Trees can add interest to a garden, not only through their shape and form, but also through their bark, berries, flowers and foliage.

Bark

Bark is often used to supply colour and structural interest, particularly through the winter months. Some examples are:

• Snow gum (Eucalyptus niphophila): beautifully patterned, peeling grey and white bark.
• Kashmir birch (Betula utilis var. jacquemontii): intensely white bark, or some forms have cream or orange bark which sheds itself in large sheets.
• Scarlet willow (Salix alba 'Britzensis'): scarlet-orange young branches.
• Tibetan cherry (Prunus serrula): glossy coppery-red bark.

Whilst some trees produce showy bark only when mature, many others will also provide colour when young.

Foliage

Leaves are usually the most important feature of a tree due to their sheer volume and the duration of their display. Foliage can range from the huge, architectural leaves of palms such as Phoenix to the delicate, golden fronds of Gleditsia triacanthos 'Sunburst'. Trees can also provide variegated foliage, such as the white-edged leaves of Acer negundo 'Variegatum', which offers a mass of colour that contrasts wonderfully with other green-leaved trees.

Trees foliage can also provide interest not only to the eyes, but to other senses as well. Aspens have leaves which quiver in the breeze adding the additional pleasure of sound to the garden, whilst trees such as Eucalyptus are pleasantly aromatic.

Flowers

Tree flowers tend to provide a more short-lived display of colour and interest than bark and foliage, but they can be particularly effective in spring, autumn or winter when other plants in the garden are not flowering.

Some flowers, such as mimosa (Acacia dealbata) or frangipani (Plumeria rubra var. acutifolia) will provide the garden with added bonus of fragrance. It is often best to plant trees with scented flowers in a sheltered spot to capture the fragrance, or next to a path or patio so that you can enjoy the scent as you walk by.

Berries, Fruits and Pods

There are a number of different trees that produce berries (such as Arbutus unedo - the strawberry tree), fruits (Prunus cerasus 'Morello' - cherry tree) or striking seed pods (Magnolia). However, some trees produce fruit and berries that are particularly attractive to birds (for example, rowan - Sorbus aucuparia) and you may find that your tree is stripped bare of its attractive display almost as soon as it appears.