Using Ornamental Trees as Landscape Focal Points

Not every landscape needs a 30-50 foot towering shade tree to make a statement. One of the easiest ways to add structure, personality, and year-round interest to a garden is by using a smaller ornamental tree as a focal point. A well-placed small tree gives your eye somewhere to land. It can anchor a flower bed, frame an entryway, soften the corner of a house, draw attention to a garden path, or create a beautiful centerpiece in an otherwise open space. Since smaller trees fit comfortably into most landscapes, they are often easier to work into an existing garden than large shade trees.

What Makes a Good Focal Point?

A focal point is simply something in the landscape that naturally attracts attention.

For a small tree, that might be:

• Beautiful spring flowers
• Colorful or unusually shaped foliage
• Interesting branching
• Attractive bark
• Dramatic fall color
• Berries or seed pods
• A graceful weeping or upright form

The tree doesn’t necessarily have to be flashy. Sometimes an interesting shape or strong silhouette is enough to make it stand out from the plants around it.

Give the Tree Room to Be Seen

One of the biggest mistakes we see in landscapes is planting a beautiful specimen tree and then crowding it with too many other plants.

If you want a tree to be a focal point, give it some visual breathing room.

That doesn’t mean the area around it has to be empty. In fact, layering shrubs, perennials, grasses, or groundcovers around the tree can make it look even better.

The surrounding plants should complement the tree rather than compete with it.

For example, a Japanese maple with burgundy foliage can look incredible surrounded by softer greens, chartreuse foliage, ferns, or low-growing perennials.

A white-flowering dogwood might be paired with darker evergreen shrubs that make its spring flowers stand out.

Think of the smaller plants as the frame around the picture.

Use Form to Create Interest

A weeping tree can create a soft, romantic focal point where an upright or columnar tree can add height without taking up much horizontal space. A multi-trunk tree can add architectural character and look beautiful even after the leaves have fallen.

Some of Our Favorite Small Landscape Trees

There are many beautiful options that work well in East Tennessee landscapes depending on the amount of sunlight, soil conditions, drainage, and available space.

Japanese Maples

Japanese maples are one of the best examples of a focal point tree. Their delicate foliage, interesting branching, beautiful colors, and wide variety of forms make them ideal. Some varieties stay relatively compact, while others develop into larger small trees. Colors range from greens and golds to deep burgundy and red. Many appreciate protection from the hottest afternoon sun, making them especially useful around patios, woodland edges, courtyards, and east-facing areas. Try ‘Ryusen’ for it’s dramatic & full weeping habit, ‘Orangeola’ for it’s everchaning foliage colors, or ‘Coral Bark’ for it’s red bark and golden yellow fall color.

Flowering Dogwoods

It’s hard to beat a dogwood for an East Tennessee landscape. Their spring flowers are only part of their appeal. Dogwoods also provide attractive branching, summer foliage, berries, and beautiful fall color. Since they naturally grow as understory trees, they can work especially well in landscapes with filtered light or some protection from intense afternoon sun. Try ‘Hyperion’ for it’s large white flowers and vigorous growth or ‘Red Twig’ for it’s coral-red branches.

Redbuds

Redbuds provide one of the earliest big shows of spring. Their branches become covered in pink or purple blooms before the foliage emerges, creating a dramatic focal point when much of the landscape is still waking up. There are also many newer varieties with interesting foliage colors and growth habits, giving Redbuds plenty of interest even after flowering has finished. Check out ‘Garden Gems Amethyst’ which grows 8-10 feet tall and wide, ‘Ruby Falls’ for it’s weeping growth and dark foliage, or ‘Flamethrower’ for it’s gorgeous green and red foliage.

Serviceberries

Serviceberries are another beautiful option for a more natural or woodland-style landscape. They offer spring flowers, attractive foliage, berries, fall color, and graceful branching. Their multi-season interest makes them especially useful when you want a focal tree that contributes something throughout much of the year. Plus, they tolerate a partially shady area well and provide early season nectar for pollinators.

Crape Myrtles

In sunny locations, crape myrtles can provide beautiful summer flowers along with attractive bark and sculptural branching. Depending on the variety, they can range considerably in mature size, so choosing one that fits the available space is important.

Smoke Trees

Smoke trees have fascination feathery blooms in the summer which contrasts it’s leathery foliage perfectly. It’s unique & eyecatching – bringing your eye to the garden around it. ‘Golden Spirit’ has lime green foliage turning gold in the summer and moving to coral orange in the Fall while ‘Royal Purple’ has reddish purple foliage that turns scarlet in Fall with long lasting flowers.

Magnolia Varieties

Not every magnolia becomes enormous. Smaller-growing selections can provide beautiful flowers, glossy foliage, and a strong architectural presence in the landscape. Their bold leaves also create wonderful contrast when planted near finer-textured plants. Try ‘Teddy Bear’ which reaches 16-20 ft tall and has large, white flowers, ‘Black Tulip’ which grows 15-20 ft tall and has deep burgundy blooms, or ‘Genie’ which reaches just 10-13 ft tall with fragrant pink flowers in early Spring and again in late summer.

Think Beyond the Center of a Flower Bed

A focal tree doesn’t necessarily need to sit right in the middle of the garden.

Some of the best locations include:

• Near the corner of the house
• Beside a patio or seating area
• At the end of a garden path
• Near an entryway
• In an island bed
• Along the edge of a woodland garden
• Outside a frequently viewed window
• At a bend in a walkway
• Between two larger areas of landscaping

Think about where your eyes naturally travel when you look across the yard.

That’s often where a focal point belongs.

Consider the View From Inside the House

We spend a lot of time thinking about what our landscaping looks like from the road, but don’t forget about the view from inside your home. A beautiful Japanese maple outside a kitchen window or a flowering tree visible from the living room can become something you enjoy every day. When choosing the location for a specimen tree, step inside and look through your most-used windows before planting – you might discover the perfect location.

One Great Tree Can Be Better Than Five Random Plants

When a landscape feels like it’s missing something, the answer might be just one smaller focal tree. A carefully chosen tree can connect surrounding shrubs and perennials, add height to a flat planting, create seasonal interest, and give the entire landscape a stronger sense of design. A small tree may be small compared with a shade tree but when it’s placed in the right spot, it can have a very big impact.