British Native Trees and Shrubs, Introduction

Trees and shrubs form the bones of a garden, providing structure and height and defining the shape and overall appearance. However large or small and whether there be just one or several dozen, it is the trees and shrubs that will set the tone throughout the year rather than the fleshing out with herbaceous flowers. They provide fixed points either in full leaf or as attractive, dark skeletons in winter, and they create living screens against prying eyes, traffic noise and to some extent, pollution. Trees in particular have a long-lasting impact on the garden and they need to be selected and sited with care. To an extent they will dictate the growing conditions for other plants, providing shelter from the wind, casting varying degrees of shade, taking water from the ground.

As well as their structural role, providing height and shelter, and creating living screens against prying eyes, traffic noise and to some extent, pollution, many native trees and shrubs have a beauty that is compatible with the British climate and soil. They also nurture a rich diversity of animal life. Those described include hazel, hawthorn, hornbeam, holly, buckthorn, sea buckthorn, beech, box, birch, broom, daphne, juniper, crab apple, guelder rose, spindle, wayfaring tree, wild privet, goat willow, rowan, yew, bell heather, field maple, dogwood, alder buckthorn, holly.

Climbing plants and shrubs trained against walls and fences are particularly valuable in small gardens, taking up little ground space. And, as long as they do not cover the crown, climbers, such as honeysuckle and ivy, can be grown through trees. Those described include honeysuckle, ivy, dog rose, field rose, burnet rose, traveller’s joy, hop, St John’s Wort, woody nightshade or bittersweet,

When planting young trees, people sometimes forget to calculate their ultimate size and put them too close together. Placing large forest trees too near a house can lead to trouble, for in a drought the roots can damage foundations in their search for water. So in small gardens it is sensible to use smaller trees. The rowan, even its larger relatives, the common whitebeam and wild service tree, are easy to manage in gardens, as are also the crab apple and holly, and the smaller growing spindle, juniper, hawthorn, elder and hazel. The field maple is modest in growth, has autumnal tints and also makes a good hedge.

On an exposed or new site gardeners often want quick-growing trees. Willows and alders grow fast on moist soils but willows can be competitive with other plants, and are easily damaged by wind. Although willows and alders both become large trees, willows happily tolerate cutting back by pollarding or coppicing. This also provides a useful supply of garden sticks which can be used for stakes, but strip the bark off first so they won’t grow! For a drier, sunny site the silver birch is hard to beat as a fast-growing ornamental.

In the wild or in the garden, each species of native tree or shrub is host to its own array of animal life. Exotic species, on the other hand, may be appealing to human beings but are often offer little to the indigenous wildlife. Take the London Plane, for instance, which is a fine city tree but a great disappointment to birds as it does not support the insects on which they rely for protein, especially to feed their young. Sixty different species of conifers are widely grown in England, yet only two, yew and juniper, are indigenous, forming a tiny percentage of the total number in cultivation. Unfortunately, forests of introduced conifers are relative biological deserts compared with the deciduous woods they replaced.

In contrast, one oak tree sustains over 284 insect species, as well as numerous birds and mammals – even the bark nourishes a flora of mosses, liverworts and lichens. Goat willow is not far behind, maintaining well over 200. The table below shows the numbers of insect species associated with native trees in Britain:

Tree Species	# Insect Species
Oak (Quercus) Willow (Salix) Birch (Betula) Hawthorn (Crataegus) Blackthorn (Prunus) Pine (Pinus sylvestris) Alder (Alnus) Elm (Ulmus) Hazel (Corylus) Beech (Fagus) Ash (Fraxinus) Lime (Tilia) Hornbeam (Carpinus) Hornbeam (Carpinus)	284 266 229 149 109 91 90 82 73 64 41 31 28 28

Apart from their beauty and their obvious compatibility with the English climate and soil, there is sound reason for growing native trees in order to nurture a rich diversity of floral and animal life.

Gardening With Native Trees and Shrubs. Trees and shrubs form the bones of a garden, providing structure and height and defining the shape and overall appearance. However large or small and whether there be just one or several dozen, it is the trees and shrubs that will set the tone throughout the year rather than the fleshing out with herbaceous flowers. They provide fixed points either in full leaf or as attractive, dark skeletons in winter, and they create living screens against prying eyes, traffic noise and to some extent, pollution. Trees in particular have a long-lasting impact on the garden and they need to be selected and sited with care. To an extent they will dictate the growing conditions for other plants, providing shelter from the wind, casting varying degrees of shade, taking water from the ground.