Keeping small gardens with beautiful ornamental trees needs perfect planning to maintain year-round appeal. Selecting trees with the proper size to place in the home garden is a crucial part of adding year-round interest, foliage, and blooms. a few ornamental trees that work perfectly well in small gardens.
Let’s explore!
Vitex Chaste Tree
It is fully winter hardy in USDA zone 7 to 11 and may come back from the roots and still bloom in zone 6. Chaste trees are great in the ground or container. It blooms fragrant flowers, very drought tolerant. Hardiness zones are 5 to 9, grow 8 to 15 feet tall, and 5 to 8 feet wide. It prefers full sun and blooms well in early summer.
Snow Showers Weeping Cherry Tree
Snow Fountain is a great hardy, compact tree that is also disease resistant. It shows beautiful fragrant blooms that help attract birds and butterflies. It prefers full sun, blooms well in early spring, shows yellow foliage in fall season, hardiness zones are 4 to 8, grows 10 to 12 feet tall and 9 to 10 feet wide.
Jane Magnolia Tree
Blooms in late spring with white and purple flowers and turns into dark glossy green foliage. It can be trained to become a hardy shrub or small tree, hardiness zones are 4 to 8, grows 10 to 15 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide, it prefers full sun.
Limelight Hydrangea Tree

The limelight hydrangea tree is a perfect small ornamental tree for the perennial garden, works perfectly for corner areas in flower beds with colorful heights, hardiness zones are 3 to 8, grows 6 to 8 feet tall and 6 to 7 feet wide, it prefers full sun and blooms all summer long.
Bloomerang Lilac Tree
Bloomerang lilac blooms twice each year, once in mid-May and again from July until the first frost. Bloomerang lilac is perfect for planting near high-traffic areas, like patios and open gardens, hardiness zones are 3 to 8, grows 6 to 7 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide, it prefers full.
Japanese Maple
Acer Palmatum is also known as Japanese Maple. There are lots of varieties from the Japanese maple family. Acer Palmatum Japanese Maple is very attractive with a compact dome shape with arching branches, and it is perfect for small gardens and flowers, or it can be a large container tree. Hardiness zones are 5 to 9, grows 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide, it prefers yule sun to partial shade.
Black Lace Elderberry Tree
It shows gorgeous ferny leaves that are purple-black all season, Black Lace Elderberry is a beautiful shrub for contrasting colors and forms with moderate drought tolerance. Hardiness zones are 4 to 7, grows 6 to 8 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide, it prefers full sun to partial shade.
Merlot Redbud Tree
Redbud trees are perfect to bring beautiful colors and add shade to a home garden. It blooms bright lavender-pink flowers and shows rich dark purple foliage. It is tolerant to heat and drought but water until established. Hardiness zones are 6 to 9, grows 12 to 14 feet tall and 12 to 14 feet wide, it prefers full sun to partial shade. Another popular redbud tree is the Eastern Redbud Tree, which shows vibrant purple flowers that cover the branches in the early spring, large heart-shaped, deciduous leaves arrive after the flowers grow 15 to 20 feet in height and spread, hardiness zones are 4 to 9.
Black Diamond Lavender Lace Crepe Myrtle Tree
There is a wide range of crepe myrtles trees with different colors purple, red, and white, Black Diamond Lavender Lace Crepe Myrtle shows pastel purple blooms and deep black foliage making Black Diamond Lavender Lace an elegant accessory for container gardens and landscape beds. Hardiness zones are 7 to 9, grows 10 to 12 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide, it prefers full sun.
Lynwood Gold Forsythia Shrub

Forsythia displays an abundance of light yellow eye-popping golden blooms, and leaves turn purplish red hue and fall, great for attracting hummingbirds and pollinators. Hardiness zones are 6 to 9, grows 6 to 9 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide, it prefers full sun to partial.
My Thought
I hope you find some good information in this article. If you want to know which tree I prefer, I would say the Vitex Chaste Tree because of its size, hardness, Drought tolerance, Fragrant blooms, and Versatility.
Good luck in the garden and keep on growing.