Quercus ilex – Multi Stem (Holm Oak)

It’s the dense thicket of lush deep green leaves that make this tree a stand-out star all year round, and when they’ve been as lovingly cultivated into multi-stemmed specimens as these ones, you can see what every garden needs one. Trained over many years. Their trunks are slender and prettily-barked and elevate the crown into something rather cloud-like, taking a naturalistic form and enhancing it into something properly architectural. Commonly called the ‘Evergreen Oak’ tree, and originating in the Mediterranean this small-leaved evergreen tree is a tough and adaptable character. Springtime catkins will dangle off it very prettily, pale green and flimsy, and they will be followed by little acorns in autumn. Can be grown virtually anywhere, as it’s remarkably versatile. Chalk or clay, sun or shade and very suited to coastal gardens as it’s not fussed about wind either. 

The Quercus ilex family

One of the toughest and loveliest evergreen trees in the world, in our opinion. It will do pretty little pale green catkins in spring and teeny acorns in autumn but the foliage is its year-round asset. Small, glossy dark green leaves with a slightly paler underside are produced in such abundance that the tree quickly becomes very dense and has a graceful solidity of form when au-naturelle. However this quality makes it superb for training and cultivating as a more controlled standard specimen, as you can see here. Adding to their obvious visual qualities, they are highly adaptable and versatile in the garden, taking full sun or shade and having no fussiness with regards to soil. Very few trees have such an adaptability to so many different climates: they’ll grow on chalk or clay, by the sea, in the middle of a wood or on top of a hill.