Brace yourself, winter is here!

While the cooler weather is a welcome relief to many from the blazing heat of summer, it does however make gardens look drab and dull.

Deciduous trees (those that shed their leaves in winter) do offer some benefits.

For example, the burning red and amber hues as the leaves change colour make for an amazing sight and when the leaves have fallen and the bareness of the trees allows for winter warmth sunshine to stream into your house.

So, while deciduous trees have their virtues, they are a pain when it comes to the sea of leaves in your garden and as mentioned earlier, during the winter months, your garden will be devoid of any colour and brightness.

Don't fret though, you CAN have colour in your garden during the winter months without the hassle of raking leaves every day.

Here are my tips for some of the easiest to maintain trees that will sure to add colour and vibrancy to your garden during winter.

Gordonia axillaris

Also known as Fried Egg Plant is a tall, fast growing, evergreen shrub or small tree that closely resembles the Camellia.

It has slender, oval, green leaves, and bears large white, open-faced flowers with brilliant, golden yellow stamens in the centre - looking like that of a fried egg.  Interestingly, the flowers always fall facing upwards!

Acacia baileyana (Cootamundra Wattle)

This is a very fast-growing small tree with beautiful grey feathery foliage and bright yellow flowers in winter.

The winter flowering is often so prolific that they can hide the leaves.

This species does tend to seed itself so it is best not to plant it near areas of natural bushland to prevent it from establishing feral populations, however, in urban areas it makes a magnificent small tree, growing from 6 to 8 metres tall.

Photinia robusta

Photinia Robusta is a small fast-growing tree with glossy red foliage turning to green.

It has small white flowers in Summer with red fleshy fruit following.

With a dense growth habit, it's great for screening!

Tibouchina 'Alstonville'

Tibouchina lepidota Alstonville is a small tree or large shrub with thick, woody, branching stems and rippled, hairy, spear-shaped leaves that are paler underneath.

In late summer and autumn, the leaves are almost completely hidden by the profuse, buttercup-shaped, deep purple/velvet flowers.

Banksia

The flower heads are made up of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of tiny individual flowers grouped together in pairs.

The colour of the flower heads usually ranges from yellow to red.  Many species flower over autumn and winter.

Citrus trees with fruit

Lemon, Orange and Mandarin.

Not only does the fruit add colour to your garden, you can also enjoy eating it!

So, there you have it with some simple pre-planning (and pre-planting), you can enjoy year-round colour in your garden with no autumn leaves.

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