If you only have room for one tree, plant a cherry. It repays a small patch of soil with a week of spectacular blossom and a whole season of birdsong.

Choose the right variety

Ornamental cherries suit small gardens, while fruiting varieties need a sunny wall. Ask a local nursery which ones thrive in your soil.

Photo: Gozha Net via Unsplash
Photo: Gozha Net via Unsplash

Plant in autumn

Roots settle before winter and the tree wakes up with the first warm days. Water weekly through the first summer.

  • Give it full sun and well-drained soil.
  • Mulch, do not bury, the trunk.
  • Prune only after flowering.

Enjoy the short season

Blossom lasts only days. Put a bench beneath it and make a habit of sitting there each April.

A garden is a conversation with the seasons, and a cherry tree is its loudest sentence.

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