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| We'd love some suggestions for an ornamental shade tree that we could plant in the grassy area near the top of our long back garden. The yard slopes downhill to the river and gets constant sun so we need a small tree that not only thrives in direct sun but also will spread out and provide shade in the garden. Because we live along a river, terrific winds blow upriver in the winter; the 'perfect' tree should be hardy enough to tolerate those conditions.
Some background --- We live in southern CT along a tidal river. As the crow flies, we're about half a mile from the sound. We've been here nine years & have done all the landscaping ourselves, except for putting in the Heritage birch, the fence, and the patio area near the river. Our back yard faces west and gets full sun. I never thought I'd be saying this after living in the woods for 30 years, but we have too much sun! My husband installed an irrigation system, which he runs according to rainfall amounts, and we've found that, even with it, the top part of the garden suffers most from all the sun. Here in the east, this has been a hot summer, though nothing like what our neighbors are suffering through out west! I'm including photos to give you an idea of the layout of the land. The first shows our view of the river from the deck. We don't want to hide this view so we're thinking of a small shade tree in the grass about level with the Phlox 'Davids' We have 3 trees in the back. Betula nigra'Cully' on the left, a staked Pinus sylvestris 'Inverleith in the back near the path, and a staked Chamaecyparis 'Special Variegated' on the right by the grey rock. We know these will grow and shade the back areas in time.
Between the holly 'China Girl' on the right and the Miscanthus 'Gold Breeze' on the left is the crispy part of our garden that we'd like to shade some.
Taken from behind the Chamaecyparis, this shows the slope of the yard, the Weigla under the windows and the side yard, which faces north and is shaded.
The last pic from behind the birch gives a good view of the slope and the area we want to shade. Our neighbors, who are very nice, don't do much work around their place and so we don't mind hiding that view with a tree.
We would appreciate any help or direction you could give us. Thanks so much!
Molie |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Perhaps one of the Redbud selections. Oklahoma and Appalachian Red should be good in zone 6, and have extra colorful flowers in the spring. In the case of the Oklahoma Redbud, thick shiny glossy leaves along with drought resistance. Crabapples could provide multi-season interest if you use disease resistant selections. Also if you have a very well drained DRY site (i.e. don't water it), then American Smoke Tree Continus obovatus could do well there. They have a unique Aqua foliage, and fantastic color in fall. Chalk Maple Acer luecoderme is another favorite. Small version of Sugar Maple that is drought resistant and has great fall color. However, very difficult to find of any size. They can grow fairly quickly however when happy. Shantung Maple Acer truncatum should be happy there as well. tough trees these are, and early to leaf out. A plus in my book, as it's not prone to freeze burn even if it has shoots. Good to excellent fall color, small yellow flowers in spring, and corky bark for winter interest. These are just a few of my favs. |
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| Thanks, Arktrees! I like the idea of interest throughout all the seasons --- leaf and bark colors and even flowers. We'll do some research online then see if we can find them any place locally. Actually, we don't mind a smaller tree because that's about all we can handle. Molie |
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- Posted by gardenapprentice none (My Page) on Mon, Aug 6, 12 at 22:03
| Crape Myrtles add season intrest as well as heat and drought resistance, though you may not be able to make it bloom every year since your in Connecticut, you may be right on the Z 7 line though. |
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- Posted by gardenapprentice none (My Page) on Mon, Aug 6, 12 at 22:07
| however your crape if you choose will be like this if your weather isnt hot and dry for the most part, they thrive in hot dry and sunny locations like Virginia, NC, SC, Florida, Louisianna, OK, Tennesee, Texas, California, NYC, NJ, Iowa, basically all places that get temps over 90 degrees each year. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Aug 7, 12 at 8:10
| most if not all trees.. prefer full sun .. some are shade TOLERANT ... its all about proper planting.. and proper aftercare.. FOR A TREE ... as compared to other plants ... and the usual key there is soil drainage ... if you have clay.. or seasonal flooding etc.. that is a bigger consideration.. rather than 'full sun' ... ken |
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- Posted by mad_gallica Z5 Eastern NY (My Page) on Tue, Aug 7, 12 at 8:17
| I'd recommend starting with getting a pole about the height of the ideal tree, and seeing how much something that tall blocks. Then you can start working on what the real problem in the garden is there. |
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