Rethinking Evergreens

Evergreens provide more than year round greenery in the landscape.

Use taller ones for screening bad views or creating privacy. Combine them with perennials and flowering shrubs for added seasonal interest. Fast growing western arborvitae will soon provide added privacy and a noise barrier from the neighbors.

Many evergreens have interesting form and texture like the oriental spruce. Use these to create a focal point in a garden bed or landscape.

And evergreens come in more colors than green. The yellow needles of the golden thread cypress and blue of the procumbens spruce make these nice accents in a perennial garden.

Or use them as a backdrop for other plants. The variegated iris plays off the blue-green of the blue shag white pine.

And don't worry if your garden is in the shade. Select one of the many size and shaped hemlocks. These shade tolerant evergreens need a bit of shelter from winter winds and sun.

A bit more information: Create a spruce forest in your backyard. Plant several dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca 'Conica') in a cluster. Mix in a few of the blue foliaged varieties like Sanders Blue for added interest. The larger your landscape the bigger the forest can be. Those of us with small yards may be limited to a forest of three spruces.