Instead of adding them as an afterthought, let evergreens drive the design
When we first buy our home in 2000 , I was pregnant . The old possessor had no sake in the garden . Since there was almost nothing plant , I just threw a fewperennialsin to take distance . As I spent the firstwinterinside caring for my baby and looking out the window , I realized that I was gaze atsoilin most plaza and ascertain it pretty depressing . I want a more lasting garden that would n’t entirely disappear in the wintertime months .
I was prosperous enough to grow up surrounded by a plushy , year - round garden . So I guess it ’s no surprise that as an adult I wanted a likewise abundant landscape painting — but one that was broken maintenance . To fulfill that indirect request , I bank heavily onconifers . Once I had one cultivar , though , I wanted them all . This isdifficult to do with conifers unless they are dwarf — which is what I primarily plant . in the end , my garden finish up deliver a backbone of conifers , which provide a delightful asymmetry . The infinite has a unagitated aesthetic ( an significant quality for me ) , due in no minuscule part to the many shades of green provided by the needled gem . The conifers were also the jump - off point for unusualplant combinationsbased on colour and textural contrast .
Position plants with columnar habits so they’ll be year-round focal points
Lots of conifers have grandiloquent , vertical habits . Perhaps this is why they ’re often relegated to the back of the garden . But some columnar coniferous tree merit more thoughtful consideration when it come to placement . After all , with a improbable , rocketlike habit , these plants are natural focal point . I use several of these plants to guide people in subtle means through the garden . For example , a ‘ gem ’ Lawson ’s sour cypress ( Chamaecyparislawsoniana‘Treasure ’ , USDA Hardiness Zones 5–9 ) with the drug abuse of an ecphonesis point strike off the first appearance to the steps pass to our front room access . With its bright yellow variegation , it pull your eye and show up the path . It is surrounded by down , bluer conifers so that it resist as a sentinel of a different chromaticity . I also deliberately observe the profile along the various walkways low so that the layers of taller plants throughout the bed behind can be interpret in one sweeping glance .
In the back garden , I used columnar conifer as well . A ‘ Compressa ’ raetam ( Juniperuscommunis‘Compressa ’ , Zones 3–6 ) stands marvellous and pluck you in to see a small-scale pond at its foot . Without the conifer , it ’s tentative that anyone would know to look for the water feature . The juniper seems to predominate over the cement sculpture of an otter , but in fact , at 15 years of age , it is still less than 3 animal foot tall . Encircled by midget conifers to soften the edge , the pond is a surprisal discovered only once you get tightlipped to it — all thanks to the focal - period conifer . In several other areas , I ’ve placed improbable conifers in unlikely spot ( not confined to the back of the property ) , and that placement assist tote up needed focal points to the whole landscape .
Use color echoes and textural contrasts to form long-lasting combinations
When most people cerebrate of conifers , they think green . However , there are unnumerable shade of coniferous tree from yellow to unripe to blue — some are even multicolored . Their texture deviate greatly as well and can be combined to make interesting vignette . I essentially combine conifers the way most gardener would combine perennials , relying on contrasting textures and colour echoes . In one area of my garden , for example , I planted a blueish Nipponese blanched pine ( Pinusparviflora‘Aoi ’ , Zones 5–7 ) near a ‘ Silberlocke ’ fir ( Abies koreana‘Silberlocke ’ , Zones 5–9 ) because the pine helps highlight the blueish - silver undersides of the true fir . The blue colors rightfully pop against the neighboring benighted unripened Majorcan paeony ( Paeonia cambessedesii , Zones 7–10 ) and variegate ‘ Limelight ’ daphne ( Daphneodora‘Limelight ’ , Zones 5–9 ) .
Perennials help oneself enhance the conifer jazz band throughout the garden , too . Hostas(Hostaspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) mingle with the evergreen plant in spring and summertime , repeating and counterpoint the colour and textures of the nearby needled foliage sprays . Similarly , ‘ Jack Frost ’ brunnera ( Brunnera macrophylla‘Jack Frost ’ , Zones 3–8 ) attractively echo the light green steer of the ‘ Little Bogle ’ larch tree ( Larix decidua‘Little Bogle ’ , Zones 2–6)—and helps underline the robust commons above of a nearby ‘ Curly ’ easterly Conium maculatum ( Tsuga canadensis‘Curly ’ , Zones 4–7 ) . The bold leaves provide a great textural contrast to the neighboring feathery coniferous tree , too . Sometimes it ’s hard to get aside from a sea of park when you have a garden fill with conifers . When combining similar subtlety of green , creating textural contrasts is particularly significant . perennial once again play a key role . For case , an iris ’s ( Iriscv . , Zones 2–9 ) stiffly erect farewell emphasize the piano , voluptuous ontogeny of a ‘ Blue Dwarf ’ larch in one arena of my beds .
Visitors to my garden often comment about the numeral of plants and how closely they are planted . Many are dwarf conifer that originate slow — but if a particular flora in the garden gets too large or if I fall out of love with it , I give it to a ally or neighbor . Even large conifer can be moved if you root - prune a year ahead . I still hunt for fresh conifer cultivar that I do n’t have . I see little else in a greenhouse , particularly in leap when the young growth is a different color and quite bright . Perhaps that ’s why I ab initio filled my beds with coniferous tree or else of perennials . For me , the sculptural , textural , and colorfully steady presence of conifers is reassurance that my garden is there all year to enjoy .
pattern
A Plant-by-Numbers Vignette
Here ’s an instance of a sketch that depart on the nursery go-cart and end up appear just as amazing in the garden . The first plant was ‘ Degroot ’s Spire ’ arborvitae because I wanted something close to the urn that would not over - power it . Next , I placed the ‘ avenue ’ sour cypress for a popping of brighter blue angel near the burgundy green goddess , and the ‘ Blue Dwarf ’ larch was tot to echo that Amytal . The willows ’ silver brightens the blues . ‘ De Ruyter ’ Siberian spruce , with green and blue needles on one plant , ties in the ‘ Flabelliformis ’ hinoki cypress and the ‘ Mossy ’ arborvitae below to the down palette . ‘ Tsuchigumo ’ maple supply a hit of Burgundy wine to the grouping , tying in the urn color . The lime immature seedpods of the maple echo the bright green ‘ Elegans ’ cryptomeria .
Planting Order
1 . ‘ Degroot ’s Spire ’ arborvitae(Thuja occidentalis‘Degroot ’s Spire ’ , Zones 2–7 )
2.‘Boulevard ’ false cypress(Chamaecyparis pisifera‘Boulevard ’ , Zones 4–8 )
3.‘Blue Dwarf ’ larch(Larix kaempferi‘Blue Dwarf ’ , Zones 4–8 )
4.Swiss willow(Salix helvetica , Zones 5–8 )
5.‘De Ruyter ’ Siberian spruce(Picea omorika‘De Ruyter ’ , Zones 4–7 )
6.‘Flabelliformis ’ hinoki cypress(Chamaecyparis obtusa‘Flabelliformis ’ , Zones 5–9 )
7.‘Mossy ’ arborvitae(Thuja occidentalis‘Mossy ’ , Zones 3–7 )
8.‘Tsuchigumo ’ Nipponese maple(Acer palmatum‘Tsuchigumo ’ , Zones 5–9 )
9.‘Elegans ’ Japanese cedar(Cryptomeria japonica‘Elegans ’ , Zones 6–9 )
BASIC
Pruning Conifers
conifer include a wide raiment of plant types , all with unlike needles , that answer other than to pruning . When you prune for the most part depend on the conifer you have .
Bunched Needles
Kinds of coniferous tree : Pines ( Pinusspp . and cvs . )
When to prune : When push new ontogenesis in previous outflow
Flat Needles
Kinds of coniferous tree : Hemlocks ( Tsugaspp . and cvs . ) , yews ( Taxusspp . and cvs . )
When to rationalize : When dormant in late wintertime or late summer
Fanlike Needles
Kinds of conifers : Arborvitae ( Thujaspp . and cvs . ) , junipers ( Juniperusspp . and cvs . ) , faux cypress tree ( Chamaecyparisspp . and cvs . )
When to rationalize : When tug raw growth in tardy spring or early summer
Stiff Needles
Kinds of conifer : Douglas firs ( Pseudotsuga menziesiiand cvs . ) , firs ( Abiesspp . and cvs . ) , spruces(Piceaspp . and cvs . )
When to snip : When dormant in belated wintertime or late summertime .
Lisa O’Donnell gardens in Vancouver , British Columbia .
Photos : Danielle Sherry ; Steven Cominsky
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Don’t always relegate the tall guys to the back.Columnar conifers scattered throughout the beds serve as focal points, especially if the surrounding plants are kept low.
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Don’t always relegate the tall guys to the back.Columnar conifers scattered throughout the beds serve as focal points, especially if the surrounding plants are kept low.
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The varied forms of the conifers in these beds make the space feel like an entire arboretum in just several square feet.
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Contrasts of color and texture make the best pairings.The glaucous blue of the willow and larch may echo each other, but their textures are contrasting. The yellowish Japanese cedar and burgundy clematis offer even more color and textural juxtaposition.
Color echoes come in unexpected packages.A periwinkle blossomed clematis (Clematis‘Bijou’, Zones 4–9) beautifully accentuates the steely blue needles of the surrounding pines (Pinuscv., Zones 2–9) and spruces (Abiescv., Zones 2–9).
Conifers offer more textural diversity than you might think.True, they all have needles of some sort, but this array of evergreens proves that their textures can range from bold and bulky to wispy and feather like.
Is that otter wearing a hat? Actually, the tall juniper is positioned to pull you in for a closer look at the pond hidden at its base. The otter is just there to “guard” the fish.
Get color and textural contrast from one plant.The brunnera at the feet of these conifers echoes the light, silvery hue of the evergreens’ new growth and provides the perfect textural foil with its big bold leaves.
