If you have been following my conifer posts, you know that I have been discussing the conifers in the gardens at Oak Lawn Cheese Factory. When I came across the photo just below, I realized that the previous posts were about as interesting as reading a dictionary. It is important to get to know the individual plants that can create a landscape just as it's important to know the words that make up the language... it's what you do with those plants that make the landscape exciting, just as using words can create the novel that you can't put down. With that in mind, I'm going to approach this series a bit differently from here on out. Normally when I post my landscape photos, I usually point out the things that are in bloom in a particular shot. In this conifer post, I hope to be able to draw attention to how using conifers with all the other plant material makes an area work, while drawing your attention to some of the other cultivars I've used in the gardens. Today's post concerns the conifer plantings that surround the cottage garden ( and more and more are filling the cottage garden!)
The garden pictured above was obviously shot in the fall... at the front are
20 + varieties of Siberian Iris planted with the goal of developing good size clumps. In June they will provide a lot of color and once the color has passed they work much as grasses work when combined with conifers... it's all about the textures. Moving clockwise, just in front of the fence is a weeping larch in fall color. Larix shed their foliage for the winter and are very easy to train to whatever shape works in a specific situation. The cottage garden lays behind this area and incorporates a number of conifers and recently added Japanese maples. The view is backed up with a large white pine and a number of deciduous trees including the golden yellow cercidiphyllums (katsuras) and a variety of magnolias and flowering crab apples. At 1:00 are oaks and beeches which provide color both during the summer and fall. The scene wraps around to the right with more magnolias and amelanchiers. the center of this scene is full of conifers in a variety of textures, shapes, and colors, along with the contrasting foliage of lilies.
In planning a conifer garden, one needs to address rate of growth, color, texture and shape.
In terms of shape, one needs to consider the following basic outlines...
a. columnar (tall and narrow, cylindrical)
b. pyramidal (taller at the top and wider towards the bottom)
c. globose (spherical or bun shaped)
d. prostrate (low and spreading)
In terms of growth, I repeat what I shared from the American Conifer Society in an earlier post... as a rule of thumb (although this does not necessarily refer to a specific direction of growth which will depend on the plant's shape)...
a. miniature (less than 1" per year)
b. dwarf (1"-6" per year)
c. intermediate (6"-12" per year)
d. large (over 12" per year)
It's important to keep in mind that the term dwarf may be used as a generalization for 'slower growing' or 'smaller than the species'. To be certain, check the yearly growth rate as well as the ten year growth rate. Keep in mind that many 'dwarf' conifers can become massive after decades.
In terms of color, I suspect the warmer the zone, the more choices may be available. However, even here in zone 5 there are many shades of blues greens, bicolors, golds, greys, and bronzes available. These plants can also change color depending on the time of year.
In terms of texture, there are all kinds of choices, and as with color, this is where one can incorporate plants other than just conifers. By way of example, heaths and heathers are wonderful companions to conifers... unfortunately I have not been successful with these because of our climate. There are plenty of other choices though... hostas work great and I will share some photos that show how nicely they work amongst conifers.
The world of conifers and the gardeners who really enjoy them is way more expansive than most gardeners realize. Gardens consisting totally of conifers can be fabulous, but the addition of other elements can be amazing as well. A gardener who has a well rounded appreciation of a host of species has amazing possibilities at his /her disposal.
The photo below is basically a June shot of the fall photo at the top. Note the color variations provided by the dwarf blue spruces. The Rosio-marginata beech works well as a contrast paricularly with the blues. This is the kind of use that is very appropriate for colored Japanese maples and is often seen in conifer gardens (I am starting to experiment with acers and am being reminded this week just how cold we can get with minus 11 degrees over night). The tall accent among the actual conifers in this area is the weeping white spruce backed up by clematis Betty Corning which is in bloom all season. Grasses Elijah Blue and Blue Oats pick up the colors of the blue spruces. Rheingold Arborvitaes provide some yellow-gold to the scene and, while capable of growing quite large, can be maintained as a fairly flat spreading globe if desired. These actually have juvenile and adult foliage and I've been having pretty good luck maintaining the lower juvenile foliage through pruning. Their winter color is a coppery bronze. In front of the weeping white spruce is Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke' ( of late labeled as Silberlocke) which has a beautiful silver white reverse to needles that curl up to reveal the color. I believe Silberlocke translates as silver curls which is most appropriate. Cones on older specimens are a lovely purple when developing. The plant stats out as a globe but eventually becomes pyramidal. I actually have a weeping norway spruce in this area which can get very large, but does respond well to pruning for size maintenance. To the right of the blue spruces is what is probably Thuja plicata 'Whipcord' which exhibits a lot of of textural interest. To the right of that is a magnolia (Sundance) that blooms with large yellow blossoms in season and a very old Seagreen Juniper trained into what appears to be a windswept tree form... this provides good shade for a few hostas. In this photo the Amelanchier canadensis (serviceberry) is in full fruit but they won't last long as they attract a lot of birds.
The following photo gives a better view of the conifers in this area...
Here is a close-up of Thuja plicata 'Whipcord' ...
This is a close-up of the Abies koreana 'Silberlocke' (Korean Fir) with new cones that eventually turn purple before brown...
Another plant which makes an excellent statement is Pinus mugo 'Tannenbaum'. This is listed as an intermediate grower and the original plant attained 10' in 25 years with a width of 6'. It was selected from hundreds of seedlings at McCrory Gardens at South Dakota State University. Form is a highlight of this plant which was the first single stemmed variety of Mugo Pine to be commercially marketed. I did find some scale on mine along with a few other Mugo varieties, but this seems to be a problem solved with a light weight horticultural oil spray. This is a good one for decorating at Christmas time...
I enjoy building gardens around one or more flowering trees, especially conifer collections. Following are a few photos during crab apple season of the garden discussed in this post...
Thanks for visiting! Larry
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