Linden Espalier For Winter Interest In The Garden - January 2026

Another entry into the recent [Winter Interest] category of the garden diary shows off a feature in our backyard garden:  a handsome pair of Greenspire Linden Trees that are trained into a four-tier horizontal cordon espalier.  There are eleven (11) Green Velvet Boxwoods planted the base of the two trees.  

The photo below shows the current state of the dormant Linden trees and the boxwoods showing-up against the white Winter snow.  This is a vignette in our garden that is close to our house and patio and one that we can take-in during the months where we rarely venture outside in the back.

A few things to note:

1.  The Lindens need a haircut.  The top-growth on the uppermost tier of the espalier has gone ham.  

2.  Last Spring (March 2025), I took a photo showing this same shot but covered in a thin layer of snow.  Not sure it ever looked better.  

3.  The boxwoods have grown.  They were planted as tiny 1-gallon big box shrubs in Summer of 2023.  They had a full growing season last year and have massed-up a little bit.  I posted a similar 'snow shot' in January of 2025 - just about a year ago.  Size difference is clear.  Love to see it.   

4.  I waited until March to prune these last year.  I won't wait that long this year.  

5.  I think I can safely say that all four tiers are now there.  Are they as thick as the top one?  No.  But, they're all at full width.  I'll prune them a little harder this Winter down at the bottom to try to get the main branch (tier) to respond and thicken-up. 

6.  I should go out and take some photos of the other espaliers.  The (dang!) rabbit destroyed my Belgian Fence.  But, I think the Crabapples on the side of the house were (last I checked) doing just fine.  They likely should get pruned at the same time that I do these Lindens.