I love conifers above all because they do not require raking leaves and large trimmings. I used to have ornamental willows and wigs. Piles of fallen leaves and cut branches are a problem in a city where fires are not allowed. That's why I created my garden based on conifers.
You can choose from many variations and forms
I used many species and forms of conifers of various shapes and colors. Thanks to this, the space around the house is not monotonous. There is little space in front of the building, so here I decided to choose dwarf varieties recommended for small gardens. In my row I have 'Smaragd' western thuja with bright green twigs.Against them, the blue blue spruce 'Glauca Compacta' looks nice. It is a drought-resistant and frost-resistant variety, but it must be provided with a sunny position. Other prickly spruces, popularly known as silver, also hate shading. My miniature favorite is the Japanese cypress 'Nana Gracilis' with a shell-like, dark green needles. It grows up to 1.5 m in height. It grows only about 5 cm per year, similar to the 'Kobold' variety of Mountain Pine. The latter has a nice, spherical habit and, like all pines, it is not very demanding in terms of soil conditions. I sincerely recommend it to every garden. Both it and the spherical miniature thuja 'Little Gem' are also suitable for growing in pots on the terrace. 'Little Gem' grows slowly and only reaches a meter high.
Compositions with shrubs and flowers
Miniature conifers beautifully blend in with all kinds of stones, heather plants and rhododendrons.You just have to be careful not to be drowned out by the rapidly growing specimens planted nearby. We have more space at the back of the house, so we could afford to plant trees and larger shrubs there. My pride is the fine pine limba, inherited from its previous owners. The limbs grow slowly. Their advantage - apart from the decorative habit and dense crown - is remarkable frost resistance.These are mountain trees after all.
Recommended frost resistance
I must admit that when choosing conifers for my garden, I was guided by their resistance to negative temperature and urban pollution. Lawsona 'Blue Surprise' has such features. He feels great in my garden and pleases the eyes with a steel-blue, columnar silhouette. It grows up to 2-2.5 m in height.
The most original conifer in my garden is the dwarf ginkgo biloba 'Mariken'. Although it has beautifully discolored leaves, it is classified by botanists as a coniferous plant.
Bernadetta Jarocka
