Shade/Feature Trees
With such a wide range of shade trees already well established and ready for planting, you can cool your yard and create a beautiful backdrop. The trees that we are going to discuss provide vital shade during hot summers, lowering temperatures and improving your outdoor living experience, which is ideal for Australia's environment. Apart from your outdoor areas becoming more comfortable in the summer thanks to trees' natural cooling effects, each species will give your garden a distinctive look, including vibrant greenery, stunning flowers and eye-catching shapes. Let’s talk about the features of six different trees and what each one can offer you. They are all native to Australia and the bees and the birds love them all. So good luck trying to pick a favourite!
Prima Donna Tree (Blueberry Ash)
The Prima Donna is a lovely tree which is not only great to look at but will provide ample shade for your area. This tree reaches a height of 6m and a width of 3m, requires very little maintenance and is very disease and pest resistant. With new leaves glowing bronze and older leaves having a natural frosted edge look, this tree is a fantastic Australian native species. Prima Donna produces a lovely flower with a sweet aroma that blooms from spring to early summer in clusters of pale pink, ballerina-tutu-like petals. The Prima Donna is ideal for creating large hedges/screens or as a stunning feature tree. These trees are generally also a very popular approved street tree in your local area.
Tuckeroo Tree
Hands down, one of our favorites. What’s not to love? These Australian native trees are just beautiful, growing to a height of approximately 7m and a width of 4m. The rounded, evergreen-leaved tuckeroo is a natural feature tree of Australia. Due to its non-invasive roots, it is frequently utilised in council gardens and is usually a favorite among local areas as an approved street tree. Autumn blooms are followed by bright orange fruit that attracts birds in the spring. This naturally gorgeous shaped tree will be a great addition to your yard by providing shade from those hot summer days and creating a stunning backdrop as you sit and relax taking in some nature.
Tulipwood Tree
Bright orange berries, bronzy-green new leaves, a shady circular crown and tolerance to a variety of soils and climates are just a few of the many positive traits that will make this tough little native tree your favorite. Additionally, because its roots aren't invasive and it rarely grows tall enough to obstruct overhead wires, it is generally considered as an approved street tree. This stunner will mature to a height of approximately 6m and a width of 4m. The Tulipwood Tree is popular for its fast growth and evergreen qualities. These beauties grow naturally in the wild from northern New South Wales all the way up to the top of Queensland. Lush dense green foliage and tiny delicate creamy coloured flowers followed by orange berries makes this tree a bird and bee lover. There will be no regrets planting one of these stunners as it turns your once dry, hot and barren yard into a shady cool and lush green paradise.
Waterhousea Tree (Weeping Lilly Pilly)
The popular Australian native Waterhousea Tree is often called Weeping Lilly Pilly, this is due to its drooping leaf growth habit which looks just gorgeous and makes it perfect for creating dense screens, efficient windbreaks, lovely single shade trees or eye-catching container plants. This tree grows quickly and can reach a height of 9-10m. The Waterhousea Tree has dense rich green foliage that is ideal for back or front yard gardens since it reduces noise and offers great shade and privacy. This wonder produces tiny white fluffy flowers several times throughout the year, which will make your yard a popular hangout for our beautiful native birds. These Australian natives grow naturally in eastern Australia from NSW to north Queensland.
Lilly Pilly Resilience
This one is an allrounder! The question is… what can’t you do with them? These great native trees can be grown as a small tree, if left alone, reaching a height of 3m with a dense lush green foliage creating the perfect shady spot for any yard. The Resilience Lilly Pilly can be also used as a screen plant, as they can easily be shaped into the perfect dense hedge. They can also be used as great container plants and can even be easily shaped into topiary shapes, which will add sculpture to your yard. This Australian native gets its name from being resilient against the common pest, psyllids, that Lilly Pilly’s tend to get. These beauties also flower a lot through the year, attracting those beautiful bees and birds.
Native Gardenia
What a beautiful tree this grows into. Native to Australia, it is also called Brown Gardenia and Yellow Mangosteen. This tree produces beautiful glossy evergreen foliage with clusters of tiny intensely fragrant flowers. This stunning tree grows to a height of 3-4m and can have its trunk trimmed to create a beautiful shady canopy up top. This tree can make a great feature tree and can even grow great in a decorative pot. The creamy five-petaled blossoms of the native gardenia makes this tree a favorite among gardeners, blooming from spring through summer providing a calm ambiance ideal for creating that relaxing shady outdoor space in your garden.
Until next time, happy gardening!
From Paul and Adelle
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