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Conifer is not just for Christmas
by Brendan Little
 I
once asked a group of four year olds to give
me the name of one tree, expecting to hear shouts
of oak and ash I smiled when one girl raised
her hand and shouted out 聭Christmas tree聮!
Unfortunatly Christmas is only time when many
gardeners consider using conifers, and if this
includes you, then read on.
We all know that the most successful gardens
are those that provide interest throughout the
year. Since no individual flowering plant is
at its peak for all twelve months it is important
that there are a sufficient number of plants
for winter interest in the garden. It is during
these winter months that the bold shapes and
colour provided by evergreens, such as conifers,
come into their own. Within the group of plants
we know as conifers there are varieties that
provide texture, colour, fragrance, shape and
form.
If
you like plants with a weeping growth habit,
and I do, there are some conifers, which fit
this bill admirably. For the larger garden look
no further than the old favourite Chamaecyparis
lawsoniana 聭Intertexta聮, this elegant
conifer has aromatic, grey-green foliage which
is carried in lax pendulus sprays. My personal
favorite of the weepers is Picea breweriana,
the 聭Brewers Spruce聮, this upright
plant reaches 15m, carries level branches with
completely pendulous branchlets and oblong purplish
cones. Another fine specimen conifer, with a
weeping habit, to grace any garden is Chamaecyparis
nootkatensis 聭Pendula聮.
Some cultivars of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana valued
for their upright form include, Chamaecyparis
lawsoniana 聭Columnaris聮 and Chamaecyparis
lawsoniana 聭Lutea聮 which has leaves
of golden yellow. On a smaller scale the Irish
Juniper, Juniperus communis 聭Hibernica聮
can be used to provide a vertical element to
a container or the rock garden. For that classical
Italian feel the Italian cypress, Cupressus
sempervirens 聭Stricta聮, may be for
you.
For
sheer leaf colour the firs win branches down.
Abies koreana, the Korean Fir, has leaves of
glossy green with a purplish bloom and winter
buds of chestnut-red. This plant is a real show
stopper especially in winter when the cones
stand proud of the foliage. From a distance
the tree seems to be festooned with glowing
candles, an ideal Christmas tree indeed.
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