In landscape design, compositions with conifers occupy a special place. And this is not surprising, because combinations of such plants are attractive, and their beauty remains unchanged in winter and summer. In addition, coniferous crops are distinguished by their unpretentious nature and resistance to diseases and pests.
Advantages of conifer compositions
Coniferous plants have earned great love from gardeners. These cultures look harmonious in single plantings and complex compositions. In addition, their beauty is preserved all year round. But the aesthetic appearance is not the only advantage of conifers. And their benefits include the following qualities:
- unpretentiousness to the soil and living conditions;
- frost resistance;
- resistance to pests;
- the ability to destroy pathogenic bacteria.
In addition, unlike deciduous plants, conifers produce oxygen all year round, because they do not shed their leaves in autumn. This means that the microclimate in the area with such crops,good for people. In addition, caring for conifers is not burdensome, and all the plants need is rare watering, periodic feeding and pruning. And you don't have to remove a ton of leaves from under the trees every year.
The only drawback of these plants is their slow growth. And if you want to grow a hedge in a short time or immediately get a beautiful composition, then purchase and plant mature plants. Of course, this will cost a fortune. But you will immediately get the plot you dreamed of.
How to create a landscape
It is better to turn to professionals who will create a project of a composition of conifers in front of the house that fits perfectly and complements your site. But the services of landscape designers are not cheap. Therefore, not everyone can turn to such specialists for help. Although if you want to create a beautiful landscape on your own is not so difficult. The main thing is to adhere to the following rules in the process:
- Plant the composition at a sufficient distance from the point where it will be most often viewed. Thanks to this, the landing will look holistic. The distance should be at least twice the length of the tallest plant in the arrangement.
- To make conifers look spectacular, plant a lawn for them as a backdrop.
- If there is a reservoir on the site, then its banks will be the best place to create a composition. At the same time, coniferous crops are perfectly combined with weeping deciduous trees.
- Combinetrees with different crown shape and height. For example, combine plants with a spherical and conical shape. But don't overdo it so as not to overload the landscape.
- Try not to be geometrically accurate. Tops of trees in compositions, with the exception of hedges, should not be located on a straight line.
- Arrange compositions towards the east or west. Then the plants will develop evenly, which will only benefit the landscape.
And most importantly, when creating compositions, consider the shades of needles and the shape of the crowns of trees and shrubs.
Color combinations
Coniferous trees and shrubs come in different shades. And when planting such crops, it is important to correctly combine the colors of plants so that the flower bed does not turn into a motley, unattractive spot. To do this, you need to adhere to several principles of how to create a landscape composition with conifers of various shades:
- If you plant three components in a flower bed, then two of them or all of them must be the same color.
- When planting five seedlings, choose plants with no more than three shades of needles.
- If planting a large group with more than 25 elements, you can use trees and shrubs in a variety of colors. But at the same time, combine them into groups of three elements with one shade of needles.
Adhering to these rules, you will create a beautiful arrangement of conifers that will look organic anywhere in the garden.
Mixborders
A mixborder is a flower bed in which there are several groups of plants. And each of them smoothly flows into the next one. Mixborders perfectly combine coniferous, perennial and even flowering crops. The main thing is to select species that do not interfere with the development of each other. When creating such a composition of conifers and perennials, you must adhere to the following rules:
- In the background, plant the most voluminous and tall trees - larch, pine, yew.
- In the center, place medium-sized crops - globular arborvitae, deciduous shrubs.
- In the foreground, grow ground cover and undersized crops - creeping juniper, flowering plants.
In general, a mixborder is a combination of crops in which the plants are arranged in descending order of size. If you decide to plant such a composition of conifers and perennials, then choose spacious and lit areas for it.
When planting plants, keep in mind that the planting width of large crops should be greater than the area reserved for undersized plants. Do not try to maintain the exact geometry of the landings, because the curvature will only emphasize the natural attractiveness of the landscape.
Hedge
A composition of conifers is often planted as an evergreen fence that reliably covers the area from prying eyes. If you want to create such a hedge, give preference to the following crops:
- Prickly and common spruce. These plants create impenetrable thickets,tolerate a haircut, but grow slowly. To create a hedge, plant seedlings a meter apart.
- Common juniper. It tolerates a haircut well and is not afraid of pests. For a single row living wall, plant plants 0.8-1m apart.
- Juniper virginiana. This tall conifer is undemanding to the soil and takes root well in urban environments.
- Thuja western. Creates a dense wall already in the seventh year after planting. It tolerates pruning well, is not afraid of wind and is resistant to diseases and pests. To create a hedge, plant seedlings 40–50 cm apart. If you need a living wall, then the distance between crops should reach 80–100 cm.
For low hedges that can be used to divide the plot into zones, choose Cossack juniper, Lawson's cypress, globular thuja varieties. If you want to get a really thick fence, then plant crops in 2-3 rows in a checkerboard pattern.
Rockeries
Rockeries or rocky gardens are very popular with gardeners. They retain their beauty all year round, besides, it is easy to care for them. To create such a composition of conifers in the country, choose the most illuminated place on the southeast or southwest side of the site. Please note that rockeries look more spectacular, the area of \u200b\u200bwhich reaches 3.5 m² or more. In addition, when planting a rock garden, adhere to the following rules:
- Avoid symmetry and strict order in arrangementcomposition components.
- Do not create too bright accents. The color scheme of rockeries should be discreet.
- Use rocks of the same shade but different sizes in the composition.
As for the choice of plants, for landscaping the background of the landscape, use trees and shrubs of medium height - columnar thuja, pine, larch, pyramidal juniper. In the middle of the composition, plant a berry yew, Lawson's cypress, Smaragd thuja, Canadian spruce. It is better to fill the space between the stones with creeping types of conifers: horizontal or scaly juniper, microbiota. You can also use ground cover flowering crops, such as stonecrop, saxifrage, sapling.
Circle plantings
Such compositions of conifers and shrubs are also called round view combinations. Their difference lies in the fact that the decorative effect of landing is visible from all angles. As a rule, they are planted in round flower beds and paving openings.
The composition with an asymmetrical shape looks great. For such a circular planting in the center of the flower bed, plant a coniferous culture, the growth of which significantly exceeds the height of all plants used for the composition. Around the first tree, at an equal distance from it, place lower plants, preferably of the same species. Make sure that the height of these shrubs does not exceed the middle of the growth of the central crop. Plant the next rows in the same way.
Create asymmetrical circular compositions fromconifers is quite difficult. And this is only possible for experienced landscape designers. If you are new to this business, then it is better to grow symmetrical combinations. To do this, plant a tall plant in the center, and several shrubs of the same size around it at an equal distance. Such a landscape looks attractive, while creating it is easy.
Topiary
Topiary are plants that are given various and bizarre forms. To do this, use different techniques, including a haircut.
Creating whimsical arrangements of conifers in front of the house is not so difficult. And if you are a beginner topiary, then choose yew, spruce, or juniper for your experiments. These plants tolerate pruning well and can be shaped to your liking.
First, try to create simple geometric shapes - a ball, a cone, a cylinder. At the same time, choose cultures whose crown resembles these figures. Then, when pruning, the plants will suffer less. Feel free to use templates or homemade restraints, such as hammered pegs or taut ropes. They will help you achieve the right shape.
Garden compositions with conifers, which have a spiral crown, look especially impressive. Even a novice gardener can create such beauty. To do this, wrap the trunk of a young seedling with a cone-shaped crown with a wide tape and cut off all the branches in uncovered areas. Next year, the places that need to be cut will already be clearly visible. And after 2-3 such prunings you will get a tree with a crown in the form of a spiralshells.
Compositions of conifers and roses
The combination of these types of plants looks especially impressive. But creating such a composition is not so easy. After all, conifers are aggressive and crowd out roses. To prevent this from happening, plant crops at a distance of one and a half meters from flowers.
For a combination, choose compatible plant varieties. Of the vertical thujas, they coexist well with the roses of Smaragd, Brabant. If you plant globular junipers, then choose a variety of Moonglow, Blue Arrow, Sky rocket. As for roses, give preference to Winchester Cathedral, Lady Emma Hamilton William Shakespeare, Molineux.
Plant compatibility
Some conifers, despite their unpretentious nature, do not coexist badly with each other and deciduous plants. And before planting the composition, you should learn about the characteristic features of cultures:
- Spruces and firs coexist well with each other, but they do not take root well with pines and cedars.
- Birch and bird cherry draw nutrients from the soil necessary for the normal growth of evergreens. Therefore, they should not be planted side by side.
- Larch does not tolerate neighborhood with any coniferous plants.
- Thuja should not be planted next to a spruce. This slows down their growth.
Be aware of these guidelines before planning your landscape design.
How to choose a plant for composition
Buy coniferous trees and shrubs atspecialized nurseries or garden shops. But before you buy a seedling, carefully inspect it. First of all, the tree must be he althy, without signs of diseases and pests, as well as damage to the needles and crown. It is advisable to purchase plants grown in containers. In this case, they can be planted at any time of the year. Many nurseries also sell them in burlap or wire mesh. Such plants are also safe to buy. But if you are offered a copy with open roots, on which there is no earthen clod, then it is better to refuse to purchase. Most likely, the plant will not take root.
Coniferous seedlings are quite an expensive pleasure, and at a young age, trees and shrubs of different species are so similar that only specialists can distinguish them. Therefore, in order not to make a mistake with the plant, arm yourself with a catalog with a description and a photo before going to the store.
Choose varieties that are zoned for your climate. In the middle lane, the following conifers take root well:
- Cossack, virginian, rocky, Chinese juniper;
- prickly and European spruce;
- mountain, black and ordinary pine;
- western thuja;
- Kempfer larch;
- yew berry;
- fir and cypress.
And this is not a complete list. In general, from the whole variety of conifers, you will always find a specimen that fits perfectly into the landscape.
Compositions of conifers and perennials, photos of which are presented in the article, will decorate your site. And caring for this beauty is nottakes a lot of time and effort. The main thing is to choose a good place for the plants and provide them with minimal care, and then they will please with an attractive look and fast growth.
