Hi, I am a new gardener and I am looking for some trees and shrubs to start my garden (which is just a plain grass lawn right now). It would be a big help if you could recommend some plants to me. I live in Burnaby with an east-facing garden. I am looking for a fast growing tree. Would birch be a good choice? Can you suggest a suitable type of birch for me? Also, please recommend some nice evergreen shrubs that don't grow too tall. Flowering ones would be nice too. I am planning to plant some evergreen shrubs and some flowering shrubs at the end of the walkway (at the entry of the front door). Thanks a lot!
Birches have various drawbacks that may become tiresome on some sites. If you are concerned about space a full-sized birch may not be a good choice. There are dwarf cultivars available but I don't know if any of these are being offered in Canada - and being dwarf they have a different aspect than the full-sized ones. And they won't shoot up tall, if you had some reason for wanting this - you don't say. Likewise with the other plants if you could indicate specific attributes and what is hoped to be accomplished (shading, screening, softening foundation etc.) you will get more useful responses. http://www.arthurleej.com/a-Trees of merit.html
Thanks for your reply. Can you recommend a good tree choice then? I was considering birch because they are quite beautiful and supposedly fast-growing. Basically I want a fast-growing tree with nice leafy foliage that is not too difficult to care for. The shrubs are for decorative purpose/mark the end of the pathway/front entry. Please recommend some evergreen shrubs so they are still pretty in the winter.
I just checked your site and I am interested in crape myrtle tree and crabapple tree. Are they fast growing and low-maintenance?
Not my site. Most crabs grow fast and are easy if you pick disease-resistant ones, such as those mentioned by Jacobson. Crape myrtle comes along pretty quick if you plant a regular tree-sized variety and not a shrubby or dwarf one (there are even miniature selections). But it needs a hot wall in this region to flower.
I'm not sure I'd give up on the birch so quickly. For one thing, most birches are fast-growing and beautiful trees. On the downside, they don't live very long (though 25 or 30 years would seem long by human standards) and a single birch specimen, standing alone, starts to look leggy and forlorn as it gets tall and loses its lower branches. So I'd recommend a multi-pronged approach. First plant birches in a little "grove" of at least three, maybe five or even seven plants. (Odd numbers work better in group plantings.) You might choose a species like river birch with interesting bark to add winter interest. Second, plant some slower-growing but more durable and, ultimately, more majestic trees like maples or oaks, to fill in more slowly after the birches are past their peak. You could see what's available in the nursery trade in your area, but Quercus rubra, northern red oak, is relatively fast-growing for an oak, especially in its early years and its leaves turn attractive though muted colors in the fall. For evergreen shrubs, I'd recommend some local research in the form of driving around looking at other people's houses, deciding what kind of thing you like, then checking at a local garden center or landscaping firm to see what the plants are. This seems like a more personal choice because the shrubs are going to be more, so to speak, in your face every day. Here are some candidates worth thinking about, though: Oregon grape (Mahonia), holly, pieris, small-leaved rhododendron (or evergreen azalea if they are hardy in your climate), boxwood, clump-forming bamboo, dwarf or low-growing conifers (too numerous to list). It's also worth considering a mixed planting of evergreen and deciduous shrubs. In fact I would personally recommend this. The effect is more dynamic, less heavy and monotonous than with an all-evergreen planting. Many ever"greens" turn dark and gloomy in winter, and some take on different hues altogether (such as purple or copper tones) -- an interesting effect in itself, but not always the kind of thing people have in mind when they imagine cheerful green foliage greeting them on a January day. Many deciduous shrubs, on the other hand, have appealing shapes or bark that's interesting in some way -- bright red or green or yellow, for instance (like some dogwoods) or warm-colored and peeling (like ninebark or, for that matter, river birch). This should be a fun project and the results should reflect your own tastes and personality. If you like birch, plant birch. The important thing is not to rush through the process so that you end up with something that doesn't please you.
Since there are lots of white birches native and naturalized in your vicinity the possibility of birch leaf miner infesting a birch if you plant it there presents itself. This turns sections of the leaves brown. "Birches are many in nature and in arboretums, but only White Birches (B. pendula, B. papyrifera*) are at all popular in gardens, and these are hugely popular: Throughout the temperate world, White Birches are among the several most-planted trees. In a home garden, a White Birch is at its best when young. Perhaps the tree should be cut for the fireplace at about age fifteen, for as it matures, the birch will shade out the lawn and its roots will starve underplantings. But behold the young birch: a lyric, especially when several or many are planted together. In such a grove planting, let the trees stand about 4-14 ft. apart. (The old three-trees-in-one hole ploy usually does not lead to a naturalistic effect, because the three will lean away from one another.)" --Schenk, THE COMPLETE SHADE GARDENER (1984, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston) *B. utilis jacquemontii is now much-planted locally Odd numbers are not required to produce attractive drifts.
I recommend caution when considering birch. There's a pest called birch borer; we've had a lot of problems with birch is recent years. If you are looking for a special tree look into a small maple tree such as snakebark maple or evena vine maple (for limited light on east facing garden?). As for evergreen shrubs next to an entry way I often try to find a place for Sarcocca ruscifolia (sweetbox) with it's beautiful glossy foliage and early spring tiny cream fragrance filled flowers. If you look at rhododendrons and other evergreen shrubs, remember that plants grow up and out so you'll want to place your plant carefully to avoid crowing. While changing your garden is part of the fun, choosing the right plant and putting it the right place is invaluable. Have fun!
I'd look around at what's growing in people's gardens all over the lower mainland, especially those with the same aspect as yours and see what appeals to you. Take photos or pictures of what you like in a magazine and take it into a nursery with you for some advice. You are spoiled for choice. Flip through a couple of magazines or garden books and pick out photos of gardens that appeal to you and you and those you speak to will have a better idea of what your style is. You can grow practically anything in the lower mainland. We visited Sendall gardens at 50th and 201 in Langley in March before the leaves were out. It should be lovely now. It had lots of different shrubs and trees.