Small to Medium Shade Trees For Your Garden

Trees form the framework of your garden. They are so valuable for creating shade, especially in newly built suburbs, where lack of planning at the development stage has left little in the way of street trees. Time to get planting to get some shade at your place.   Here’s some suggestions for small to medium sized trees for your garden.

Magnolia Little gem – Dwarf form of Magnolia grandiflora, these deep green trees are beautiful year round. Flowers intermittently throughout the year down in the Southwest and can grow 4-7m tall. Excellent hedging or screening tree and responds really well to clipping.

Olives – Olives are perfect for this part of the world. They grow quickly and tolerate many conditions. They look lovely interplanted amongst other trees contrasting with shrubs and trees of varying shades of green.  Plus, you get olives

Claret Ash  – This one grows 6- 12m quickly. Foliage emerges in spring time a beautiful green colour. It then turns a beautiful claret colour in Autumn

Evergreen Ash – Small tree with glossy green foliage. Is evergreen, but really greens up and bushes out in the warmer months

Trident Maple – Grows 6-10m with a super interesting, 3 lobed, ivy shaped foliage. Colours up beautifully in Autumn. Bark has character too, it flakes and peels as it grows, leaving a splotchy appearance.

Chinese Pistachio – Can grow to 8m, this tree has a classic round shape and displays beautiful Autumn colours. Tolerates dry, sandy soils too.

Japanese Maple Green Japanese Maple is a graceful, small tree that grows 4-6m. Likes a bit of a sheltered spot, perhaps a courtyard, or a backyard that is protected, but in full sun/ part shade. The green Japanese Maples, start out green and then go on to have Autumn colours. The green Japanese Maple, out of all of the Japanese Maples in our experience, handles our hot, dry summers the best.

David’s Maple – an unusual Maple that has a distinct, striated bark that starts out red and turns into green and white.

Silver Birch Plant as a single tree, or in a copse of 3 or 5. Silver birches are a small to medium tree that look great all year round. The bark turns white and peels, as it ages, giving it real charm and character. The foliage, is small and dainty looking and is lovely fluttering in the breeze in Summer time.