The overstory
The Canopy Layer
The canopy is the tallest woody layer in a forest garden. Its mature trees define the long-term pattern of light, wind, shade, leaf fall, and root competition beneath them.
Role in the design
What this layer contributes
Canopy plants establish the upper structure of a planting and can produce food, timber, habitat, shelter, or biomass. Their eventual size makes spacing and placement especially consequential.
Living library
Explore canopy plants
165 records in this layer
Evergreen Tree
Acai
Euterpe oleracea
USDA zones 10–11
Evergreen Tree
Alligator Juniper
Juniperus deppeana
USDA zones 6–9
Evergreen Tree
Allspice
Pimenta dioica
USDA zones 10–12
Deciduous Tree
Almond
Prunus amygdalus
USDA zones 7–9
Deciduous Tree
American Basswood
Tilia americana
USDA zones 3–8
Deciduous Tree
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia
USDA zones 3–9
Deciduous Tree
American Chestnut
Castanea dentata
USDA zones 5–8
Deciduous Tree
American Elm
Ulmus americana
USDA zones 3–9
Evergreen Tree
American Holly
Ilex opaca
USDA zones 5–9
Deciduous Tree
American Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
USDA zones 4–9
Deciduous Tree
American Sycamore
Platanus occidentalis
USDA zones 4–9
Deciduous Tree
Amla
Phyllanthus emblica
USDA zones 10–12