Ramon A wrote:

We just cut a new bed (triangular with sides 20 ft, 12 ft and 15 ft) where
once was lawn and would like to make the centrepiece a standard decorative
tree or praps a large shrub. but with plenty of space below for planting
out. summer bedding then over wintering annuals.

the ground is good quality sandy soil well drained to the point of being dry
most of the time - mid bedfordshire and with plenty of horse poo already
been added at the outset.

the feature specimin should be light in leaf and branch to give dappled
shade and top out at no more than 20 to 25 feet fully grown.

any ideas please?

rgds Ramon

One of the native Whitebeams - you'll probably have to go to a
specialist as most garden centres normally supply Swedish Whitebeam,
even when they swear blind it is native. There are quite a wide variety
of microspecies, with a variety of leaf shapes and coloured berries of
various patterns. Slow growing but many stop at 15ft to 20 ft.
--
Larry Stoter