Herb Trees in My Garden

Evergreen Herb Trees

• For year-round greenery, plant an evergreen herb tree. Juniper trees tolerate a variety of growing conditions, and bay trees provide green bay leaves all year. The broad-leafed camphor tree starts out with young, reddish-bronze leaves that eventually turn to a glossy, dark green. The silvery, blue-green leaves of the eucalyptus tree also provide year-long color. Cinnamon, henna and holly also make excellent evergreen herb tree additions.

Deciduous Herb Trees

• Deciduous herb trees are perfect for providing plants with shade from the harsh summer sun and then streaming it back in when the leaves fall off for winter. Redbud has dark green heart-shaped leaves that turn brown and fall off in the fall. Ginkgo trees are attractive additions with large, fan-shaped leaves that turn yellow in the fall. Willow, witch hazel and vitex also lose their leaves in the winter.

Shade Herb Trees

• Make your herb tree even more useful by planting one that doubles as a shade tree. Your shade herb tree can provide shade from the summer sun for other plants and herbs, as well as help keeping your house cool. The neem tree forms a dense round canopy that can reach 50 to 60 feet wide. The Australian tea tree grows to a height of 20 feet and has a spreading canopy suitable for heavy shade. Other herb shade trees include willow, sweet bay, eucalyptus and ginkgo.

Flowering Herb Trees

• Herb trees can be as beautiful as they are useful when you plant flowering herb trees. And as an added bonus, your garden becomes more fragrant. The neem tree produces prolific clusters of small flowers that release an intoxicating scent. Sweetbay magnolia trees burst into a dense, white blizzard of blooms during the late spring and early summer. Angel trumpet trees get their name from the long trumpet-shaped white, peach, pink, orange or yellow fragrant flowers. The redbud tree is one of the first to bear color after the winter when it flushes into a sea of showy, pink flowers.