Choosing a tree for a garden is difficult because you cannot have them all. At least with annuals and perennials you can have a collection. So how do you choose from the lists in my previous posts and your further research.

Height and width are obviously the most important attributes but then there are many other features to consider, deer resistance, the flowers, leaf colour and shape, the bark, the form, the root system. Different trees have very different forms and are not at all like the lollipop trees a child might draw. Some have a pyramid shape such as the Lindens, Tilia. Some have a cascading form such as Weeping Birch, Betula pendula. Some are tall and narrow, known as columnar or fastigiate, such as Swedish Aspen, Betula erecta or a conifer such as Juniperus scopolorum ‘Blue Arrow.’ Conifers are known to have a wide shallow root system affecting the planting around them, whereas deciduous trees tend to have a deeper root system. Deciduous trees are more fire resistant, an important consideration these days. There are so many considerations.

Consider the place and then choose the right tree for the right place.

Just for fun and to bring a focus to how different they all are, try to name the trees that produced these leaves. I will post the answers in a couple of days.

Answers Feb 14 ’24 1: Mountain Ash 2. Buckeye Chestnut 3.Harry Lauder Walking Stick 4. Gleditsia 5.Bur Oak baby 6. Amur Maple. 7. Apple (Any Prunus is close enough!)8. Maple 9. Sumac