Trees for small gardens - expert tips and new ideas

The Green Cottage
The Green Cottage
15 followers
20 Video Views·Feb 14, 2026  #greenliving #natureliving #greencottage

#greenliving #natureliving #greencottage #naturegarden #gardeninspiration
Award-winning garden designer and tree grower, Jamie Butterworth of tree, shrub and topiary nursery Form Plants explains how to grow trees in small gardens. As well as some interesting tree recommendations, he also shows how you can restrict the height of larger trees by pleaching, pollarding, coppicing and growing them in pots. The results are beautiful!

00:00 Welcome
00:30 Form Plants
00:45 What are the main factors to consider when choosing a tree for a small garden
01:15 Think about how the tree will look in 5/10/15 years time
01:40 Check what it will add to your garden in all 4 seasons
03:34 Barcham Tree Finder service:
04:41 Narrow town garden with tall trees
04:46 How tall should a 'small garden tree' be?
05:04 Ways of restricting the height of larger trees to make them suitable for small gardens
05:32 Pleached beech - growing on a frame and clipped yearly
05:42 Other shapes that restrict the size of large trees
06:20 If you already have a large tree in your garden, don't cut it down before checking whether you can prune or trim it down to size
07:40 Which trees are suitable for pollarding?
08:36 The best garden tree for privacy
09:25 Reduce the height of trees by creating multi-stemmed or coppiced trees
09:45 Topiarise larger trees to make them suitable for smaller gardens
13:49 Re-potting trees using the Airpot wrap-around potting system https://air-pot.com/
11:35 Grow trees in pots to restrict the size
09:55 A good tree for wildlife
14:51 Jamie's Garden For A Green Future at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden show (for more show ideas, see:
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