A garden that delivers something every season is the best test of design. Spring blossom, summer flowers, autumn colour, winter structure. Plan it deliberately and the garden never has a flat month.
Five trees, each owning a different season.
Match a tree to a season
One per season works. Spring focal tree, summer focal tree, autumn focal tree, winter focal tree. Place them so the eye moves from one to the next across the year.
Japanese Maple, autumn
Fiery red, orange and gold autumn colour. The autumn anchor for most cool to temperate gardens.
Vulcan Magnolia, spring
Deep red tulip flowers on bare branches in early spring, before most of the garden wakes up.
Natchez Crepe Myrtle, summer
White panicles for months and cinnamon bark for winter interest. The summer star with three-season presence.
Coast Banksia, winter
Golden candle flowers and a flow of honeyeaters when the rest of the garden is quiet.
Snow Pear, second spring focal
Clouds of white blossom in spring and silvery foliage through summer. A second spring focal that extends the blossom season by weeks.
Pairing across the year
Plant the Snow Pear and the Vulcan Magnolia at opposite ends of the front garden, both flowering in spring but two weeks apart. Plant the Crepe Myrtle and the Acer where their summer and autumn moments overlap. Anchor the back garden with a Coast Banksia for the winter month no other tree is doing anything.
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