Small Gardens and Pots

One of the most persistent myths in gardening is that small plots can't have trees. Not so. Columnar and fastigiate forms grow upwards rather than outwards, with a footprint a fraction of a standard tree's spread. Japanese maples are naturally slow-growing and perfectly happy in a large pot for years. A compact crab apple will give you blossom, fruit and autumn colour in a height of three metres or less — all the joy, none of the sprawl.

When it comes to small spaces, form really does matter as much as species. We'll help you find varieties that genuinely stay compact — not just ones with 'compact' in the description that quietly take over in five years. Keep an eye out for 'Fastigiata', 'Columnaris' and 'Pyramidalis' in variety names as a reliable sign of upright habit, and always go pot-grown for container planting.