Evergreen plants are a staple in every garden.
They provide year-round interest, add structure to borders and flower beds and even provide food and shelter for local wildlife over the winter months.
And happily, evergreen options are abundant for every size and style of garden, from sprawling acres of land to small gardens and even balconies.
Whether you want to make an impression with a small conifer tree, create privacy screening with a hedge or decorate your patio with topiary shapes, there are suitable evergreen trees plants, and shrubs out there for you.
What is an Evergreen Plant?
Put simply, an evergreen is any plant that keeps its foliage all year round. Unlike deciduous plants, evergreens don’t lose their leaves in autumn.
Some evergreens flower in spring and summer, and many will produce berries in autumn. These are a valuable food source for birds and small mammals.
Bear in mind that not all evergreen plants will be green throughout the year.
Some boast vibrant shades of purple, red and orange, while others may be semi-evergreen or keep their foliage despite it having died off.
Small Evergreen Shrubs
Perfect for adding year-round interest to an outdoor space, compact evergreen shrubs come in various silhouettes and colours to suit any garden style, from cottage-core to urban.
Cordyline
Native to Australia, New Zealand, South America and South East Asia, Cordylines are small shrubs with a distinctly exotic look.
However, they also grow well in the UK, especially when planted in a sheltered spot and protected against frost.
Long sword-like leaves arch out from the centre of the plant, and come in glorious shades of green, yellow, red and purple.
Some mature cordyline plants may even flower in summer. These dramatic-looking shrubs are ideal for planting in a border or for container gardening.
One of the best evergreen shrubs for adding a tropical, structured feel, cordylines are relatively easy to care for. They are drought tolerant in the ground, but potted plants need watered more often during dry spells.
Heather
There are many varieties of heather plants, but they all have one thing in common – they are evergreen.
These small evergreen shrubs flower throughout the year in myriad colours, including pink, white, red and the most commonly seen, purple.
Painted varieties are also available in almost any colour imaginable, adding plenty of seasonal interest to the garden.
Bees, butterflies and other pollinators find the spikes of flowers irresistible, making heather a great choice for attracting wildlife to the garden. Heather is easy to grow and is ideal for ground cover.
Plant in free-draining soil and choose a sunny spot for the most vivid colours.
Hebe Green Mound
As the name suggests, hebe green mound is a low-growing rounded shrub that forms low mounds.
It boasts interesting bright green foliage, blooms tiny white flowers in summer, and works equally well planted in the ground or pots and containers.
Hebe will thrive in moist but well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. While this is a relatively hardy shrub, it does prefer to be sheltered from strong winds.
Dwarf Azalea
Azalea can grow to an impressive size, but dwarf varieties allow gardeners the same flowering beauty in a smaller, more manageable size.
The Japonica Royal Red is a slow-growing, compact cultivar with masses of vibrant crimson-red flowers appearing in late spring to early summer.
Azalea Japonica is hardy, easy to grow and suitable for containers. Plant in moist, well-drained soil with added ericaceous compost to help promote healthy growth.
Azalea will tolerate full sun but prefers a sheltered spot in partial shade, making them great evergreen shrubs for shady areas of the garden.
Small Evergreen Trees
You might think you don’t have enough room for a tree in your garden, but that’s not necessarily true.
Many varieties of trees don’t take on much growth every year and can be planted in a border or as a statement in the middle of a lawn.
Others are suitable for planting in pots and containers for year-round interest on patios and other paved areas.
Bay Tree
The Laurus nobilis cultivar of bay tree is perfectly suited to growing in borders or containers. It can be trained to a classic lollipop shape with long stems and is sometimes called bay laurel.
The tree’s foliage has touches of yellow in spring before maturing to dark green for the summer and autumn.
Bay trees retain their leaves over the dormant winter period, after which they start to fade, and are replaced by new leaves in spring. Bay leaves have culinary uses and can be added fresh or dried to flavour various dishes, such as soups and stews.
Bay trees thrive in moist, well-draining soil and like to be positioned in full sun or partial shade, out of cold winds.
Strawberry Tree
This small spreading tree features reddish-brown bark and toothed, green leaves. Bell-shaped flowers bloom in autumn at the same time as the previous year’s fruit begins ripening and turning red.
These creamy-white flowers are tinged with pink, and the fruit grows in clusters towards the ends of the branches.
Not to be confused with strawberry plants, the fruit of the strawberry tree is actually the arbutus berry, which resembles a strawberry, hence the tree’s name.
Strawberry trees prefer the soil to be well-drained and like a sunny spot where they are sheltered from strong winds.
Eucalyptus
Left to its own devices, eucalyptus can reach impressive heights. However, it responds well to pruning, and it’s easy to maintain an appropriate size in smaller gardens.
Eucalyptus does well in borders and containers and is an excellent choice for a patio tree.
Renowned for their glossy blue-green leaves and peeling bark, eucalyptus trees aren’t overly fussy when it comes to soil, growing well in almost any soil type, as long as it is free draining.
A sheltered spot in full sun is ideal.
Evergreen Shrubs for Topiary
Whether you fancy hanging a topiary ball from the porch or flanking your front door with a pair of evergreen shrubs cut neatly into shape, a topiary is an elegant way to bring life to otherwise boring or drab spaces.
Many topiary pieces are purchased pre-shaped, but you can create your own by clipping an evergreen shrub.
A carefully manicured topiary shape gives an outdoor space a more formal feel and the appearance of a carefully tended garden.
Box
Also known as boxwood or buxus, box is a classic evergreen with small glossy green leaves that are densely packed and perfect for pruning into pyramids, globes and even spirals.
One of the best things about box is that it will grow almost anywhere. It is well-suited to pots and containers, tolerates most light conditions and thrives in most soil types, providing the ground isn’t waterlogged.
Native to the UK, box is a slow-growing evergreen shrub, which makes the shape easy to maintain.
Yew
Yew is a long-lived evergreen with small dark green leathery leaves perfect for trimming into interesting shapes.
Yew is often clipped into balls or cones for topiary, providing shape and structure to a border or patio area.
Plant yew in moist but well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. Prune in early summer with a second trim later in the season to keep fresh growth neat and tidy.
No matter what size of garden you have, shrubs and trees provide colour and foliage interest throughout the year and have the added bonus of providing winter shelter for birds and small mammals.