Garden and Tree questions

[SilliamWhale]

I've just felled a load of lleylandii's last week (well God did half of them) and now have 1/3 acre of brown soil and lots of natural light so I'd like some ideas.

What shall I put back?

Its quite windy but not so exposed. There will be a lot of lawn area and maybe some evergreen hedging to do.

Anyone got any interesting trees and plants worth looking up? I quite like things like Acers and Magnolias. Looking for year long interest and nothing for silly money. Would fruit trees be good or will wind just completely knacker them?

Also there is a remnant beech hedge which has seen better days - if I cut it off at the stump would it regrow or would it die?

 

[Treemover]

That's a lot!

Your magnolias won't like wind, but will like to get sun. Quite a few I come across are in large open sheltered gardens.

Acers will be generally hardy, but some depending on origin can need shelter.

Your beech hedge will regenerate, but it can take years to look satisfactory, and I wouldn't recommend cutting low. It doesn't coppice well. Not as easily as hawthorn, ash, oak, sycamore etc.

It's very hard to give a prescription over the Internet, without seeing the site in person.

It depends on if you want to provide shelter, screen, create vistas, or plant specimen trees to add contrast to your site.

I'd personally go for a handful of specimens if you have the room, with a nice and easy hedge to keep.

Is the hedge area suitable for tractor flail?

 

[roscoe erf]

better plant trees to help stop the flooding

 

[Woolgatherer]

Fruit trees! They look nice with the blossom, and you get food too.

 

[jade35]

Go to a good local Nursery and ask what they recommend. May be worth having a layered approach with some strong deep rooted windbreak trees on the outside and more interesting trees inside the garden.

Is the hedge area suitable for tractor flail?

Farmers

 

[Treemover]

I've clipped literally miles of hedging by hand (in my younger days) mostly with a hoist; and it ain't cheap. Quite a few clients these days specify hedging suitable for flails, or at least accessible with a tractor.
Some hedging contractors will have a knife option if a flail can't be used?

I'm only trying to save cost to the op. Is that so wrong?

 

[Robigus]

I always thought it would be nice to have all the native British trees on the farm.
We have many of them but I ought to be planting a few more.

Alder
Ash
Aspen
Beech
Birch - Downy Birch, & Silver Birch
Blackthorn
Box
Buckthorn -Alder Buckthorn, Purging Buckthorn & Sea-buckthorn
Cherry- Bird Cherry, & Wild Cherry,
Crab Apple
Dogwood
Elder
Elm - English Elm, Wych Elm, Smooth-leaf Elm,
Hawthorn - Hawthorn, Midland Hawthorn
Hazel
Holly
Hornbeam
Juniper
Lime - Large Leaved Lime, &Small Leaved Lime
Maple
Oak Common Oak & Sessile Oak
Poplar- Black Poplar, & Aspen Poplar
Rowan / Mountain Ash
Scots Pine
Spindle
Strawberry Tree
Whitebeam
Wild Service Tree
Willow - Goat Willow, White Willow, Crack Willow
Yew

 

[jade35]

I've clipped literally miles of hedging by hand (in my younger days) mostly with a hoist; and it ain't cheap. Quite a few clients these days specify hedging suitable for flails, or at least accessible with a tractor.
Some hedging contractors will have a knife option if a flail can't be used?

I'm only trying to save cost to the op. Is that so wrong?

No @Treemover it just made me laugh, you always hear the comment that farmers would be good gardeners if they could only get the plough in and this seemed along the same lines. Would be fine on outer hedge but would assume the knife would leave a cleaner edge than the flail.