Add a little tree to your yard for a big impact. Here are some suggestions for small trees. Some bloom, and some just have gorgeous foliage. All of them will fit into a small landscape or enhance an outdoor garden room. You can create a spot of interest just by adding one attention-grabbing small tree.

If your natural area is under tall trees, add trees underneath that enjoy shade. These areas are made so much more appealing with some layering. This is a perfect spot to plant an understory tree.

The bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) is a densely branched tree. Its spikes of flowers in late spring look like tall, narrow, white brushes sticking out all over. It needs some room in the landscape, growing 10 feet tall by 10 feet wide. Its tiers of branches create a good deal of privacy. Zone 4-9.

The new hydrangea with the silly name, Pinky Winky™ (Hydrangea paniculata Pinky Winky™) blooms from mid-summer to fall. It is pink without any pH help. This bush can be limbed up into a small spectacular tree. At its 6-8 foot size, it would fit into a tiny spot – even a container.

(Limbing up is accomplished by cutting off the bottom outward growing branches to expose the trunk or stems underneath, but leaving a crown of branches at the top.)

Rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is a large shrub or small tree found in grandmother gardens. It's a tough little plant in either sun or shade. Reaching only 8-10 feet high by only about 6 feet wide, it fits into tight spaces and isn't fussy about conditions. Flowers cover the tree throughout summer and fall. Blooms are either single or powder-puff-like in colors of pink, purple, white, or violet.

Star magnolia is an entirely different blooming magnolia. It's deciduous, meaning it drops its leaves in the fall, and blooms before the leaves break very early in the spring. It is a multi-trunked large shrub or small tree, growing to about 15 feet high. It's mostly available in white, but you can find it in pink (Magnolia stellata ‘Leonard Messel’) at Wayside Gardens. It will bloom well in open shade.

There are a couple of green trees that create drama and draw the eye to your door or patio just with their presence. The Japanese holly ‘Sky Pencil’ (Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’) is less than 2 feet wide and will grow to only 8 feet tall. The boxwood Green Tower® (Buxus sempervirens Green Tower®) is another columnar shorty. It also grows 2 feet wide and only 5-9 feet tall. Neither of these punctuation marks needs any trimming to keep their shape.

Don’t forget a cut-leaf Japanese maple. Some of them are cascaders. They dip their crown to show off all of their beautiful foliage. These trees claim to fame is not flowers, but foliage that looks good and holds its color throughout the seasons. Zones 5-9.

Add some pizzazz to that blah landscape. There's a whole world of beautiful little trees out there. June 15 might be a good time to tie on a ribbon and present one to your favorite Dad. Being the good child that you are, you might even want to dig the hole.

---Posted by Coach Anne June 5, 2008---