Landscaping Trees are used widely in gardens and parks and serve a number of purposes. Trees used for landscape design may be selected for the shade they provide, for the flowering attributes, for fall colour for general shape and form and even for the colour and texture of the bark of some tree. Landscaping trees serve many purposes including providing a sense of scale to landscape design.
Trees form the backbone of many garden designs, they are usually the largest component and can be expensive if you with to create an instant impression by planting established trees in a newly landscaped area.
Uses of Trees in Landscape Design
Selection of trees for landscaping will present a number of questions related to the purpose and function of the trees in the landscape. In general landscaping trees are used for a number purposes ans it is essential to determine the design or practical features that you wish to add to the garden, these include:
♣ Ornamental and Flowering
♣ Evergreen or Deciduous
♣ Is a Shade Tree required
♣ Is this ‘Structural Tree’ a design focus?
♣ Large or small growing
♣ Chosen for foliage or shape
Shade Trees are important in the landscape for a number of reasons, they provide shade for outdoor areas, they provide a cooling effect by shading a part of a house or they may provide protection for other plants in the garden from hot afternoon sun.
Flowering Trees are used as features, and although they may only be in flower for a few weeks the effect can be magnificent in any landscape, flowering cherry trees, crab apples and flowering pears are all popular. Magnolias are a fantastic flowering tree for almost any garden.
Ornamental trees are often used along paths and driveways to create a magnificent entry to a property. Groups of trees with interesting trunks such as silver birches can be planted in groups where their trunks and gleaming white bark are a feature.
Evergreen trees in the landscape can be used as screens or windbreaks, many conifer make fantastic windbreaks and evergreen magnolias can make excellent screening plants.
Trees chosen for Fall colour are another group that deserve special attention, Maples, Oaks and many others can provide a riot of color in the landscape.
Consider the growing habit of trees in the landscape, do you require a spreading tree with a large crown or a columnar tree with a very upright growing habit?
If its flowers you are after Magnolias such as Magnolia Felix are an outstanding landscaping tree, they make a great feature tree in a lawn or in the garden border.
Not all trees used in landscaping are green, the blue foliage of Cedrus atlantica glauca fastigiata is one of the many conifers with blue foliage that make an impact in the larger landscape.