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This is my first 'post', so here goes......We have been in our new home for just over a year and are beginning to get to know the garden and wanting to make some additions. We would like a wildlife friendly tree, something that won't grow any higher than 4m, with lots of berries for birds. Looking forward to any suggestions.
Doggie just beat me to it, I was just about to say Rowan.
Caroline in Jersey
Cin J
Hi Margaret
I would endorse Pyracantha. It's evergreen with masses of red berries. Its sharp thorns give somewhere for the small birds to retreat if pursued by a predator.
What about a crab apple tree. There's loads of varieties so you should be able to find one of the right size to suit your garden. Early blossom for the bees and other insects and if you leave the fruit on the tree to soften and fall you could get winter visitors like Redwings and Fieldfares.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Hi
I would also recommend pyracantha - you can get different coloured berry varieties. We have a red and orange variety and last winter the blackbirds guarded the bushes and stripped them bare of berries. They are hardy and need little maintenance - if I can grow them anyone can !! Cotoneaster trees bear berries and dont grow too big - planted one about a year ago and doing ok.
Hope this is hepful - good luck !
Jayne.
See my Flickr photos here.
I agree with the suggestions above but you might like to think about an amelachier. I love this tree in my garden. It has year round interest with furry buds catching the light in winter, early blossom, july berries [fought over by blackbirds] and great autumn foliage. It only casts a dappled shade and is used as a perch tree in my garden.
The only work I've had to do is to take off a couple of lower branches as it grew and to take out the occasional sucker. I have one grown as a bush in my front garden too. The cover given by a pieris and a daphne nearby allows blackbird chicks to be left there while the parent bird grabs the berries for then until they are strong enough to get up there themselves.
I would also agree with an Amelanchier for the garden.
I planted one last year so still only tiny.
You have lovely blossom in the spring,berries in summer,super autumn colour and when the tree is older you have a nice tracery of branches for the winter.
It does not grow too high or too quickly and is ideal for the smaller garden.
Here is a photo of one my Mum planted,she grew it more as a multi branched shrub but if you take of the lower branches you can have a small single trunked tree.
Rachel
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
Don't forget buddleia, not so much for winter berries but for insects and butterflies in the summer which in their own right will attract birds. We also have a big Oak tree at the bottom of our garden which attracts all manner of birds but notably: Woodpeckers, perch for a Buzzard and stripped of Acorns this Autumn by Rooks & Jackdaws which actually was very entertaining!!...
As above Pyracantha for berries and thorny protection. The same with Hawthorn which I grow as a boundary hedge at the bottom of the garden. Contoneaster is a shrub really but will grow quite big if allowed and is full of berries in the winter months.
You might find the recent thread 'WILDLIFE GARDEN' of interest as there are several posts with plants for wildlife on... can't link it so for reference the details are:
'WILDLIFE GARDENS' posted in Greenfingers by Tom Turner on 24th Sept 2011 at 5:19pm.
Welcome to the forum, Margaret. I'd certainly recommend Pyracantha, (Firethorn), my mum has one and seen the birds strip the berries from it. Crab Apple is another one which attracts birds for my sister. I have a low growing Pyracantha at the front and am going to get one for the back - my garden is also quite small.
Annie
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
Einstein
For a stand alone tree that won't exceed 4m and has lots of berries for the birds you will be hard pushed to find better than a rowan. These are often prolific with berries and are popular with lots of birds including robins, blackbirds and the other thrush species.
Crab apple and bird cherry are both other options to consider that provide birds with plenty of autumn food. Hawthorn is one of the best all round wildlife plants to have in the garden and they can make quite good feature trees when planted on their own although they really come into their own as part of a mixed hedge.
Other berry bearing plants that can be grown as small trees that deserve a mention are spindle, guelder rose and buckthorn. Check out the RSPB advice for planting trees here.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.