Weeping Crab-Apple Tree

Gardeners like to choose new trees which will behave in the garden - that is, not grow too big - as well as providing features for different seasons. Crab-Apple trees are one of my top choices.

Spring

Firstly, there's spring blossom. My weeping Crab-Apple in Middle Garden has deep pink blossom, and I can see it from the house lawns. Underneath bright green Gunnera leaves are starting to unfurl, and nearby strong flaxes provide a great textural contrast. It's a beautiful spring picture.

Summer Etc.

The Crab-Apple's summery leaves can get a bit lost in the general greenery, but in autumn it gives me beautiful leaf colour. Its weeping shape allows a little path to wind underneath, and there's room for compact rhododendrons. Then in winter the bare branches have such an interesting silhouette. What a great shape!

And let's not forget those cute little red crab-apples - which the birds can feast on as the days get shorter. And which I should make crab-apple jelly with...

Well-behaved, shapely, bird-friendly, and beautiful in all four seasons. What more can a tree possibly give to the garden?