has to be the Hawthorn. The British native Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, with give you blossom in spring and edible fruit (best cooked!) in the autumn. Given space it will grow reasonably tall, or it can be grown as a hedge. More on Hawthorn in the link below, but it is a good example of a woodland edge species which can compliment a twenty first century garden.

Of course if your garden is big enough, there can be few tall trees more deserving of a place than an oak tree. You may find if you already have a mature oak in your garden that it has a Tree Preservation Order on it (TPO). This means you will have to apply for permission to prune the tree, unless there is an immediate risk, for example a dead branch may break, fall and land on you. Oak trees are superb wildlife habitats, and the English Oak, Quercus robur, is well known for its ability to host some 400 species. But if you fancy a woodland, consider also the Sessile Oak, Quercus petraea, with a more upright trunk than the English Oak. You will of course need space for these majestic tall trees, they will not grow for long in a pot.

Do you need further convincing on the wonder of tall trees in our gardens and in the woods and forests of this plants? May I suggest the following…

An Extract from Tall Trees Short Stories Book Review

“Coming to this book of short stories with a theme of trees and forests I was looking forward to reading and reviewing. But I encountered a problem. The Tall Trees tales were so enthralling that my pen and notebook were left untouched. Instead I wandered through sylvan trails wondering where I would I next find myself.

Some tales linked easily one with the next. Rolling into each other, the words enmeshed in the lives of small woodland creatures. The short stories have believable characters and dialogue which feels natural: no wonder I was drawn into the dancing forests.

There are horror stories and love stories; some may make you cry, others will raise a smile.

And whilst trees tall and small are the heroes of this book, they needed an empathic and knowledgeable author such as Gabriel to bring their narrative out of the forest and into the wider world.“

For the full book review see my other blog at marieowyn – Tall Trees Short Stories Book Review

The author, Dr Gabriel Hemery is a silvologist, or forest scientist, author and tree photographer. Tall Trees Short Stories will be published June 2020
To order a signed copy of Tall Trees Short Stories, or an eBook version, to read Gabriel’s tree blog, and more, head to his website

Tall Trees in Your Garden – What Next?

If you have got this far and are inspired to read Gabriel’s book and to investigate further tall trees and woodland habitats within your garden then I have helped.

Put the kettle on, check out the Plews articles below and look out at that space you know as your garden.

Have I helped place your footsteps onto the right path through the woods for you, your family, your garden and wildlife?

Then please drop Plews an email so we can create a magical wood for your children and a shady haven for you.

There are other tips and tricks, some of which can be found in other Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below, our monthly Tipsheet and regularly on Instagram and Facebook

Making your life easier and enabling you to enjoy your garden is part of what we discuss when we come to design your garden and give gardening lessons in your garden.