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Looking for small garden ideas that are low budget and low maintenance? Get incredible bang for your buck with a tree! We’ve handpicked 10 of the best small trees suitable for gardens to get you started.
Whether you dream of gorgeous blossom, delicious fruit, valuable wildlife habitat or your own peaceful resting spot, you can enjoy the beauty and benefits of trees even in limited spaces.
Many trees can be pruned to keep them short or slim, but those on our list are naturally on the smaller side and need just a little TLC while they establish – weeding around the base, watering and occasional trimming. Check our top aftercare tips.
Our native trees have adapted to our climate and soils, so they’re easier to grow and maintain and more resilient too. Some excel in certain conditions, but they’re tolerant to most situations so you can choose any trees from our list with confidence.
Many native trees and shrubs can be grown as hedgerows.
At a glance: a spiny, shrubby tree with black-purple bark, delicate white spring blossom and inky blue-black fruits in autumn. A fast-growing species and great for bees, butterflies and birds.
Size: can reach up to 4m tall, growing an estimated 40-60cm each year.
Preferred conditions: moist, well-drained soil and full sunlight.
Is it edible? Use the berries to make wine, preserves and sloe gin.
Why we love it: a stunning flowering tree, blackthorn’s early blossom is a spectacular sign of spring.
At a glance: a fabulous all-rounder, crab apple is ideal for small front gardens, courtyards or as a patio tree due to compact growth. Yellowish red fruit and deep pink to pure white flowers make it quite the showstopper and it’s a hit with insects, birds and small mammals too.
Size: can reach up to 10m tall, growing around 30cm per year.
Preferred conditions: tolerates most soil types and dryness in sun or semi-shade.
Is it edible? Fruit can be roasted to serve with meat, added to ales or punches or turned into a jewel-like jelly.
Why we love it: a great fruit tree for a small garden, its bountiful apples will feed you and local wildlife as well as adding colour to your space.
At a glance: soft downy leaves and smooth, grey-brown bark that peels with age. Delicate catkins appear early in the year before hazelnuts are ready to eat in autumn. Hazel is a valuable tree for caterpillars, bees, birds and small mammals.
Size: can reach 8m tall, growing at around 40-60cm per year.
Preferred conditions: tolerates shade in non-acidic, well-drained soils.
Is it edible? Eat freshly picked hazelnuts straight from the tree or add to a range of homemade recipes.
Why we love it: clusters of fluffy golden catkins hang like lambs’ tails from otherwise bare branches to brighten winter days.
Whether you need a screen, hedge or centrepiece, we have beautiful native trees to give your garden interest all year round. Delivery is free.
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At a glance: a native evergreen conifer with grey-brown bark, green needles and aromatic berry-like fruit that turns from green to purple-black. A good tree for birds with plenty of food and dense cover for nesting.
Size: can reach 8m tall, growing around 10-20cm per year. Well suited to narrow spaces.
Preferred conditions: moist well-drained soils in full sun.
Is it edible? Juniper berries famously give gin its flavour and can also be used in liqueurs, sauces and as a spice.
Why we love it: a great native option if you’re looking for evergreen trees for small gardens.
Boundaries don't need to be boring! Hedges offer natural privacy, structure and interest as well as a boost for local wildlife. They're fantastic for small gardens and great value too - our hedge pack of 15 trees will create a three metre hedge for just £36.95.
At a glance: guelder rose is a spreading flowering shrub with three-lobed leaves that change from green to gorgeous orange-yellow or red in autumn. Pretty clusters of creamy-white flat-topped flowers attract super pollinator hoverflies, and bunches of translucent, bright red berries are important food for birds.
Size: can reach 4m high and spread 2-5m, growing around 30-60cm per year.
Preferred conditions: damp, neutral or calcereous soils.
Is it edible? Berries are mildly toxic when raw but can be cooked into jellies and jams.
Why we love it: spring blossom, autumn leaves and vibrant berries illuminate gardens for much of the year.
At a glance: oval leaves are soft to touch and encircle bouquets of pretty white flowers. Vibrant scarlet berries bring colour around late summer. Attractive to birds, caterpillars and other insects.
Size: can reach 20m tall, growing around 30-60cm per year.
Preferred conditions: thrives in chalk soils but adaptable to all conditions.
Is it edible? Berries are known as chess apples and can be eaten when nearly overripe.
Why we love it: whitebeam will bring an abundance of birdlife to your garden, with species like blackbird and mistle thrush feasting on its fruit.
At a glance: a thorny climbing shrub with large pink or white sweet-smelling flowers. Striking red oval berry-like hips increase interest in the garden – and important food for wildlife – through the quieter winter months.
Size: Grows to 3m at a rate of 40-60cm per year.
Preferred conditions: full sun and moist, well-drained soil but tolerates poor soils too.
Is it edible? Dog rose hips make a delicious tropical-tasting syrup packed with vitamin C.
Why we love it: as beautiful as a cultivated rose without being as needy! Less disease prone and more beneficial for wildlife too.
At a glance: a small flowering tree well-suited to wet spaces. Tiny white star-shaped blooms develop into small green berries which ripen to red and purple. Leaves, flowers and fruit of alder buckthorn are all valuable for wildlife, including brimstone butterfly, bees and thrushes.
Size: a shorter option, growing to 6m high at around 30cm per year.
Preferred conditions: best in wet and acidic soils but can grow on neutral soils too.
Is it edible? No.
Why we love it: a long flowering season is pleasing to the eye and great for pollinators too.
At a glance: a sight to behold in autumn when leaves turn russet and pink and orange popcorn-like fruits ripen. In spring, spindle's small creamy flowers offer nectar and pollen for insects. Aphids flock to its glossy leaves, bringing with them an array of predators that are key to a thriving garden, including ladybirds and lacewings.
Size: this short garden tree grows to 6m at around 40-60cm per year.
Preferred conditions: grows best in chalky soils.
Is it edible? No.
Why we love it: the flamboyant, exotic look of ornamental cultivated species without needing so much TLC.
At a glance: a small shrub with big impact, dogwood boasts year-round colour. Creamy white flowers are followed by small black berries, and green leaves turn red in autumn. Twigs are deep red in the sun, but lime green in the shade. Many mammals, birds and insects feed on this easy-care species.
Size: can reach up to 4m tall, growing around 30-60cm per year.
Preferred conditions: very hardy, grows well in sun or part shade in a range of soils.
Is it edible? No.
Why we love it: makes a real statement in winter when it bursts into colour with shimmering crimson and orange stems.
Whether you need a screen, hedge or centrepiece, we have beautiful native trees to give your garden interest all year round. Delivery is free.
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