A concerned Buckinghamshire homeowner contacted us for help at his property on the outskirts of High Wycombe.
A concerned Buckinghamshire homeowner contacted us for help at his property on the outskirts of High Wycombe, on the edge of the beautiful Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
For many years, the view from his home stretched across his garden and out towards vast, open grazing land, framed by mature native trees. It was a beautiful, uninterrupted rural vista.
It therefore came as a surprise when a local farmer sold part of the land to a developer. Before long, new houses began to appear, changing the outlook from the property considerably.
Project Details
The obvious solution might have been to plant a dense hedge or a continuous screen of the same species. However, this would have looked out of place within such a beautiful rural setting.
Instead, we recommended carefully selecting a balanced group of semi-mature trees, predominantly native species, to create a more natural form of screening that would blend harmoniously with the surrounding landscape.
Each tree was carefully selected for its suitability to the local soil conditions, mature size, shape and the level of screening required. The planting scheme incorporates a varied mixture of textures, colours and forms, allowing the individual trees to complement one another while creating visual interest throughout the year.
The result is a natural-looking tree screen that provides the privacy the homeowner wanted without compromising the character of the surrounding Chiltern Hills landscape.
#1 Acer campestre
Field Maple
Medium size native tree growing up to 12 metres high. Outstanding and long lasting, yellow autumn leaf colours.
#2 Betula utilis
Himalayan Birch
Medium size tree growing up to 15 metres high. White flaking bark is really eye catching, especially during the winter months. Yellow-green catkins in April and shiny green, coarsely toothed leaves that turn golden yellow in the autumn.
#3 Carpinus betulus
Hornbeam
Small to medium size tree, growing up to 10 metres high. Has a compact, fastigiate densely branched crown. Smooth grey bark and bright-green leaves, green catkins in April. Golden yellow autumn colours.
#4 Liquidambar styraciflua
Sweet Gum
A medium to large tree that can eventually reach up to 25 metres high. Dark-green, 5-lobed leaves appear in spring and are at their best in the autumn when they can turn; wine-red with yellow, orange to violet in all kinds of shades, Appealing round, spiky fruit capsules on long stalks appear and remain on the tree deep into winter. Liquidambar is one of the best autumn leaf colour trees.
#5 Magnolia kobus
Northern Japanese Magnolia
A small to medium size tree growing up to 10 metres high. Produces an abundance of 10cm wide, white flowers in March shortly followed by green oval-shaped leaves. Yellow autumn colour.
#6 Pyrus calleryana
Callery Pear
A small to medium sized tree growing up to 10 metres high. Blooms profusely with white flowers in the spring. Glossy-green leaves remain on the tree until late autumn and turn beautiful yellow and red tints. Another outstanding autumn coloured tree.
#7 Quercus coccinea
Scarlet Oak
An outstanding oak tree that can reach up to 25 metres high. Fresh-green leaves through the summer turn a beautiful, deep scarlet-red in the autumn, before turning brown and remaining on the tree until half way through the winter months.
#8 Sorbus aucuparia
Mountain Ash
A small sized tree that can grow up to 12 metres high. Matt dark-green leaves appear in the spring on a broad ovoid crown. The tree gets covered with orange-red berry fruits that appear simultaneously with the autumnal leaf colour of yellow to orange-red.
Bring instant scale, structure and character to your garden with expertly sourced and planted mature trees.