I was dissatisfied with our drive for so many years and thought I really wanted it to be concrete but couldn't bring myself to spend the money. Then last spring I constructed the rockery and I started to enjoy the area a bit more. I have just completed another rock project and this garden is for conifers, especially miniatures and dwarfs. With its completion I've come to realize that this driveway was never meant to be concrete. Now that the circle is done, it behaves a bit like a gravel courtyard. At this point we are using white screenings, that may change down the road, but never-the-less, this area is now a great place to sit and enjoy the surroundings.
The new conifer area is backed up with a large white pine and several smaller white pines which can go if they start to overtake the area. Before I discuss the make-up of the plantings, I'd like to share the story of how the area came to be.
Over the years this area at the head of the drive was done and redone.... nothing seemed to feel right. Last year when I decided to remove a maple because it was shading the hoop house, I decided to go with large growing viburnums and hydrangeas as well as tulips to fill the void until the shrubs attained some size. Soil in the area was dug and replaced with good compost from my vast reserves and the shrubs and tulips were planted in the area...
The result was that this past spring this area looked like the following...
... but was I satisfied... not really... I couldn't stop thinking about more rocks. I wanted to somehow get a sense of place in this area... I wanted it to be a destination... an area of gravel surrounded by gardens where I could sit and inhale the fragrance of lilies and brugsmansias in the cool of the evening. I wanted a place where mosquitoes were less likely to bother and I could occasionally sit and watch the world go by as my Grandmother had done into her late 90's. As noted, the opposing side of this area had become the 'rockery' the previous spring and I found that I really enjoyed it, but somehow it seemed incomplete.
Then it happened... I got a call from a farmer a few miles from here... would I like a bunch of rocks? uh... yeah! They had been working the same field for decades and never hit a rock in that area before this spring. As they kept digging, more and more came up... some as heavy as a few thousand pounds. With them came remnants of a farm life generations ago that no one living today had any recollection of... so yes, these rocks would come to Oak Lawn Cheese Factory and begin their new life as part of the miniature/dwarf conifer garden. Shrubs planted six months ago were repurposed elsewhere... tulips were dug for replanting this fall... and the head of the drive was to become what it had cried out to be for almost forty years.
Backed up by white pines and magnolias, numerous conifers as well as dwarf deciduous trees now inhabit the area.
Garden transformation is the bringing of one's dreams to fruition. Beware new gardeners... it can easily take half a lifetime or more! As of yesterday, another small portion of the gardens at Oak Lawn have come to the point where they have needed to be all along... after almost forty years. Once the plan was finally and completely formulated, the actual work was not all that big a deal. This is a garden of evolvement... one thing leads to the next. Did I know what exactly should happen at the end of the driveway... not until two months ago. And yet, once I did know, I realized that this had been in the works since the beginning... because it feels right.
To the north...
the hoophouse on the left and the new conifer area to the right...
... to the south...
the spring flowering rockery and driveway exit...
... to the east...
... the cottage garden...
... and to the west...
... the 150 year old cheesefactory itself.
*****
When it comes to conifer sizes, the American conifer
Society has adopted the following guidelines...
Category Abbreviation growth per year (1) Approx. size at 10 years (2)
Miniature M 1" or less 1' or less
Dwarf D 1" to 6" 1' to 6'
Intermediate I 6" to 12" 6' to 15'
Large L greater than 12" greater than 15'
1 Size may vary due to cultural, climatic and geographical region
2 Refers to growth in any direction
You may wish to fast forward on all the details of this planting.... I do have some personal thoughts at the end of the post.
In this latest conifer area, I have used the following plants:
Large:
1. Picea pungens 'Glauca Pendula'
In ten years, this plant should cover 8' by 4'. A zone 4 plant, It is planted at the back of the garden with plenty of space for growing to the north. It will need training and pruning in order to meet the required purpose.
2. Pinus flexilis 'Glauca Reflexa'1. Picea pungens 'Glauca Pendula'
In ten years, this plant should cover 8' by 4'. A zone 4 plant, It is planted at the back of the garden with plenty of space for growing to the north. It will need training and pruning in order to meet the required purpose.
This plant will probably need the most training and pruning of all the plants in the new conifer rock garden. The plant description gives the impression that every branch will grow downward and the back up once it hits the soil. I am considering whether this zone 4 weeper is the best choice at the far right where I would like a 'groundcover' form.
3. The background for this area includes a fairly mature white pine as well as sevral seedlings of various heights. These can be pruned or removed as necessary.
Intermediates:
4. Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns'
This plant was voted Conifer of the Year in 2007, is extremely narrow growing to a width of only two feet in ten years with a height of up to twelve feet. At least zone 5 hardy and probably zone 4, eventually this plant may well reach 25 feet or more but will still remain quite narrow. I have installed three at the left rear of the new garden and these will eventually be the focal point of the area.
5. Juniper horizontalis 'Gold Strike'
I've included three of these towards the front of the garden so they might eventually cascade over the rocks. These are a lovely yellow until fall when they will become more coral in color. They are a selection from 'Mother Lode' juniper, somewhat more mounding, and will get about 6" tall and 3' wide in ten years, but of course they are easily shaped and maintained as desired.
6. Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Fernspray Gold
This one is an intermediate that will take up a bit of space eventually. I don't expect one would want to do much pruning so as to maintain its beautiful form. At ten years, it may make anywhere from 5-10' in height and 2-3' of width. I've placed it at the back of the new garden. It is a beautiful yellow with arching branches reminiscent of fern fronds. Discovered in New Zealand some 30 years ago, it is also pretty in winter when it assumes orangey tones.
7. Pinus parviflora 'Ogon Janome'
This is the famous Japanese Dragon's Eye pine. Each green needle has a yellow spot ... it's very showy when it gets some size, which won't be long as it grows a foot a year... another one for the back of the garden with a ten year size of 8' x 6'.
Dwarfs:
8. Thuja occidentalis 'Mossy'
Reaching 1 ' x 2' in 10 years, this eastern arborvitae has a nice green color with stringy foliage. I've seen it compared to a sea urchin in appearance but I'm not picking up on that with mine as yet. I suspect mine needs to get a bit of body before that look is achieved.
9. Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Top Point'.
This white cedar should be about 2' by 16" at ten years. From Holland about twenty years ago, it"'s an upright growing only 2-4 inches per year and has a plum color in winter.
10. Pinus contorta 'Spann's Dwarf
Now I've seen photos of this that really excite me! It has a natural bonsai look about it. The needles are for the most part only 1/2 inch long with occasional longer needles which is an unusual aspect of this plant. At ten years, 2-3' tall can be expected with a similar width , and it looks trained even if it hasn't been!
11. Picea bicolor' Prostrata'
Now I've had the variety 'Howell's Dwarf' for years and believe me... it's no dwarf!! Prostrata is actually a flat spreading Alcock's Spruce... the blue and silver color of the needles is very attractive and it will eventually spread to as much as eight feet or more... not really a problem as its flat growth form can be easily pruned. This plant was discovered in 1979.
12. Picea glauca 'Daisy White'
At 15" in ten years, this little alberta spruce won't outgrow its spot, and its new white foliage in spring is a really neat attribute!
13. Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Dainty Doll'
About 2' x 1' in ten years, the foliage is slightly spiraled with the tips being spiraled... upright and coned shaped, this little tree knows it place!
14. Pinus thunbergiana 'Yatsubusa Watnog'
Growing 4" per year, this light and bright green mound can be 4' x 4' in ten years. It's actually a Japanese Black Pine and prefers to get some candleing to maintain a more compact form.
15. Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Verdoni'
3' x 2' at ten years, this plant has been available since 1966... golden color, but now that I think about it, I'm not sure mine is... wrong plant? I'll have to check this out tomorrow.
16. Pinus mugo 'Slowmound'
This is a mound that will achieve a width of 1-2 feet in ten years and ultimately reaching three feet.
17. Thuja plicata 'Whipcord'
Whoops... and I like this one a lot. It's zone 6 unfortunately, but perhaps I can provide the needed protection to see it reach 2' 3' in ten years. It's a form of western Red Cedar.
18. Picea Glauca 'Jean's Dilly'
This is a quite small version of 'Conica', the alberta spruce generally seen. Named after the founder of Iseli's nursery, it's needles have a distinctive twist in their form.
19. Taxus cuspidata 'Dwarf Bright Gold'
Three foot by three foot in ten years, this yellow foliaged plant can be kept in bounds with shearing.
Miniatures:
17. Juniper horizontalis 'Blue Pygmy'
They sure got the name right on this little rascal! I love it but it is tiny. We're talking 2" by 8" in ten years! The blue color is excellent as well.
18. Pinus mugo Teeny'
This is perhaps one of the tiniest of the mugo pines, reaching perhaps 18" x 18" at maturity and having a life span of 4o years. And did you know, mugo pines are hardy to -50 degrees!
19. Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Cream Tart'
This one gets only 4" x 12" in ten years and is a variegated form that makes a low bun with rich green foliage and cream variegation... originally discovered as a mutation on another plant.
Deciduous Dwarf and miniature plants:
20. Ulmus minor 'Jacquiline Hillier'
A shrub? I prefer to think of this as dwarf tree... the foliage is very attractive and I may do some training or it can be allowed to grow to about 6' by 6' with a very full head of foliage. It's one of those fun plants that offer all sorts of possibilities! I've also seen it listed as Ulmus Hollandica and/ or Ulmus elegantissima.
21. Ulmus parviflora 'Hokkaido'
Now this is a miniature tree if I ever saw one... the foliage is tiny. It's also referred to as the Lacebark elm and may eventually reach about 18". When I bought it, I saw it listed as zone 5, but now I'm finding other sources listing up to zone 7. I'll have to give this baby some pretty good protection during the winter!
22. Ginko biloba 'Green Pagoda'
This looks like any ginko but it stays small with an eventual height of a couple feet... it stays tight and vertical.
23. Ilex crenata 'Dwarf Pagoda'
This is a very hardy (zone 3) Japanese holly. The stems are only an inch long with dark green leaves and horizontal branching. This comes out of the National Arboretum in D.C.
24. Fagus sylvatica 'Mercedes'
No... this isn't, unfortunately, a car. It's actually the smallest European Beech and sports very narrow leaves that turn a nice yellow in the autumn. At 10 years, it's about 3' x 3'. This is a really different looking little tree!
25. Acer palmatum 'Ukigumo'
After a scant few years, this acer known as 'Floating Clound' can develop some amazing variegation, including soft pink and almost white new foliage. Slow growing, it can eventually reach about 15'... not likely to happen here or in my lifetime, and of course, it is easily maintained through pruning.
There you have it... as I look over this list, I realize that I have less miniatures than I'd wanted. They were hard to locate and I went with many more dwarfs. I suspect that a lot of moving goes on in dwarf and miniature conifer gardens... this may be necessary eventually. I probably should have been more patient in finishing the planting of this conifer rock garden, but it does make a good starting post for some of the larger varieties that are so small at this stage of the game.
My best to each of you... Larry
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