In the early days of starting this gardening 'obsession', trees were merely a necessary evil but certainly not to be desired. That is until it became clear that all great gardens had them in abundance.

Most of our neighbours have cleared out their trees and their stark backyards scream for shade every summer. So, rather than spend the warmer months lazing under a shady bough they're inside their houses creating more ozone gasses with their reverse-cycle airconditioners. Aaarghh!

As a rehabilitated Tree hugger I can't find enough trees to sate my incessant hunger for these amazing plants. The more I grow - the more I want!

So how does one go from a point of apathy to complete overindulgence? A: Hang with the Ench!

Here's some pointers for those who may consider planting a tree or two in their garden:

• Deciduous or Evergreen? Telling others that you have a deciduous tree sounds so arboresque doesn't it? That is until you realise that it just means it loses it's leaves in autumn (or Fall) and makes a big mess of your lawn.

  Evergreens do exactly as their name suggest - they remain evergreen. Their leaves stay on the tree all year round and not a lot happens to them. Deciduous trees, on the other hand, are art on a stick. Their leaves change colour during autumn and finally succumb to gravity during winter. Their sculptured torsos silhouette perfectly against a grey winter's sky and before you know it they're budding again and ready to shade your garden from the summer heat.



• Tall or Small? The first thing to consider when planting a tree is how big is it going to grow. There's no use planting a Norfolk Pine on a 400sq.m block and it would look rather sublime using a Weeping Mulberry as your only tree on a couple of hectares.

  The height of your tree should be in proportion to your garden and all the other things that make your plantings work.
  



• Decorative Bark? Apart from leaves the next thing you notice about many trees is the bark that clothes them. Depending on how you plan to use a tree in your garden will help you decide whether the look of its bark is important. If most of the tree is hidden by large shrubs or landscape features then finding a nice-looking bark will be a waste of time.

  However, if the tree is either deciduous or is likely to be a feature then choosing a nice bark will be a paramount decision.

  Trees with nicely featured bark: Birches, Plane Trees and Eucalypts.



• Water Friendly? Some trees like willows and poplars are heavy drinkers and enjoy residing next to watercourses. Using these in a xeriscape garden would be completely inappropriate.

  Whereas, eucalypts and baobab trees are able to store water resources efficiently and use them during dry spells.



• Fruit or Ornamental? Do you want to plant a tree that provides a crop of abundant fruit each year or would you like one that has all the trimmings (flowers, shape and weeping habit) but no mess?

  Most fruit trees take at least 5 - 7 years before providing a decent harvest worthy of bragging rights. And, as most people are tending to move every 5 years or so it's less likely that you will reap the bounty of your efforts. So, deciding on whether a fruit tree or an ornamental is best in your backyard may come down to your long term plans.



• Clean or Messy? Trees don't have to be fruit bearing or deciduous to be messy. Our peppermint trees neither fruit nor drop their leaves in autumn but the parrots love the small nuts that grow year round. They nip them off and before long our backyard is literally covered in brown stems of leaf material.

  If you're looking for easily maintained and clean trees opt for conifers or palms.

The trend these days is to remove trees from our gardens in order to make way for more landscaping and outdoor furniture. However, trees can co-exist in these habitats and it merely takes a little planning and thoughtful consideration to find one (or two) to adorn your yard.