"Andy Phillips" wrote in message
...

. We'd prefer to plant this Spring, but it may be better to get
used to the garden before we make any rash decisions.

Wise!

The garden has had a makeover relatively recently, and part of the problem
is that the new planting has not had time to get established. This leaves
the garden looking rather bare (especially as we've only seen it in
winter)
and the eye is drawn to the house over the garden fence.

You may well find it recedes once you move in!

However, there is
a
pergola that runs diagonally across the centre of the garden, and the
climbers on this will eventually generate more interest in the nearer
parts
of the garden.

Great minds?

We have a love of trees and have an unfortunate habit
of planting species that will get too big for the plot. For example, in
our
current garden we planted Sequioa sempervirens, Metasequoia
glyptostroboides, Sequioadendron giganteum (grown from seed and now 7m
high
and 5m wide), Araucaria araucana, Picea brewiana, Quercus rubra,
Liriodendron tulipifera and others.

Wow! You like em big!


As to suppliers, we saw a TV gardening program recently that sourced its
larger specimen trees from Tendercare in Denham - is this a good place to
go? Harpenden is within easy reach of the M25 so anywhere on the North
side
of London would be OK.

Tendercare are excellent quality and value, but top of the market wrt price.
One of the advantages of using them direct to "supply and plant" is that
they will guarantee to establish whatever they sell you.

A cheaper route would be a local jobber and get the plants from a wholesale
nursery. Van den Broek at Addlestone and Plants Limited at Chobham both have
large stock available to the trade at good prices - and are both just off
the m25, west of london.

pk