Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Trees for Urban Gardens
While the planting season is pretty much over, you can start dreaming and scheming for next year! Just last week I touched on the importance of trees in our landscape, their value for shade, food and carbon sequestration and keeping them healthy.
This week I bring you trees to place in your urban garden that offer those things as well as ornamental value in your smaller space.
Serviceberry is a small deciduous clumping tree that provides year-round interest from white spring flowers to gorgeous fall color as well as producing edible fruits.
Also called shadblow, shadbush, juneberry and saskatoon in different areas of the country, there are several different species that occur over most parts of the U.S. The berries are edible.
There are 30 or so species of this genus, with all but two native to North America. Growing in full sun to shade, you’ll find something to match your space.
Gingko is another fantastic tree for the urban garden as it’s very tolerant of street pollution and road salt. I love the fan shaped leaves! A pyramidal shaped tree, it grows tall, up to 50 ft., but slowly.
Plant in full sun and enjoy it’s stunning yellow fall color. I have often considered this next tree.
Without a doubt, the Fringetree is one of the finest small native trees for spring bloom; this plant is absolutely covered in frilly white flowers and is generally a good, attractive plant the rest of the year.
A perfect accent for smaller home landscapes.
Another spring stunner is the Eastern Redbud. The Minnesota strain is best for cold climates. Very showy pink to purple flowers are held tightly on bare branches in early spring.
Here is a link to the National Garden Bureau where my inspiration for today’s Garden Bite came from! Keep in mind that some of the trees they have listed are for warmer climates.