As much as I hate to admit it, it’s time to jettison the summer color and start thinking about what will look good in the garden all winter long.
As the perennials melt away, annuals die and the deciduous trees and shrubs shed their foliage, we are left with one primary group of plants that can give us dependable winter color: needle-leafed evergreens, which botanically speaking, we call conifers.
Winter is when conifers come to the center stage of the garden. During the other seasons there are too many distractions to even notice them. But once all the flowers are gone and the foliage has frozen away the conifers become the dominate elements of the landscape.
They become the framework of our borders and beds, as well as help us to remember how the spaces are articulated in our gardens. They are also good candidates for containers.
When I first moved to the Northwest I was overwhelmed with the choices of conifers. We have at least 10 to 15 genera and a plethora of varieties and cultivars to choose.
Over the past 26 years, I have come to appreciate many types of conifers for their role in my winter garden. They will never hold the excitement that annuals and perennials provide, but they are reliable in the winter when all my fun stuff is gone.
Far too many Northwesterners have the annoying habit of referring to all evergreens as “pines.” I am not sure how this came to be, especially considering that our native forests are dominated not with pines but rather cedars, firs, spruce and hemlocks. On the east side the pine tree is the dominate conifer, but not the case on the west.
Because we are part of the Pacific Rim many Asian species of conifers thrive in our climate and have been introduced over the years. Had it not been for the Ice Age and Continental Shift I suppose many might still be considered native to our area.
This is by far the best time of the year to shop for conifers. Many of them have taken on winter colors of plum and bronze instead of their summertime blue and green. There are even a couple of pines that turn a bright yellow in the winter. (Look for Chief Joseph if you like golden foliage, it is a stunner.)
This time of year at most garden centers, conifers will be moved into a prominent location where they can’t be missed. It might be surprising the contrast and drama one can generate with conifers just from the variety of foliage colors and growth habits available. Don’t forget to look for miniature varieties that only grow an inch or less a year, making them well suited for containers, rockeries or miniature gardens.
Generally, conifers are relatively undemanding. They love the Northwest’s acidic soils and ample rain fall (just make sure they have good drainage). Some conifers can be pruned or sheared into hedges or topiary shapes while others need to be allowed to grow naturally.
There is a conifer for practically every application you could ever think of from full sun (pines) to full shade (yews and hemlocks)and drought (junipers) to dampness (dawn redwoods).
Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached online at info@sunnysidenursery.net.
Conifers class
Sunnyside Nursery will host a class on conifers at 10 a.m. Oct. 17 at Sunnyside Nursery. For more information, visit www.sunnysidenursery.net.
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