Stand-out Trees for Texture and Form

Creating interest in the garden is all about texture and form. With a few simple tips, you can have a garden that is beautiful to look at and great to live in.

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Sure less is more, and variety can be restricted by the size of the garden you are looking to plant, but with a reasonable space and minimal plantings, where's the interest?

We love the idea of creating gardens to live in, not just to view. To live in a garden means that there is an element of interaction; this could mean effective lighting to enhance spaces and form such as the large limbs of trees in early evening, or planting a grove of fastigiate trees in odd numbers to create a particular effect.

So how do you create interest? The answer lies in texture and form. Using plants and trees intelligently will not only make for a safe outdoors environment but it makes the time spent in the garden more enjoyable whether that is lounging with friends around the BBQ or playing with your kids. Here’s how to make great gardens to live in, not just good to look at!

Here is a mix of trees with great sensory interest. We encourage everyone to be inspired and to be adventurous. The need to heighten perceptions in the garden will open your eyes to many, many more options for both texture and form and will ensure we get a greater variety of plants back into people’s lives.

Ginkgo biloba Maidenhair Tree
This is a very slow growing and long-lived, deciduous tree with a large and elegant habit. Considered quite an ancient tree, it is known to have origins dating back to Jurassic times and is often referred to as a living fossil. Specimens exist in its native origin, China which are estimated to be over 1000 years old. It has unique, double-lobed, fan-shaped leaves with veins which spread from the stalk of the leaf. Short catkins are produced, followed by yellow fruit and the foliage is a rich green, which turns a golden yellow in autumn.
Corymbia maculata Spotted Gum
This is a stately native Corymbia (syn. Eucalyptus) which grows straight and tall. The bark sheds in summer and is smooth and cream in colour with grey spots from the older bark, providing contrast and interest with its mottled appearance. The leaves are dark green and glossy and from autumn to winter, small clusters of fragrant white flowers appear attracting birds and honeybees to the area. Note: Not to be confused with the "Red Spotted Gum" which is listed separately. 40cm/27L 50cm/52L 100L
Betula pendula 'Moss White' Moss White Silver Birch
This tree has bright green foliage that turns to a pale yellow in Autumn. The trunk is a grey colour when young gradually turning to white. It produces long hanging pale green catkins. 'Moss White' has been selected for its bright white bark. 40cm/27L 50cm/52L 100L 200L
Waterhousea floribunda 'ST1' Whisper (syn. Syzygium) Whisper Weeping Lilly Pilly
Unique to Speciality Trees and one of our most popular sellers! This is a versatile, bushy tree with a wonderful weeping habit making it perfect for large screening projects and the softening of fence lines. Propagated from Victorian mother-stock, unlike other Waterhousea, so responds better to all weather conditions, including cooler climates. New growth starts off pink with leaves turning to various shades of green as the foliage matures. Foliage is maintained to the base of the plant giving a year-round lush, full appearance. It forms a small quantity of creamy-white flowers in summer. Berry production on 'Whisper' is unlike other Lilly Pillies, with minimal quantities of small green berries that, whilst bird attracting, these fruits are tucked in amongst the foliage and are not obvious. 40cm/27L 50cm/52L 100L 150L
Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei 'Zuni' Crepe Myrtle (purple)
This variety can be used as a shrub or small tree. Foliage has red tinges when young and matures to a shiny dark green, with autumn foliage providing a colourful display of orange, red and maroon. Stunningly beautiful and free-flowering, masses of violet purple flower trusses appear from summer through to autumn. Bark provides further interest as it peels, creating a mottled effect on the trunk. Relatively-hardy, this variety is resistant to powdery mildew and will tolerate periods of dryness once established. 30cm/14L 40cm/27L 50cm/52L 200L
Acacia cognata 'Green Screen' Green Screen Weeping Wattle
This attractive small tree has weeping branches holding narrow, bright green foliage. During the winter months, masses of yellow, globular flowers cover the tree.
Garrya elliptica Silk Tassel Bush
This is a great winter flowering tree growing to 8m tall. It is a very distinctive tree, with long tassel-like flowers. Its leaves are glossy on top and give it good tolerance to industrial and coastal pollution. But underneath, the leaves are wonderfully woolly and quite soft.
Banksia marginata Silver Banksia
This Australian native tree has a dense growth habit with long green leaves bearing silver undersides. The leaves can have spiky or smooth margins. The large yellow cylinder shaped flowers are a stunning feature to the tree and attract native birds and insects. The flowers are borne from spring to autumn. 40cm/27L 50cm/52L
Magnolia grandiflora 'Teddy Bear' ™ Teddy Bear Magnolia (evergreen)
This is an evergreen, upright growing magnolia reaching 4m. Being naturally dense in habit, with a tight, compact form, it is ideal used as an informal hedge. Leaves are large and rounded - glossy and dark green on top with felted, bronze undersides. Gloriously large white flowers appear during the warmer months from late spring through to autumn. 30cm/14L 40cm/27L 50cm/52L 100L 200L
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