Trees are the backbone of every garden; not only do they provide shade and privacy, but they are also aesthetically very pleasing, and they make every garden better and more mesmerizing. You can go wrong with a tree. No matter how small or big, wide or slim, they all look great once they fully grow and develop. There are many types of trees, and choosing them will be difficult, but the best thing you can do is buy what you like and what best suits your backyard garden. It will take some time until it reaches its full glory, but trust me, once you get there, the result will blow you away. You will have your personal greenhouse. And remember, the more the trees, the better! To help you pick the best, here are trees you must have in your garden:
Table of Contents
Japanese Stewartia
Japanese Stewartia is a charming, lesser-known tree with stunning summer flowers that mimic camellias and orangey-red fall colors. It’s a slow-growing specimen tree with a lot of character.
Serviceberry
This little shrubby tree bears fragrant white flower clusters that turn into purple berries in the fall. Make jam with them or give them to the animals! It’s also a fantastic screening tree.
Japanese Maple
The delicate foliage, intriguing bark, and beautiful, arching limbs make these trees stand out. The Japanese maple is available in a variety of colors, ranging from mild green to deep burgundy. The majority of types like partial shade. Many kinds, like most maples, exhibit magnificent fall color.
Smoke Tree
With scarlet foliage that becomes orange in the fall, this tree contains peculiar clusters of airy, smoke-like seeds. It maintains its color throughout the season.
Chastetree
This lesser-known tree resembles a huge shrub, but it may be trimmed to produce a multi-trunk tree. Summer brings its lovely purple flower spikes. It usually dies back in the winter and regrows shrub-like in the spring in the north. In the south, though, it creates a lovely little tree.
Crepe Myrtle
Dark bark, lustrous leaves, and vivid fall colors distinguish this star of the Southern landscape. Its gorgeous, frilly blossoms are available in a range of colors, from pristine white to hot pink. Once established, this tree can withstand heat, humidity, and drought. In case you’re wondering, it’s spelled “crepe” or “crape,” depending on where you reside.
Crabapple Tree
The cold-hardy crabapple is a choice as an accent tree or placed in a row because of its dense branches, spectacular deep violet blossoms in spring, and small fruit.
Redbud Tree
In the early spring, small pink or purple blossoms cling to the bare branches of this natural charmer. Depending on the cultivar, the lovely heart-shaped leaves are reddish or golden.
Seven-Son Flower
This multi-stemmed tree, once exclusively known to plant collectors, is gaining popularity due to its year-round beauty. Curling leaves, peeling bark, and fragrant white blooms that turn into twisted crimson bracts characterize this plant. It attracts a lot of pollinators. It’s a lovely specimen tree for any garden.
Dogwood Tree
Dogwoods have traditionally been popular due to their large pink, red, or white spring blooms, brilliant red fruit, and magnificent fall color. There are several variations, including novel hybrids that are disease-resistant.
Weeping Willow
On the shores of lakes and rivers, the weeping willow is common. Low branches make lovely canopies that provide plenty of shade. The tree will grow between 1.2 and 2.4 meters each year and reach a height of roughly 15 meters.
Dawn Redwood
This tree, which originated in China, may reach a height of 30 meters and a width of seven meters. It thrives in many different kinds of soils and climates and is commonly seen in parks and broad open spaces.
Silver Birch
This resilient tree, which is native to the United Kingdom, is easily identified by its white peeling bark, triangular leaves, and catkins. It reaches a height of 30 meters and grows at a rate of about 40 centimeters each year.
Italian Cypress
As a privacy screen and property boundary, the Italian Cypress is ideal. It has the appearance of a column and will develop at a rate of 60cm each year, reaching a height of 12 meters.
Tulip Poplar
The tulip poplar is a leafy tree that may reach a height of 30 meters and grows at a rate of over 90cm per year. During the summer, the large leaves provide plenty of shade.
Maples
Aside from Japanese maples and Acers, there are a variety of maples to pick from, all of which grow swiftly. These may reach a height of 24 meters and grow at a rate of 60 centimeters every year.
River Birch
This is a hardy tree that may thrive in any environment. It requires a lot of water as a sapling (up to 90 liters per week), but it will repay you by growing up to a meter each year and reaching a height of 27 meters.
Eucalyptus
This evergreen adds a splash of color to your yard all year and may reach a height of 2.4 meters every year. If left unpruned, the tree can reach a height of 20 meters.
Lombardy Poplar
This huge tree is frequently planted in tight rows to provide a screen. It grows at a rate of around 3.6 meters per year and reaches a height of about 20 meters.
Tibouchina
In late summer, Tibouchina trees are covered in rich purple, lilac, or pink blossoms, making them an excellent choice for brightening up a drab yard. If you reside in one of Australia’s warmer regions, Angie Thomas, Yates’ Horticulture Consultant, advises growing these trees.
Blueberry Ash
Blueberry Ash is a medium-sized Australian native rainforest tree that produces frilled white blooms in the spring and, subsequently, colorful blueberries that attract birds. This versatile tree may be utilized as a focal point for screening or just in a huge pot on a balcony.
Frangipani
Frangipanis are mostly deciduous trees with lush foliage and delightfully scented blooms throughout summer, bringing a tropical feel to be temperate and warm temperature landscapes. They’re best planted in late winter, just before the fresh spring foliage begins to appear. Frangipanis are easy to cultivate from cuttings and thrive in containers.
Compact Evergreen Magnolias
Magnolia cultivars like ‘Little Gem’ and ‘Teddy Bear’ feature glossy green leaves with a reddish underside and white blooms in the summer. These trees are excellent for creating a thick screen or as a showcase tree.
Ornamental Prunus
In the spring, these gorgeous trees bloom with white or pink blooms that attract bees, and in the autumn, they have vivid leaves. Winter is the best season to plant since they are dormant and leafless.
Lilly Pilly
Lilly pilly is a species of Australian native plants that range in size from shrubs to trees and have luxuriant leaves that may act as a screen or provide shade. In the spring and summer, most produce white bee-attracting blooms, followed by tasty berries that are favored by native birds such as parrots.
Deciduous Magnolias
Deciduous magnolias reach a height of roughly five meters and produce exquisite goblet-shaped blooms on bare stalks in late winter and early spring. White, soft pink, lilac, burgundy, and yellow are just a few of the stunning colors offered.
Ivory Curl Tree
This Australian native evergreen tree will grow to be approximately eight meters tall in temperate zones and even taller in warmer climes. Ivory curl trees are covered in cream blossoms throughout the summer, which attracts bees and nectar-feeding birds.
Smooth Blackhaw
Medium to dry soil enriched with composted leaves, sun to part shade. A crooked trunk and thin dark green foliage are accented nicely in June by frothy white flower clusters on this little tree or big shrub. Birds like the ripening of black fruits in the late summer. This little, hardy tree is found in southern New England’s dry, open forests and slopes.
Shad, Serviceberry
Red or blueberries are wonderful for people and birds later in the summer, around June and July. This wide airy, single, or multiple-trunked tree is perfect for places where thick shade or obstructing a view are not desired. Despite occurring natively in Maine’s streamsides, thickets, and open forests, this plant is remarkably resistant in urban environments.
Hawthorn
Hawthorn is a native British tree whose white blossoms brighten hedgerows in the spring. Crataegus Persimilis ‘Prunifolia’, for example, is ideal for tiny areas and has glossy green foliage with masses of white blossoms that turn a stunning scarlet in the autumn. It prefers a sunny site and thrives in a variety of soil types.
Cherry Ornamental
Cherry trees are known for their lovely spring blossoms, and compact types are ideal for small gardens. For orange-red leaves in the winter and lovely white blooms in the spring, choose Prunus ‘Shogetsu.’ It requires a sunny location and soil that is reasonably rich. If your area is limited, choose Prunus ‘Amanogawa,’ which has a columellar or upright growth habit.
Rowan
Rowans and mountain ash trees are always popular in tiny gardens. The Sorbus ‘Joseph Rock’ cultivar has little split leaves that turn orange, red, and purple in the autumn. In the spring, the tree produces white blooms, and in the autumn, beautiful butter-yellow berries. It thrives in moderately rich, acidic, or neutral soil and loves a sunny or somewhat shady location.