Simplify Your Conifers

Conifers are an import element of most landscapes. There are many different textures, colors, and shapes, and they providing these attributes year round.

One of the biggest mistakes I see made in a high number of installed landscapes is the lack of attention given to which varieties are used. Often a mish mosh of multiple conifers are scattered haphazardly through a landscape. People often plant these varying textures, colors, and shapes interchangeable. I have seen many many a design that called for three conifers to be planted in a triangulated group. Instead of these three trees being of the same kind, a pine, a cedar, and a spruce are used. This disrupts a feeling of theme and continuity, destroying the visual flow that can exist in a landscape. I have walked so many yards that held 5, 6, or 7 varieties of conifer.

There are good reasons to use multiple conifer, but understanding the idea of simplifying these varieties helps one to then understand and apply the cases when the exception is warranted. A very simple way of starting a design off on the right foot is to use a consistent conifer variety throughout the design. A natural forest will almost always carry a few dominate varieties in any given area. This themed look creates an esthetically pleasing continuity that should be highly sought after. So next time you look at a well done landscape, take note of how they have used the conifer varieties to create a pleasing result.