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Designing with Conifers
by R. William Thomas
Rather than relegating conifers to the nether regions of your garden, or plunking them smack in the middle of the lawn, enrich your plantings by treating them as versatile garden plants. Here are a few ideas:
Use conifers to give your garden an architectural framework. Because they retain their leaves year-round, evergreen conifers are ideal for defining spaces—framing vistas, creating rooms within a garden and forming backdrops for spring-blooming trees and shrubs. First consider placement and size: What space do you want defined and how do you want to define it? For partitioning off a kitchen garden or a perennial bed, use a low hedge such as a globe arborvitae. You can even use a low-growing conifer like a creeping juniper to define space next to a lawn.
Use conifers in utilitarian roles. Placed strategically, conifers can be used to block unsightly views, establish privacy, block wind or buffer loud noise. For example, if your intention is to block wind, you'll need to place a hedge running perpendicular to the direction of the prevailing wind. An 8'- to 15'-tall arborvitae makes an excellent windblock or garden wall. Tall, dense hedges can also muffle noise from traffic or schoolyards.
Mingle conifers with other plants. When choosing plants to combine with conifers, remember to consider color. Blue conifers look great with pink- and purple-flowering plants, yellow conifers set off yellow flowers and green conifers complement light-colored plants and flowers.
Use conifers as focal points. Shape is a particularly important consideration when using conifers as focal points or accent plants. Many gardeners, inspired by the grand columnar cypresses of Italy, try to re-create that effect at home. In California and the South, Italian cypresses do well. In colder northern regions, junipers or leyland cypresses make suitable substitutes. Enthusiastic gardeners are often taken with the shape of an unusual conifer such as a monkey puzzle tree. If you find yourself smitten by unusual specimens, be sure to limit your choice to just one or two types—overdo it with too many "focal points" and you won't know where to look first.
Don't just plant conifers in neat rows. If your garden is formal, space conifers at regular intervals. If not, note that even in Italy cypresses are often seen growing in masses or clusters as well as rows. For an informal look, stagger the spacing between the plants.
R. William Thomas is Education Division Manager at Longwood Gardens, where he teaches several classes on woody plants, including conifers. He is past president of the American Conifer Society and editor of Trees and Shrubs (Hearst Books, 1992).