If you’re looking for a feature tree that’s guaranteed to provide year-round interest, then you need to go for an evergreen species. These will add greenery to your garden even on the dullest of winter days – here are four evergreen feature trees to consider.
An ancient evergreen tree with a dramatically dark-coloured trunk, the Glauca Grass Tree is a slow-grower, reaching around six metres in height at maturity. Whether you go for a single or multi-branched specimen, the trunk of this tree is topped with tufts of narrow, sword-shaped leaves in a gorgeous blue/green colour.
The trunk and foliage of the Glauca Grass Tree never fail to impress, but the tree really comes into its own between June and October. This is when it sends up tall spikes of white flowers, adding to the tree’s stature.
Just about everyone has heard of aloe vera, but its larger relative, the Tree Aloe, is much lesser-known. However, in addition to providing strong, arching, evergreen leaves, this tree shares the same medicinal properties as aloe vera, making it ideal for those who want a multi-functional feature tree.
If that wasn’t enough, the Tree Aloe also rewards each winter by producing beautiful, salmon-coloured flowers. These are great for attracting pollinators to a garden, not only insects but also several species of birds.
Although the Dragon Tree is sub-tropical, it is surprisingly cold-hardy, and is also drought- and salt-tolerant too. The tree begins its life as a single stem topped with blue/green leaves, but, once the tree reaches about 10 to 15 years in age, it starts to produce multiple branches in an umbrella-like shape, giving it an incredible architectural appeal.
The Dragon Tree will reach about 10 to 15 metres in height once mature, but its slow-growing nature makes it perfect for planting in a container, especially during its earlier years. This is a tree that can live for hundreds of years, making it one well worth investing in.
One of the largest yucca trees out there, the Yucca Filifera is an evergreen tree with sword-shaped, olive-green leaves that are clustered together in rosettes at the tip of each branch. It also produces stunning white flowers each year – these appear at different times on each branch of the tree, meaning that its overall flowering time is impressively long.
This is another feature tree that would be considered multi-functional – the flowers, fruits, and stems are edible both raw and cooked, while the flower spikes have a similar flavour to asparagus. Being an extremely hardy tree that can tolerate drought, salt, and wind, the Yucca Filifera is suitable for gardens throughout Australia.
While deciduous feature trees each have their own appeal, evergreens are great for those who need year-round interest in their garden. All of the trees on this list are easy to care for and require very little maintenance, meaning that once you’ve planted them, you can pretty much leave them to grow more and more impressive each year.