Gingko trees can be espaliered into wonderful shapes to liven up bare walls for courtytards and along driveways.
This classical technique of training and shaping plants to create a 'two-dimensional' form is undergoing a renaissance in modern, space-challenged gardens. It can be used for growing plants along narrow driveways, decorating a bare courtyard wall or disguising an ugly fence. With modern uses come modern plant choices, including bougainvillea, with its riotous bunch of flowers persisting for months.
Why espalier? Espaliered plants cast little or no shade on surrounding plants, and make use of every centimetre of garden space. Espaliered fruit trees can be harvested several years sooner than other fruit trees. A quick-growing, living fence of established of espaliers works as a privacy screen or as a backdrop for other plants. Espalier softens the appearance of walls and can be a focal point of garden designs and views, while displaying the finer details of plants: stems, bark texture and colour, leaf shapes, flower and fruit.
Step-by-step 1. Choose a horizontally branching tree from the nursery. 2. Pot it into a decoative pot. 3. Trim all backward and forward stems to the main stem. 4. Tie branches horizontally onto cable or lattice.
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