Three of the best trees for winter interest: beauty in the bare season
Winter may strip away the lushness of summer, but it doesn’t mean gardens and landscapes have to lose their charm.
With the right trees, you can enjoy striking bark, evergreen foliage and even winter flowers.
Why choose trees for winter interest?
Year-round structure: Trees with strong forms and bark colour provide visual interest when flowers are scarce.
Wildlife support: Evergreens and berry-producing trees offer shelter and food.
Seasonal contrast: Bright bark and evergreen foliage pop against winter’s muted tones.
Our Tree Fact Files highlight varieties that bring structure, colour and texture to the coldest months. They include:
Betula ‘Select’
The first thing you will notice with the Betula ‘Select’ is the purity of its unblemished pearl colour bark.
This eye-catching feature outshines even the jacquemontii for its shade of brilliant white.
Its bark is so striking in fact, that when it is cleaned and maintained, it is known to reflect the moonlight and shine during the darkness of night.
Because it is a cultivar of the native Betula, the usual black, dark fissures that crack and run from the base of the trunk contrast wonderfully against its snowy bark.
Pinus sylvestris
The Scots Pine is an evergreen that provides year-round greenery.
Its rugged bark and upright form make it a strong visual anchor in winter landscapes.
It’s one of the country’s cherished native trees and our only truly native pine.
It can grow 35m tall and live more than 700 years and is a keystone species for UK native habitats. We grow Pinus sylvestris from seed at our nursery in Red Marley, Gloucestershire.
They reach up to 40-60cm high before being transplanted across our other sites for container and field production. We’ve hundreds of specimens available ranging from 200cm to five-six metres tall.
Prunus serrula
Prunus serrula, which isn’t in our Tree Fact File, has striking bark, evergreen foliage and texture, which provides year-round interest.
It also has small white flowers in spring and its mid-dark leaves change in autumn to bright yellow before they drop. But the star of the show is its bark.
This cherry blossom has amazing bark, which is a rich burgundy, peeling off slowly with age.
It almost makes the tree appear to be glowing in autumn/winter sunlight! It’s a super tree for parkland and small places, reaching a maximum height of around five-six metres in 20 years.
Like to order one of these tree varieties?
Please contact one of our knowledgeable sales team here for assistance.