Backyard tree planting on the sides of your house that get the most sun will cut the amount of solar gain your house gets during the warmer months. This will lower the temperature inside your house and reduce the need for air conditioning. Trees also cool the air around them by releasing water into the air through a process called evapotranspiration.
In cooler places, the tree canopy can block the wind and make it less drafty. Deciduous trees are great for areas with hot summers and cool winters because their leaves fall off in the winter, letting the most sunlight into your home to warm it.
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Why Backyard Tree Planting is Great
A green screen
Choosing the right kind of tree can help keep your backyard private and hide your neighbors’ houses. This includes blocking out noise and blocking out the view.
Evergreen trees with a lot of leaves, like the fern pine (Podocarpus gracilior) or the Japanese loquat, are great for screening (Eriobotrya japonica).
Colors that stand out
Trees aren’t always the first thing people think of when they want to add some color to their outdoor space. Instead, many people choose annuals to add bright colors to their garden. Many kinds of trees have beautiful leaves that turn fiery orange, deep red, and golden yellow in the fall.
Before their leaves fall off for the winter, the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and the American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) put on a beautiful show. The Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) has fragrant fuchsia flowers that open from fall to mid-spring, and the crape myrtle tree (Lagerstroemia indica) has big plumes of white, red, pink, and purple flowers in the summer and fall.
It’s also great to match trees with miniature small rock garden.
Shade for places to meet outside
The canopy of a tree can make a natural extension of your backyard’s living space. Not only does shade from trees make it more pleasant to sit outside in the summer, but it can also lower the cost of watering plants and soil by making less water evaporate.
Even a small outdoor space can be changed by the right shade tree. If you have a small yard or a narrow planting area, look for trees with roots that don’t spread out too much. This will keep your foundation from getting damaged. Patio trees like the eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) and the Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) are good choices for a small backyard because they are small and don’t have troublesome roots.
Food choices
Local food supporters will tell you that eating a piece of fruit right off the tree is the best way to eat it. Plant a crop-producing tree in your yard to make it feel more like a farm.
Citrus trees are a popular choice for home gardeners because they produce a lot of fruit and have pretty leaves. A persimmon tree is also a good choice because there are many different kinds that can grow in most American climates and soils.
Wildlife habitat
Many greenbelts and nature reserves have been made because people want cities to be better for the environment. By giving birds, insects, and squirrels a place to live, planting a tree in your backyard can help the local ecosystem. Bees and other pollinators will be drawn to trees that bloom with flowers.
Plant trees that provide pollen and nectar to attract wildlife to your yard. Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) and crabapple (Malus spp.) trees are especially attractive to bees because their blooms are beautiful and smell good.
Effects of being green
Trees do important things for the environment that have nothing to do with increasing biodiversity, such as storing carbon. Trees take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen through a process called photosynthesis. It is known that climate change gets worse when there is a lot of carbon dioxide in the air. By planting trees, a place can offset some of the carbon dioxide it makes.
Also, trees help reduce the effect of the urban heat island. When there isn’t a strong tree canopy, hot temperatures tend to get even worse in urban areas with a lot of buildings and paved areas that aren’t covered. By providing shade and releasing water through evaporation and transpiration, trees make urban areas more comfortable to live in and less likely to get too hot or too cold.
Property values go up
Aside from saving you money on heating and cooling, trees also raise the value of your property, which is another economic benefit. Due to the known benefits of a mature tree canopy, many studies have shown that trees can raise property values by up to 15%. People want to buy homes with mature trees because they provide shade, clean the air, and give the property a unique look.
There are a number of environmental, financial, and aesthetic benefits to planting trees in your yard. Trees make the world a better place to live, and they come in all sizes and shapes to fit any space. When choosing the right tree for your backyard, don’t forget to think about things like the weather, how much sun it gets, and the soil.
