Designing Tree Placement In A Small Yard
If you've got a small backyard but want to plant trees, the design or layout you choose should focus on similarities between the trees -- and these aren't always cosmetic. It takes good planning, but you can eventually have a small yard with well-chosen, healthy trees if you follow some guidelines. Here's what to consider when choosing and placing trees for your yard.
Common Factors
Chances are the trees you have will be planted in some sort of pattern or group. Even if you have only two trees, one in each far corner of your yard, there needs to be a unifying factor such as shape, size, or even type -- two fruit trees of similar height could work, for example, or two trees with similar flower colors. While there's nothing wrong with an asymmetrical design, even those aren't created randomly, and you can still detect patterns and similarities between the different components.
Nutrient Requirements
For ease of care, planting trees with similar nutritional requirements is usually a good idea. However, be sure that your soil can support the trees. For example, if you have trees that need a lot of water and a lot of nitrogen, more so than other trees, you must be willing to add adequate nitrogen to the soil if it doesn't have a lot of its own. If you're hoping the trees will just make do with what's in the soil, you won't have the trees for very long. If you don't feel that you can provide the fertilizer, water, and other needs for all of the trees in that part of the yard, you can also contract with a landscaping company.
Pollination Protection
Many trees need another tree from their species, or a closely related species, in order to set fruit. However, some trees are too good at setting fruit when fertilized by whatever pollen comes along, resulting in cross-pollination that affects the fruit the tree eventually bears. If you're planning a mini-orchard, you have to get the spacing right so that you end up with the types of fruits that you want.
If planning all of this on your own doesn't sound like something you want to tackle, contact a landscaping company, such as Maddox Garden Center & Landscaping, Inc., that has experience with small yards. The workers will know which trees go well in which groupings, as well as how to care for the trees. You can have a tree-filled backyard, and landscapers could be key in finding the right design for your property.
