Ornamental Trees & Plants

A feature tree is the longest term decision most gardeners ever make, shaping how a garden looks and feels for decades. This collection brings together ornamental trees and companion plants chosen for what designers call presence: distinctive form, standout foliage or a flowering display worth building a whole garden around.

Get the sizing right before you fall in love with a variety. Check the mature height and canopy width on the label against your actual space, and as a rule keep trees that reach 8m or more at least 4m from foundations, pools and sewer lines. Then decide between deciduous and evergreen based on how you live: deciduous ornamentals give summer shade and winter sun through north facing windows, which suits most southern Australian homes, while evergreens provide year round screening and structure. The best value comes from multi season performers, trees that offer spring flowers, summer canopy, autumn colour or interesting bark rather than a single two week show.

Scale the rest of the planting to the setting. A courtyard or small front garden suits a compact specimen of 3m to 5m, ideally with an open or weeping habit that stays in proportion, while a lawn specimen on a larger block can afford real canopy. Underplant feature trees with low growers rather than lawn right to the trunk, both for the look and because it keeps mower damage away from bark. Give any new tree its first two summers of regular deep watering and it will reward you for the next thirty years.

Because many ornamentals cast dappled shade as they mature, they pair naturally with our partial shade trees and plants for the understorey beneath them. If you are weighing up the classics, our Japanese maple care guide covers the finest small feature tree for protected positions, and the ornamental pear care guide covers the tough all rounder that handles exposed sites and heavy soils. We pack and freight trees carefully to every state.