The 12 Best Trees To Plant For Year-Round Beauty

Boost your curb appeal with fabulous foliage, enduring structure, and seasonal blooms.

Trees add immense value to the landscape, both aesthetically and economically. They provide the foundation around which we build our gardens and give homes a more established, live-in appearance. Get the most from your investment by selecting trees that provide year-round beauty. Think beyond just evergreen foliage by incorporating seasonal blooms and berries, colorful bark, seed pods, and variegated foliage, all of which add subtle beauty to the landscape. Many trees also attract a diversity of wildlife to feast on fruits and seeds or sip pollen from blooms, all of which enhance a garden’s beauty. 

When choosing trees for year-long interest, consider both long-term and temporal sources of color and texture, and think about how these combine with other elements. With careful selection, your garden will shine no matter the season. Here are some wonderful selections to get you started.

While gardeners often gravitate toward evergreen foliage when planning for year-round color, there are many other sources of beauty to enhance the garden from one season to the next. Bark, blooms, fruits, and seeds all play a role, while fall foliage adds a riot of seasonal color. Balance these with dependable evergreen trees for an ever-shifting palette of color in the landscape.

01 of 12

Flowering Dogwood

• Botanical Name: Cornus florida
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Type: Rich, medium to moist, well-draining
• Soil pH: Acidic to neutral (5.5-7.0)
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9 

Flowering dogwood is beloved for its magnificent display of spring blooms, but these small native trees also shine at other times of the year with showy red fruits and good fall color. In winter, the distinctive branching structure of dogwoods makes a striking silhouette, which is even more dramatic in the pagoda dogwood (C. alternifolia), a related species adapted to cooler (and higher altitude) regions of the South (zones 3 to 7).

02 of 12

Southern Magnolia

• Botanical Name: Magnolia grandiflora  
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Rich, moist, well-draining
• Soil pH: Adaptable (6.0-8.0)
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 6 to 10 

This Southern classic shines year-round with glossy, dark green foliage and a stately pyramidal form. Summer brings enormous, heaven-scented blooms that ripen to attractive cones holding bright red seeds. Southern magnolia is native to moist woodlands and bottomlands along the coastal plains where the seeds are eaten by birds and other wildlife. The native form makes a handsome specimen in large landscapes. For smaller spaces, consider planting a compact selection such as 'Little Gem', 'Kay Parris' or 'Teddy Bear'.

03 of 12

Coral Bark Japanese Maple

• Botanical Name: Acer palmatum 'Sango-kaku'
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Type: Moist, well-drained
• Soil pH: Acidic (5.5 to 6.5)
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8 

The stunning coral-pink winter bark of this Japanese maple provides reason enough to plant it, but the tree also holds many other charms. 'Sango-kaku' coral bark Japanese maple has an elegant vase-shaped form and richly textured, palmate foliage that turns vibrant yellow to salmon hues in autumn. This tree is drought tolerant once established and thrives in a variety of soil types, from sand to clay.

04 of 12

Temple of Bloom® Seven-Son Flower

• Botanical Name: Heptacodium miconioides 'SMNHMRF'
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Type: Rich, medium, well-draining
• Soil pH: Slightly acidic to neutral (5.5-7.0)
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9 

You’ll want to give this small tree a prominent place in the landscape. Temple of Bloom® is a more compact and earlier blooming selection of the seven-son flower tree with an elegant habit. August brings a flush of fragrant, nectar-rich blooms that draw hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees to the garden. When the flowers fade, they leave behind rose-red petal-like calyces that appear like a second flush of flowers. Exfoliating bark takes center stage during the winter months.

05 of 12

Bright 'N Tight™ Carolina Laurel

• Botanical Name: Prunus caroliniana 'Monus'
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Type: Rich, moist, well-draining
• Soil pH: Acidic to slightly alkaline (5.5-8.0)
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 7 to 11 

Bright 'N Tight™ Carolina Laurel packs everything you love about cherry laurels into a compact tree growing just 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide. This native broadleaf evergreen boasts glossy green foliage year-round accented by fragrant spring blooms and blue-black winter berries that provide a feast for songbirds. This low-maintenance selection performs well in coastal landscapes as well as inland sites.

06 of 12

'Skyrocket' Juniper

• Botanical Name: Juniperus scopulorum 'Skyrocket'
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Type: Average, medium, well-draining
• Soil pH: Acidic to neutral (5.5-7.0)
• USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9 

Junipers are tough trees, standing up to heat, drought, and air pollution while tolerating deer and dry soil. 'Skyrocket' is among the narrowest upright varieties available, growing 15 to 20 feet tall and just 2 to 3 feet wide. Blue-green foliage and a columnar habit make for a gorgeous specimen in tight spaces. 'Skyrocket' juniper also makes a great screen for creating privacy.

07 of 12

Robin™ Holly

• Botanical Name: Ilex hybrid 'Conin'
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Type: Rich, medium, well-draining
• Soil pH: Acidic (5.5-6.5)
• USDA Hardiness Zone: 6 to 10 

If you are looking for a holly that produces an abundance of berries, Robin™ is a good choice. Some holly species produce male and female flowers on separate trees, meaning you need to plant at least one male alongside female plants to ensure fruit production. Robin™ Holly is self-pollinating, so you only need one tree to gain all the beauty this specimen has to offer: lustrous evergreen foliage, an upright pyramidal form, and plenty of bright red berries.

08 of 12

Stewartia

• Botanical Name: Stewartia pseudocamellia
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Type: Rich, moist, well-draining
• Soil pH: Acidic to neutral (5.05-7.0)
• USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 to 8 

This member of the tea family makes a stunning specimen in woodland gardens and outdoor rooms. Long-lasting summer blooms resemble camellias, with papery white petals surrounding golden stamens. Plants flower June through August followed by jewel-toned fall foliage shining in yellow, red, and purple hues. Winter showcases the exfoliating bark, which peels away to reveal strips of gray, orange, and brick red. Stewartia trees branch low to the ground, producing a handsome multi-stemmed specimen.

09 of 12

Live Oak

• Botanical Name: Quercus virginiana
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Type: Average, medium to moist, well-draining
• Soil pH: Slightly acidic to alkaline (6.0-8.0)
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 8 to 10 

Few trees are as majestic as the Southern live oak. Unlike most oaks, the foliage remains evergreen throughout winter, providing a consistent, stately presence in the landscape. A surprisingly adaptable tree, live oaks are widely planted in coastal regions for their tolerance to salt, wind, and wet soil. They are of high value to wildlife, supporting a diversity of butterfly and moth larvae that in turn feed birds. The acorns are eaten by woodpeckers, bluejays, ducks, and turkeys.

10 of 12

Deodar Cedar

• Botanical Name: Cedrus deodara
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Type: Average, medium, well-draining
• Soil pH: Acidic to alkaline (6.0-8.0)
• USDA Hardiness Zone: 7 to 9 

Deodar cedars are stately coniferous trees with gracefully spreading branches and grey-green needles. This cedar tolerates hot and humid Southern summers and is drought tolerant once established. Provide well-draining soils as root rot can develop in wet soil. Many beautiful cultivars are commercially available. Some feature blue-green or silver-tinged foliage, others lustrous golden needles.

11 of 12

River Birch

• Botanical Name: Betula nigra
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Type: Average, medium to moist, well-draining
• Soil pH: Acidic to neutral (5.0 to 7.5)
• USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 9 

This fast-growing deciduous shade tree is quite adaptable. Despite its name, river birch trees perform well in drier soils and are drought tolerant once established. They are among the most disease-resistant of the birches and the best suited to hot Southern landscapes. Commonly grown as multi-trunked specimens, the exfoliating bark takes center stage in winter with peeling layers of cinnamon-brown.

12 of 12

'Janed Gold' Arborvitae

• Botanical Name: Thuja occidentalis 'Janed Gold'
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Type: Average, medium, well-draining
• Soil pH: Acidic to Neutral (5.5-7.5)
• USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 to 8 

With vibrant golden foliage and a slender profile, 'Janed Gold' stands out among arborvitaes. Plants hold their vibrant color through winter and stands up to the heat of summer without burning. As a rule, arborvitae do not perform well in dry soil but they do tolerate a range of growing conditions including clay, wet soils, and black walnut trees.

Read the original article on Southern Living