Conifers may have a history reaching back 300 million years and cover wide stretches of the northern nemisphere but as garden plants they have long been out of favour. That may be changing. Innovative use at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show last year demonstrated how conifers can add structure to a garden in a relaxed way.
Their sculptural shapes come clothed in hues from old gold through bracken, bronze and rich green to steely blues, all in myriad textures. Excellent nurseries for conifers include Lime Cross Nursery, Ashwood Nurseries, and Bluebell Arboretum & Nursery. To use the dwarf forms in a contemporary way choose one or two varieties and repeat them. Mix them with grasses and other evergreen foliage plants such as hebes, corokias and pittosporums. Conifers can be cool again; here are 10 to consider.
Korean firs shine even as saplings. They bear dramatic purple-blue cones when only a metre tall. Stiff radially arranged needles are dark green above, silvery white below and demand to be stroked. The straight species is slow growing, forming a neat 2m-tall cone after 10 years. There are also some charming miniature cultivars: ‘Blauer Eskimo’ has a lovely blue tone and ‘Kohout’s Ice Breaker’ has curled needles that reveal their white undersides. Both have the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
As one of the few deciduous conifers, the European larch truly changes with the seasons. Its pale green needles turn straw yellow in autumn before dropping. The scaly grey bark of the trunk and knobbly branches are lovely winter features. In spring, the delicate structure is softened with green again as new needles emerge, and if you look closely you will find pinky red flowers, known as larch roses, of which
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