Evergreens For Everywhere
North, South, East or West-no matter where you live-there are evergreens for every garden. The luxuriance of their foliage, the different shades of green, their variety of forms, textures, and heights contribute lavishly to the planting design. Indeed, like old friends, they can always be depended on to give us real enjoyment through the years. Their easy upkeep, permanence, and the all-year-round green they provide make them all-important in garden-making.
For practical purposes, evergreens may be roughly divided into two main groups: the cone-bearing or conifers, such as Hemlock, Arborvitae, Juniper, and Fir, and the broad-leaved types examples of which are Rhododendron, Camellia, Holly, Laurel, and Japanese Aucuba. Some species of evergreens, such as Abelia, Daphne cneorum, and Lonicera pileata are truly evergreen only in mild climates, and become semievergreen in regions where the winters are severe.
In making a planting plan it is very important to select the right evergreen for the allotted space. This can hardly be overemphasized. For instance, avoid using tall-growing trees or shrubs directly in front of a window. All too often one sees houses literally smothered with towering evergreens placed in just such a location, shutting out the vista, the air, the light. Furthermore, a planting of this kind spoils the architectural lines of the house, whereas actually one of the purposes of the planting is to set off these lines to best advantage.
Bear in mind the shape of the evergreen selected, and visualize how it will fit into the general planting scheme. evergreens have definite forms, use the pyramidal and columnar types sparingly; in fact, these are especially adapted for accent purposes, and where space permits they are sometimes well placed each side of a doorway. The globular kinds are very distinctive, and they should also be used with much thought. Evergreens with a bushy habit of growth and the creeping species, such as some of the Junipers, can be used more freely than those with more formal lines.