The use of conifers in landscape design. Prickly secrets: we create a coniferous garden on our site Roses and conifers in landscape design

Many gardeners dream of growing conifers in their garden. various kinds and varieties. Conifers in the garden along with decorative deciduous and beautiful flowering plants create indescribable beauty. And also, in addition to beauty, conifers protect our garden from noise, dust and saturate the air with essential oils that are beneficial to our health.

The composition of coniferous plants is a group of coniferous species and varieties planted according to certain rules of landscape design. To create such a composition on your site, you need to follow the basic recommendations that we will now share with you.

Conifers in the garden can be planted in different parts of the site, but from this the group will have a different shape. If you want to create an all-round composition, then the tallest conifers should be planted in the center of the group so that medium-sized conifers and small forms can be placed in the foreground. Then all plants will get enough sunlight and please our eyes, as everyone will be in sight.

If you want to decorate the entrance to the building or plant a composition near the wall, then the tallest plants should be planted in the background, respectively, undersized and dwarf conifers - in the foreground.

If you want to do a band planting, then always plant tall plants in the background as well, and plants of medium height and undersized fit well between tall conifers, but planted closer to the foreground. Be careful not to plant plants of the same height side by side. Plants of the same growth and preferably of the same species are planted only in a green hedge.

Coniferous plants now delight us with a huge assortment of shapes and colors of needles. Creating a composition with completely different colors of needles, on the contrary, “breaks” it, does not group it. If you want to make a composition of three conifers, then it is advisable to plant 2 plants with the same needle color and 1 plant with a different color.
If a composition of 5 conifers is envisaged, then it is desirable to use 3 different colors of needles (for example, 1 yellow, 1 blue, 1 gray, and 2 green).

To create a composition of conifers in your garden, you need to either grow the plants yourself, which is very time consuming, or buy them. And you can visit our partners. In addition, there are all types of conifers of which we will now make a composition!

In our example, most of the conifers will be tall trees, so they need to be planted at a sufficient distance from each other so that when they grow, they do not interfere with each other. To do this, we will use the characteristic, which indicates the size of adult plants. And since there will be a considerable distance between conifers, you can fill it with shade-loving bushes and flowers. Bulbous and corm-bulbous flowers look very nice near conifers.

A little about the formation of groups. IN landscape design It is customary to place plants in the following groups:
Picture 1.

Picture 2.

Picture 3.

Group of 5 plants. In the center (1) are tall coniferous plants, on the sides (2 and 3) are medium and short plants. Red lines indicate that all plants are visible from one side. Also from other sides.

Picture 4.

These are the most simple examples which you may find useful.
And now we offer you a ready-made composition scheme of eight coniferous plants. Let's create it according to the example of pictures. For this we use picture number 1 (with three plants) and picture number 3 (with five plants). On the left side you see plants planted according to the scheme of 3 pcs. - this is Crimean pine (4), Siberian cedar (5), Norway spruce (2). On the left side, conifers are planted according to a scheme of 5 pcs. - thuja Smaragd (6), thuja Columna (7), balsam fir (8), blue spruce (1), Scots pine (3).

Brief description of coniferous plants in the composition:

1. Prickly or blue spruce (Picea pungens) - height 20-30 m, width - 6-8 m. Annual growth 30 cm. The color of the needles is bluish, gray, silvery shades. The shape of the crown is pyramidal. The root system is deep, on less fertile soil - superficial. Likes moderately nutritious soil and sufficient watering. Increases decorative effect on podzolic, moist soils, loses decorative effect on dry, poor, stony or clay soils. Wind-resistant, light-requiring.
2. Norway spruce or European (Picea abies) - height 20-40 m, width - 6-8 m. It grows up to 10 - 15 years slowly, then faster, 50 cm in height. The color of the needles is dark green. The shape of the crown is pyramidal. The root system is deep, if it grows on loams and sandy loams. If the soil is often wet, then the roots are superficial, which can suffer from wind. Likes moist air, moderately moist, acidic and well-drained soils. Grows well in the shade. In spring, young plants should be shaded from the sun and protected from recurrent frosts. But in winter it is frost-resistant.

3. Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris) - height 20-25 m, width 7-10 m. It grows quickly, annual growth is 30-40 cm. The color of the needles is bluish-green, the shape of the needles is slightly curved. The root system is powerful, pivotal, feels good on stony soils, is not afraid of strong winds. It is not demanding on soils, but does not like compaction and strong salinization of soils. Very light-loving. Actively highlights essential oils and phytoncides, which purifies and ionizes the air.

4. Pine Pallas or Crimean (Pinus Palasina) - height up to 30 m. The needles are long (18-20 cm), slightly curved, dark green. This pine is less hardy than Scotch pine. Annual growth is 30 cm. It likes calcareous soils, but it also grows normally on sandy, gravel soils. Light-requiring, in the shade it loses its decorative effect and is damaged by pests. The root system is powerful, deep, so it is not afraid of the wind. Drought-resistant, does not like stagnant water. Gas and dust resistant.
5. Siberian cedar or cedar pine (Pinus sibirica) - height 30-35 m, width 5-8 m. The first 20 years it grows very slowly, then the annual growth is 30-40 cm. The needles are dense, sticking out, dark green with a bluish bloom. The root system is powerful with a main short tap root and numerous lateral roots, it is not afraid of strong winds. Grows on any soil, except clay and pure sand. But it prefers light loamy and loamy, slightly podzolized soils. Light-loving, shade-tolerant. The older the plant, the more light it needs. Likes moderately moist soil and moist air. Very winter hardy. Cedar wood repels midges, mosquitoes, moths.

6. Thuja western Smaragd (Thuja occidenalis Smaragd) - height 3-5 m, width - 2 m. Annual growth 10 cm. Crown shape - narrow, pyramidal, dense. The needles are dark green, well keeps the color in the winter. It is not demanding on soils, but it grows best on fresh loams and on calcareous soils. Sun-loving, can grow in partial shade. Frost-resistant. Looks good in containers and green hedges. Purifies and ionizes the air.

7. Thuja western Columna ( Thuja occidenalis columna)- height -10 m, width - up to 1.5 m. Grows very fast. The needles are scaly, shiny, dark green, retain their color in winter, darken in the shade. It takes root well, if you do not disturb the root system too much. It is not demanding on the soil, it grows on acidic and alkaline soils, the main thing is that they are nutritious and moist. Does not like dry soil. Light-requiring, the crown is dense in the sun, rare in the shade. The most frost-resistant among western thujas. Good for hedges due to its fast growth and height.
8. Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) – height 20 m, width -6 m. The shape of the crown is narrow pyramidal. The needles are dark green, shiny above, with two whitish stripes below. Grows fast. The root system is superficial, so you need to protect from strong winds. It is undemanding to soils, but prefers acidic ones. If the lower branches are covered with humus, then they will take root. Does not like trampling down the soil and breaking branches. Sun-loving, but also grows well in partial shade. Frost-resistant.

Increasingly, in landscape design, a variety of coniferous plants are used to decorate plots, which create harmonious combinations with lawns, decorative deciduous and flowering shrubs, perennial flower crops. This article is all about conifers for the garden; rules for creating harmonious compositions; to help gardeners photos of various conifers with the exact names of varieties.

Coniferous plants: types, cultivation techniques

The inclusion of conifers in garden compositions allows you to create unique beauty corners of the garden that remain decorative at any time of the year. The range of coniferous crops for landscaping areas is constantly expanding, including spruce, cypress or juniper, unique in color.

Advice. Trees with needles different shades fit perfectly into garden design, creating a fresh spot against the background of other plants.

Decorative conifers for the garden are very popular in the design landscape compositions due to its positive qualities:

Coniferous trees retain an attractive shape, as they grow, their crown only becomes thicker and more elegant.
Plants do not freeze even in the most harsh winters, decorating the winter landscape, coniferous trees and shrubs are easy to care for and hardy.
The powerful root system of these plants fully provides the conifers with moisture, so mature trees can be watered infrequently.
Ephedra easily tolerate insufficient lighting, put up with shading.
Many varieties of coniferous plants have a compact shape that does not require special care.

Landscape design using conifers

Coniferous cultures are so diverse that they can be used to create landscape compositions of any style, compact and miniature forms of conifers look appropriate in rockeries and alpine slides.

Types of coniferous plants

Usually, the following coniferous crops are used for landscaping plots different varieties, differing in height, shape of branches, color of needles.

Pine

Pine is the oldest representative of the green coniferous kingdom. Pine trees are not demanding on soil, they are highly resistant to drought and winter cold, but they require a lot of free and bright space. When planted in an urban area, pine trees react strongly to smoke and air pollution, so their widespread use in creating landscape compositions near an industrial area is very limited. Pines are conventionally divided by height into three groups:

Tall - the height of the tree reaches more than 10 meters.
Medium-sized - from 3 to 9 meters.
Low and compact forms- reach no more than 3 meters in height.

Habitual green color pine needles is not the only one, in modern varieties of pine needles may be blue or yellow shade, there are species with a two-tone color of the needles.

Attention! For landscape gardening, all types of pines are used, but a special group is made up of compact types of mountain pine, which is widely used for planting in the form of a tapeworm on an alpine hill.

ate

Spruce is a coniferous culture that is perfect for planting in city parks and squares to create a variety of compositions. Spruce remains green in winter and summer, so parks with spruce compositions acquire a special charm in winter. The needles of fir trees have different colors: green, blue, gray, which adds decorativeness to the created landscape compositions.

A huge variety of spruce crown shapes makes it possible to use these trees as group and solitary plantings; elfin trees are an ideal decoration for mixborders or rockeries.
Spruce varieties are suitable for creating hedges.

Fir

Fir is a tree with dense needles and original cones, indispensable for creating landscape compositions. For the normal development of the plant, it is necessary to create certain conditions for fir trees:

Uniform moistening of the soil, to prevent stagnation of water in the near-trunk circles.
Fertile soil.
Places sheltered from the wind.
Fir does not tolerate air pollution.
Shelter in winter for young seedlings from frost.

Fir is the only coniferous crop that can reproduce by growth. Near an adult tree, you can always see rooted young shoots that are easy to separate from the mother tree for a separate planting.

cypress

Cypress trees are very much appreciated for the design of urban and park areas. The plant may have different shape: filamentous, weeping, dwarf, in total there are more than 80 species of various crowns. The needles on the shoots of cypress trees can have a needle or scaly shape in various shades of green, blue and light green.

Cypress trees are highly resistant to drought, the plant is winter-hardy, adapts to any growing conditions, puts up with shading.

cypress

The slender Lavson cypress is most suitable for planting in cities; ideal compositions are created by landscape architects using virgin cypress varieties.

Juniper

Junipers are highly decorative, a variety of species and forms. Plants look great in compositions of different styles, including group plantings of conifers on green lawns and creating rocky hills.

The prickly needles of junipers are usually needle-shaped and can be colored in different tones of green or blue flowers. Often the needles have a specific bluish coating.

The most common and undemanding type of juniper is the Cossack juniper, which has scaly needles. On urban lawns and in rockeries, this type of plant is most often found.

Juniper

Chinese juniper usually reaches a height of up to 10 meters, its slender crowns are painted in green or golden tones of various shades. The plant is used for single plantings and when creating decorative hedges.

thuja

Most often, arborvitae are used for landscaping cities. These plants are undemanding to growing conditions, give good growth, are very decorative, especially during the period of fruit formation. Thuja has a different crown shape: pyramidal, sprawling, columnar, which makes it ideal for creating landscape compositions of different styles.

Especially often, western thuja is used for landscaping urban areas, which has proven itself well when grown in difficult urban conditions. The variety of species of western thuja allows you to create ideal compositions from tall and short varieties.

Yew

Yews, which are usually planted in the form of hedges, can give special artistic expressiveness to park design. Yew - amazing plant, which has leaves reduced to needles and bright berries. In total, there are 8 types of yews in nature, most of which are inherent decorative forms.

Yew berry is the most decorative look from the Tisov family. The plant is remarkable for its bright green needles and red berries, which do not ripen on all plants. The thing is that yew is a dioecious plant. All yews are characterized by slow growth, plants can live to a very respectable age. Except berry yew, medium yew and spiky yew are successfully used in landscape design.

Coniferous plants on the site: video

Conifers in landscape design: photo

Coniferous trees and shrubs are in great demand in landscape gardening, their photos can be increasingly found in magazines and sites dedicated to landscape design. They are frost-resistant, decorative, hardy, unpretentious in care and are distinguished by a variety of crown shapes.

Gardeners love conifers for their many other advantages:

many varieties of conifers tolerate limited sunlight well, develop well in partial shade
well-developed root system of conifers allows them to tolerate long time without watering, some types of plants grow well on stony soils. In addition, due to powerful and developed roots, they can be used to strengthen the slopes.

most conifers tolerate shearing well, they (some varieties of thuja look especially attractive in this regard) can be used to obtain a variety of figures that are often found in photos of regular English gardens. And some varieties of conifers by nature have geometrically correct form and therefore require virtually no maintenance.

coniferous tree - a source of useful phytoncides, a walk in the garden with coniferous plantings has a beneficial effect on both the physical and psychological state of a person
conifers perfectly tolerate a smoky urban environment
maturing cones will attract birds to the garden, filling it with life and movement

But the main thing that attracts conifers and shrubs, for which they are “loved by design” - with their green color they bring variety and liveliness even to a gloomy, gray and gloomy autumn-winter garden.

Coniferous plants: how to place in the garden correctly

Conifers are universal plants, the abundance of forms and species allows them to be used in landscape compositions of different styles (you will find confirmation of this in our photos). At the same time, the size of the plot will not become a problem - if conifers are tall enough in nature, then decorative varieties and species used for landscaping rarely exceed 4 m in height. Design alpine slides it is difficult to imagine without undersized conifers and shrubs (Humpy dwarf pine, Lobers spruce, Mini Pug pine, some types of thuja, coniferous shrubs).

Site design can give the conifer the function of a color delimiter that will resist merging. natural shades. Thus, conifers will help complicate color combination garden, make it richer and deeper. Often undersized varieties tui with dark needles are used as a border for the club, enclosing the flowers inside in a kind of green frame that sets off bright colors colors. Conifers are always present in the photo of gravel gardens, while cones or medium-sized bark can be replaced in some places.

Mixborder

Hedge

For zoning the site, designers often use coniferous trees and shrubs. It turns out not just beautiful barriers (in the photo they look monolithic wall), but at the same time - practically impassable, i.e. just the qualities that are required for perimeter fencing fence. For this, coniferous plants are planted in a checkerboard pattern, arranged in 2-3 rows. Of course, to achieve a full-fledged effect, it will take considerable time, but the result will exceed the wildest expectations.

For zoning a site (garden), medium-sized (1-2 m high) varieties are most often used, which will not close the general perspective. In addition, the evergreen hedge will make an excellent backdrop for blooming colorful perennials, this technique is especially common in Art Nouveau or landscape style gardens.

Advice! To create hedges, it is good to use various types of thuja - thanks to the dense crown, it will be enough to plant them in one row, saving space.

360° view composition

Coniferous plants go well with cereals, flowers (especially lilies) and deciduous plants. coniferous shrubs will look picturesque near water bodies, where they will be accompanied by deciduous weeping plants. Intense green thuja with a bluish tint of needles with small spotted patches will be an excellent photon for junipers.

In order for a composition of coniferous plants to look spectacular and harmonious, its design should include the following factors:

the best background for conifers will be a regular well-groomed lawn

so that the composition of their conifers (both trees and shrubs) looks harmonious and holistic, a place for best view(location of the gazebo or observation deck) should be located at a distance of not less than 2 lengths of the composition

the most spectacular in landscape design is the location of coniferous species oriented to the west or east
geometric shapes - in landscape design it is good to use the principle of contrast, for example, place pyramidal high conifers next to one of the undersized globular species thuy. This arrangement of trees of different heights will help to achieve some visual effects - against the background of low-growing mountain pines, several even medium-sized thujas will look very tall

Coniferous trees and bushes are an ideal material for curly haircuts, with the help of which they acquire geometric and fantastic shapes.

Coniferous trees on the site now began to place more and more owners. Kitchen gardens and orchards are shrinking every year, and in their place flower beds, lawns and flower beds with interesting plant compositions are broken. And if decorative flowers and shrubs have long been used by gardeners to transform the backyard territory, then conifers have become popular relatively recently. In this article, we will look at how to correctly and harmoniously create evergreen compositions, what are the features of planting, and also what is the care of coniferous trees and shrubs.

Coniferous plants for the garden

In addition to a beautiful appearance throughout all 12 months, conifers have the following positive characteristics:

significantly reduce the level of dust and noise; hold back strong gusty winds;
give the microclimate in the homestead territory a softer character;
stop the development of certain viruses and prevent the overspread of bacteria and insects;
provide a high concentration of oxygen and phytoncides (best of all cope with this task.

If not only the aesthetic side of the garden is important to you, but also a favorable microclimate, you should focus on conifers. Thanks to their wonderful views, graceful forms and a variety of crown volumes, chic opportunities are revealed for the implementation of the most interesting landscape ideas, both in large and small areas.

Video "Tips when buying conifers"

How to make compositions from conifers

Conifers will look quite harmonious and picturesque if they are surrounded by rhododendrons, deciduous and heather plants, and they are also able to bring brightness and contrast into the overall picture, and also allow you to modify the design of the garden from time to time. But there are exceptions, for example, bird cherry and birch negatively affect the neighborhood with needles. Spherical and columnar plants look great. Many landscape architects thanks to them create very difficult geometric figures, different levels of height and interesting front alleys.

Composition of coniferous plants for the garden

Beautifully trimmed conifers divide the space into various zones, decorate alpine slides, ponds, and also give volume to the relief. Do not forget that in winter, many types of conifers change their color.

In order for the landscape to evoke positive emotions all year round, and there was no “pull out the eye” effect, one should be very careful in choosing combinations of color and texture not only of conifers, but also of other types of shrubs and trees.

As the main plants that are emphasized, species with high level winter hardiness. Such conifers will not change under the influence of negative temperatures. Plants with a branched and wide crown should be placed in the background. As a completion coniferous composition, landscape designers prefer to use low, creeping plants. Wide and sprawling conifers help to hide from the eye not quite beautiful elements on the site. For example, spruce or fir can perfectly hide an unsightly area in the fence, and arborvitae are perfect for creating hedges.

Hedge

The use of conifers as an element of a hedge has already become a classic of landscape architecture. Very dense interweaving of branches with greenery all year round creates plantings that perfectly divide the territory into certain sectors or indicate the boundaries of the site itself, hiding everything superfluous from prying eyes.

Coniferous hedge

To create a decorative hedge, for the most part, pyramidal, spherical and columnar types are used.

If the task is to make the fence high, you should pay attention to such large-sized trees as spruce, pseudo-hemlock, fir, larch, pine.

As plants for hedges of medium height, yew, thuja, juniper, araucaria, podocarp, taxodium, cypress, cypress, cryptomeria are used.

If you need a border-type hedge, you can use dwarf species of mountain pine, arborvitae, cypress and juniper.

In order for the green fence to be uniform, you need to use one variety of plants, and if you want to add variety, you should alternate varieties with different colors of needles.

It will be very interesting to get a hedge of blue, silver and green spruce. If thuja was chosen as the main plant, pay attention to the combination of "Smaragd", "Brabant" and "Europe Gold". In this case, hedge will simultaneously have a dark green, light green and golden color, which will leave few indifferent.

Emphasis on the lawn

To add zest to an ordinary lawn with a lawn, you just need to place a conifer on it, preferably with a non-trivial crown shape. Almost any tall or medium-sized tree or shrub in the shape of a ball or cone will do just fine with this task. And also a beautiful topiary plant or bonsai, which is very popular in the East, will attract the eye.

Group landings

Coniferous plants that are combined in crown type, shade and size, which are planted in a single group, will look very impressive. Special attention in the design of the site is given to compositions based on contrast colors and geometric outline. An example is the combination of ball-shaped conifers along with columnar forms, diluted with creeping varieties. As well as a bright mood, spruces with a blue tint, golden arborvitae and emerald-colored junipers planted nearby can cause a bright mood.

In the process of forming group plantings, one should not forget that over time a shrub or tree will grow and will darken and take away nutrients from the soil from a neighbor if they are too close. Understanding the nature of the grown plant will help preserve the green space itself and positive emotions from it for a long time.

Mixborders

Mixborders are prefabricated compositions from various types of plants. Often, conifers play a major role in this kind of planting or act as a decorative background for bright perennial flowers. Mixborders of coniferous and rhododendrons, heathers, spireas, creeping cotoneasters, undersized barberries, boxwoods, magonias look very harmonious. Quite interesting is the combination, in its own way, of coarse needles and meek leaves, which are diluted with fruits and bright flowering of ornamental bushes.

Conifer mixborder

Conifer mixborder

When designing mixborders, one should study in more detail the consequences of the neighborhood of conifers and deciduous plants. After the needles fall off, the soil will become more dense, which can negatively affect other green spaces. As neighbors for conifers, plants from the family of rhododendrons, ferns, daylilies, daffodils, hazel grouses, and blueberries are perfect. From fruit crops it should be noted blueberries and blueberries, for which coniferous litter is only a plus.

If the area to be improved is quite large, many landscape architects design a certain part in the style of a natural forest. A large area allows you to place not always compatible deciduous and coniferous trees without compromising their growth. For grass cover, shade-tolerant groundcovers such as periwinkle, tenacious, or unpretentious cereals from the category of red fescue and bluegrass are perfect.

Conifers in the stone garden

Conifers have their own special and honorable place when creating a rock garden or rockery. They add variety to the overall picture of the garden group, give it a new shape and proportions. Visually elongating the arrangement, cone-shaped mountain pines and spruces, as well as compact ball-shaped firs and creeping groundcovers, draw attention to the stone composition.

For the most part, to make the stony structure more natural, conifers of small height are used. A very beautiful and dense silhouette of "Little Gem" or "Moll" spruce is quite often used by gardeners or landscape designers. Among the pines, such varieties as Winter gold, whose fluffy pillow grows in width up to 100 cm and reaches a height of 50 cm, and Mops, resembling a thick ball, are very popular. For planting on thuja rock gardens, dwarf varieties "Danica" and "Tiny Tim" are used.

Ephedra in topiary

Topiary art implies figuratively trimmed trees and shrubs. In most cases, these are regular geometric shapes, but you can also find images of animals, household items, or scenes from Everyday life. Coniferous trees are the most popular plants for this, as they have a very dense needle structure, which lends itself to almost any change with a haircut.

Conifers in containers

Due to the fact that not all conifers are able to endure harsh winters and die out during negative temperature, many gardeners grow them in containers. These are mainly varieties from tropical regions. Containers with plants softwood able to decorate any part of the garden, and after a while you can simply rearrange them. In such a simple way, it is possible to introduce novelty into appearance of his household plot. In winter, containers with conifers should be moved to a cool room where they will not freeze. Greenhouse, glazed balcony or covered veranda perfect for this.

Landing Rules

Ephedra and roses

Conifers with an open root system should be planted in spring or early autumn, and with a closed root - at any time.

In the process of transplanting, the addition of root growth stimulants, such as Kornevin, which is sold in any garden store, will not interfere.
In terms of depth, each hole for seedlings should not be more than 90 cm, and at the junction of the trunk and root exactly correspond to the ground level.
The distance between the seedlings depends on the type of plants, but it should not be less than 90-100 cm. Otherwise, when the conifers grow up, they will prevent each other from getting required amount sunlight, which will negatively affect the appearance and growth rate.
In the soil used should be added sand mixture and clay.
3-4 weeks after planting, the plant should be fed with mineral fertilizers.

conifer care

Even before the first strong spring sunshine, conifers should be protected from burns. To do this, they are wrapped in a special shade or white spandbond. A few weeks after the resumption of vegetation, it is recommended to feed the plants with special fertilizers. Basically, these are granules with useful microelements, which should be scattered around the trunk into slightly loosened soil. We should not forget that conifers are very easy to overfeed, so you need to strictly follow the proportions indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging with minerals. It is also worth loosening the soil around the trunk from time to time.

In especially dry periods, do not forget about watering, which should be carried out in a small hole at the root neck, which will allow all the liquid to be absorbed. It is also very important to shed the soil abundantly before the onset of frost, so that the plant can gain the necessary amount of moisture for the winter months.

Removing dry and dead branches is an important procedure that will not only restore a beautiful appearance, but also improve air circulation in the crown. And for the formation of a dense crown, every year the shoots should be cut by 1/3 of the part.

Due to their ability to maintain a decorative appearance throughout the year, as well as unpretentiousness to soil and weather, resistance to diseases and pests, conifers have taken a special place in creating a wonderful landscape. Taking into account the proposed options, the garden will delight you from spring to infinity, with the proper level of care.

Flower beds, green lawns, hedges and large single shrubs are the basis of landscape design. But everyone wants that even in the winter, when most plants fade and lose their foliage, it is important that the landscaped area remains alive and attractive. This function is performed by coniferous compositions in landscape design and single evergreens. But some conifers do not get along next door to each other and deciduous trees. To avoid annoying mistakes, professionals share their secrets with lovers of landscaping home gardens.

Flower beds and decorative perennials have long been used by gardeners in landscaping urban courtyards and suburban areas. Abroad, they have long abandoned gardens and orchards in favor of neat beds decorative spicy greens and compact vegetable crops. In the East, for many centuries, the Japanese have been practicing the "rock garden" with sakura, red maple, wild grapes and undersized conifers. The culture of landscaping courtyards and thoughtful landscape design is actively taking root in our country.

The middle zone of Russia is the natural environment of many species of pines, larch, cedars and junipers. A little to the south, Mediterranean cypresses, thuja and other heat-loving evergreen tree-like conifers are perfectly cultivated. Surprisingly, apart from blue firs and some other pyramidal forms of this conifer, other related plants were not used. The exception was the resorts of the Crimea and the North Caucasus, where even in Soviet times, parks and alleys were decorated rare species evergreen forms.

Today, decorative forms of coniferous plants are increasingly used in landscape design and gardening of household plots. Asian and Mediterranean forms, through the efforts of domestic and Dutch breeders, are adapted to our climatic conditions. Although evergreen heat-loving plants are increasingly decorating our plots, many conifers from Italy, Korea and Japan need to powder the roots with sawdust and wrap the crown for the winter, as in the photo.

It is very convenient to acquire cultivated compact forms for landscape design with coniferous compositions through catalogs and a specialized distribution network. Although this is expensive in complex landscaping, it has its advantages:

a seedling in a pot or tub has a protected root system;
each plant has a "passport" or brief instructions care;
if the recommendations for watering and cultivation are followed, 100% rooting of a young conifer is guaranteed.

Attention! If at a retail outlet from a row of identical plants they offer slightly yellowed ones, do not buy - this is the first sign of the seedling dying off! Even when planting in fertile soil and intensive watering, it will not be possible to reanimate it, with rare exceptions. Such material can only be taken free of charge - in addition to a batch of other plants, to be planted somewhere near the edge.

Coniferous composition at their summer cottage

If there is no certainty that the acquired garden molds take root, in the first year you can hire a professional gardener who will take care of the "young growth". When rooted thujas, juniper and ornamental spruces overwinter and release young, slightly colored twigs in the spring - a signal that the conifers feel great in a new place and do not need careful care.

Advice. Do not forget that any tree plant in the period active growth needs to additional watering(especially in dry summers), top dressing and wrapping the crown during frosts.

Competent care and thoughtful planting of young evergreen seedlings in landscape design using conifers is a guarantee that the site will be beautiful at any time of the year. The main thing is that they do not shade each other and do not oppress less viable forms with their phytoncides. For example, other conifers do not get along near a single larch or gradually degrade.

Decoration of the cottage with coniferous plants

Landscape design with coniferous plants

It is desirable that the basis of the composition is a single tall or medium-sized plant surrounded by 2-3 coniferous forms of contrasting forms. A green lawn or small gravel is an excellent backdrop for such a planting. It can be supplemented with compact flowering perennials or ornamental fruit-bearing shrubs, which can be adjusted annually with pruning.

Attention! You should not plant large conifers, fast-growing and sprawling forms in the center of the site and under the windows of the building. Otherwise, in 5-6 years they will turn into forest jungle, creating an excessive shadow near a flower bed or front garden.

Several identical conifers should not be planted randomly, it is better to place them along the alley or as a hedge. Compact spruce or similar plants are perfectly combined with weeping hardwoods at an artificial reservoir on the edge of the garden, as in the photo.

Landscape design in coniferous composition

Cottage design with coniferous plants

Variations of coniferous forms

For most people, coniferous plants are Christmas trees and pines, which are usually decorated on New Year's holidays. They also include Siberian and Lebanese cedars, and what they differ in is not known to the townsfolk. What the branches of larch, arborvitae, cypress or juniper look like - they are at a loss.

This is interesting. Each variety of conifers has its own subspecies, with great variations in the color of the cones or berries, the shape of the crown and the length of the needles. Italian weeping pines are the same pines, but the needles can reach 20-30 cm in length. And there are coniferous forms with large purple buds and small red, rose-like bumps. For landscaping arboretums, juniper with blue edible berries is used, and the variety with bright red fruits is poisonous. young twigs decorative firs may have a light green, golden and blue tint, examples are in the photo.

Coniferous composition at their summer cottage

Decoration of the cottage with coniferous plants

When choosing coniferous compositions in landscape design, it is advisable to become more familiar with the species diversity of these relic plants. Botanists claim that conifers or gymnosperms reigned at the time of the dinosaurs, replacing the era of tree-like horsetails and ferns. But even they find it difficult to answer how many natural varieties and subspecies these representatives of the kingdom of flora and fauna have.

Scientists annually discover new endemics in impenetrable virgin forests, which are used by breeders to breed decorative subspecies.

Landscape design with coniferous plants

Landscape design in coniferous composition

The main classification of conifers in nurseries is according to the shape of the crown:

spherical;
ovoid,
spiral;
sprawling flat-topped;
weeping;
pyramidal;
columnar;
oval;
creeping (flat);
squat;
rare crown.

There are also the following forms:

tall;
medium height;
undersized;
creeping.

Attention! Over time, undersized plants will look like medium-sized ones, dwarf and compact conifers will take up more space. You should not plant them densely, so as not to spoil the original plan in landscape design.

Cottage design with coniferous plants

Coniferous composition at their summer cottage

How to compose compositions?

Conifers are quite unique, in many respects, plants. They rarely get sick and are attacked by pests, endure the vagaries of the weather. Most of them do not require particularly fertile soil, although each species has its own preferences. Some shed their needles like a larch, others bloom pink in landscape design, like the Crimean thuja. All these forms are classified as evergreens, and most purify the air, filling it with phytoncides that are detrimental to pathogenic microflora. Compact trees, densely covered with needles, are quite spectacular both in single plantings and in a general composition with other "neighbors", as in the photo.

Decoration of the cottage with coniferous plants

Landscape design with coniferous plants

The site design is usually divided into several zones, where certain types of plants will be in the center of the composition. Depending on the goals, according to the catalog or in the garden supermarket, you can choose or order different conifers. Most often they offer compact, dwarf and undersized forms.

Attention! According to your taste, you can choose any kind of pine, spruce, fir, cedar, larch, arborvitae, cypress or juniper. But there is one condition - they must be adapted and acclimatized to a certain region. Not all of them are organically perceived in the vicinity of ornamental and fruit-bearing trees and shrubs.

Most evergreen forest beauties are in harmony with those trees and shrubs that are usually adjacent to in the wild. These are oaks and birches, maples and mountain ash, hawthorn and wild rose.

Attention! You should not plant several conifers from different geographical zones nearby at once, it often looks unnatural.

"Northerners" can oppress with their phytoncides undersized and dwarf forms from the Mediterranean and the Far East region. And selective and hybrid forms will be oppressed by their natural relatives. The Lebanese cedars and Siberian larches are considered the most "unaccommodating".

Cottage design with coniferous plants

Coniferous composition at their summer cottage

Gardeners have noticed that most evergreen representatives feel great in the shade, so they are planted behind the house on the north side. However, this does not apply to the Mediterranean endemics and varieties of Christmas trees with light needles, which fade in the shade.

Cones are a natural dining room for many wild birds that willingly flock to the site in winter and late autumn, filling the yard with joyful chirping. However, natural fertilizer after treating with seeds can spoil the look of a well-groomed coniferous composition in landscape design.

Most cultivated forms lend themselves well to "haircutting", they can be given the most bizarre shape - from elephants to precise spirals. But some conifers get sick even if one branch is broken.

Decoration of the cottage with coniferous plants

Landscape design with coniferous plants

Landscape design in coniferous composition

If you want to improve household plot evergreen sculptures, you need to choose the right thick forms with small branches and short needles. You will also have to look for specialists who create real masterpieces. You should not experiment with living plants if you are not sure that such “creations” are within your power.

Take a look at the examples in our photo gallery. Perhaps these ideas will inspire and suggest a new concept for the design of your site.