Planting a yew tree on a cemetery is an ancient custom, designed to keep away “evil” spirits.
This healthy 400 year old ash tree stands within 8m of a house in Vlaams Brabant, with our seal of approval.
Why choose a tree for your garden?
Trees are highly attractive plants. They contribute to the height, shape and structure of a garden. They can create attraction points or screen things if necessary. Trees have a very high life expectancy and are not demanding in the sense of maintenance. They attract life in a garden, both in the branches as on the ground below. Trees also create shade and shelter.
The most important aspect, besides your personal taste, is finding out how large the tree can become in your life and afterwards. Good idea if you want to maintain a good relationship with your neighbor / council. A recurring problem is people contacting us because they are amazed at how big their tree has become: “I can remember this being a tiny shoot, now it’s covering my house.” They often ask us then if we can just simply cut a few branches of, something that could be fatal for the tree in question.
Our tip: get plenty of information about your future ‘guest’, e.g. go to arboretae or parks. Find out what your possibilities are. Measure your garden.
The right tree in the right place
Most people tend to give a tree the standard 8 meter diameter room. Not at all enough if you consider that a thousand year old oak tree has a diameter of 25 meters.
There is plenty of choice in the “small” tree department if you need an alternative just because you don’t have a garden the size of a football field.
Size, pitch (structure and composition) and history of the planting area are all things that matter when considering which tree to plant.
Just one example why history matters: certain illnesses are still present in the soil due to cultivating potatoes (past and present).
This might seem logical seeing as the potato belongs to the Solanaceae family, notorious for their absorption of toxins in the soil. Because of this natural purification, bacteria are attracted to the toxins in the soil. These bacteria are not harmful to man or potato, but can cause fungi to develop in certain trees nearby. So that is why in newly developed housing areas on ex agricultural terrain these fungi remain dormant. This not another anti farming statement (some of my best friends are farmers!) merely a sketch of the problems in an ever-shrinking world.
In conclusion to your tree choice there are a few important points:
- Ground conditions (ph-factor, dampness, history and future)
- the reason for planting a tree (esthetic or practical?)
- The eventual tree size and shape (branch /leaf size and character, colour)
These are merely a few guidelines to guarantee you success and lower the costs and increase the fun! |
