How to create a coniferous composition on the site. Conifers in the landscape design of a summer cottage: options and rules for composing compositions

Evergreens provide a lot of advantages in the arrangement of the site. Change depending on the season weather, and with them - the panorama of the landscape. The use of evergreen plantings enlivens the space even in winter, giving the backyard a majestic and rich look. Such types of plants are successfully combined with deciduous shrubs, for example, with barberries, hydrangeas or rhododendrons.

How to apply evergreen plantings in landscape design yard and what are their advantages, we will consider in this material.

Advantages of conifers

Planting on an evergreen site offers great advantages over other plants.

1. Aesthetics. Conifers retain decorative appearance throughout the year regardless of weather conditions.
2. Diversity. Numerous varieties will help create lively compositions of different shapes and colors.
3. unpretentiousness. Such green spaces do not require permanent care. They grow on all types of soil, do not need a lot of sunlight and regular watering, so any part of the yard is suitable for planting.
4. Environmental friendliness. Conifers emit essential oils, enriching the surrounding air with the rich smell of the forest.

Consider shapes and sizes

When using evergreens in landscape design suburban area their spatial characteristics are taken into account. It is important to take into account the shape, as well as the size that the plant will reach after a certain period of time.

The use of one or another type of evergreen depends on the correct combination of geometric proportions. For example, it is good to combine straight paths with squat and voluminous plantings, and a pond with low fluffy trees.

It is also mandatory to take into account the total size of the site. Large ones are decorated with large plants, and small ones are decorated using dwarf varieties.

What types of conifers to choose

If the dimensions of the site allow, the following evergreens are planted:

• Thuja western. The height of the tree reaches 5 meters. To give it an arrow-shaped shape, the branches are cut. Thuja is used to create hedges. The only requirement is the shading of the landing site.
• Juniper Skyrocket. Reaches a height of up to 3 meters. The shrub is popular due to the unusual color of needles with a bluish tinge.
• El Hupsi. Grows up to 15 meters tall. Suitable for single and group planting. Thanks to the silvery color with a bluish tint, it gives the composition an incredible look.

The plants listed above belong to the category of large plantations and are used in spacious areas. But for small plots undersized varieties with different crown shapes are suitable.

Of course, this is an incomplete list of conifers that are used in landscape design. Among the many species and varieties of evergreens, it will not be difficult to choose plants for decorating a summer cottage.

Design options

With the help of conifers, various compositions are created that perform aesthetic and practical functions.

1. Hedges.
2. Lawn decor.
3. Group landings.
4. Mixborders with conifer elements.
5. Evergreens in rockeries.
6. Container garden and bonsai.

Hedges

Such coniferous plantations serve throughout the year, and not only in the warm season. They are used both for fencing the site, and for zoning individual parts of the space.

Conifers with a spherical, pyramidal or columnar crown are best suited for hedges, which tolerate cutting branches well.

Varieties of evergreens are selected depending on the purpose of the hedge. Spruce, pine, fir are suitable for fencing the site. If you need a fence of medium height for zoning, then use different varieties of arborvitae, juniper, yew or cypress. To create low green borders, dwarf species are chosen.

Thematic material:

Varieties of silvery or bluish tones will help to highlight the hedge against the background of other plantings. The main requirement when creating a living fence is the use of fast-growing conifers of the same species.

lawn elements

If green lawns are broken on the site, then they can be supplemented with coniferous crops. At the same time, high-growing or medium-height varieties with expressive crown shapes are chosen. For landing on the lawn, pyramidal and arrow-shaped, as well as spherical varieties of conifers are suitable.

These plants look great alone. A neatly trimmed lawn will serve as a decorative frame and background for separately growing trees and shrubs.

Group landings

Instead of a banal round flower bed with roses, a group planting of conifers is often used, where plants are combined in crown shapes and colors. Ensembles based on the contrast of shades and configurations are expressive. For example, columnar varieties of evergreens are combined with spherical and creeping ones. A good option is to combine thuja, silver spruce and juniper in one composition.

An expressive effect is achieved by combining deciduous species with conifers. Hydrangea shrubs coexist well with them.

Group plantings are also original, in which coniferous plants with needle and scaly leaves are combined.

When planning such compositions, the size of mature trees and shrubs is taken into account. After all, many evergreens can reach large dimensions.

Mixborders with conifer elements

Mixborders - compositions using different types of plants, including evergreens. At the same time, coniferous inclusions often occupy the central place of a prefabricated flower bed or act as a backdrop for perennial flowers.

A win-win option is a combination of conifers in one mix along with deciduous shrubs, for example, hydrangea, barberry, cotoneaster and others.

When creating a mixborder, it is important to consider plant compatibility. Fallen needles change the acidity of the soil, and some deciduous plantings may simply not be suitable for such a neighborhood.

But the hydrangea coexists without problems with spruces and junipers. When planting this decorative flower, it is even recommended to add coniferous soil. Hydrangeas love shaded areas with acidic soils - just the conditions that create coniferous plantings.

Evergreens in rock gardens

Today, rockeries and rock gardens are often used in landscape design, which provide for the mandatory presence of conifers.

Which plants to choose depends on the size of the rocky garden. In small rockeries, creeping varieties are used, and if space allows, they include dwarf pines and spruces.

Thuja, junipers, firs and other undersized conifers become truly an adornment of rocky gardens.

Evergreens that tolerate shearing with ease are great for topiary. After all, it is here that decorative figures of bizarre forms are created from trees and shrubs, up to the image of people and animals.

The popularity of evergreens in topiary art is also explained by the fact that dense and dense needles make it possible to easily form objects of complex configuration. At the same time, you can create masterpieces all year round.

Container gardens and bonsai

Our climatic conditions do not always allow the use of some varieties of coniferous plants. Trees growing in the southern regions are sensitive to temperature changes, and even an indicator of zero degrees leads to their death.

The way out of this situation is to plant plants in containers that are placed on the site during the warm season and removed for the winter in unheated room. The same rule applies to coniferous bonsai.

Each variety of plants requires a certain amount of soil, which must be taken into account when planting in containers. Feel good in a limited space dwarf and creeping species conifers. At the same time than larger plant, the more spacious the container is chosen.

The advantage of such gardens is that the design can be updated over time, simply by changing the arrangement.

For landscape design, the use of coniferous plants will be an excellent option to diversify the design. In addition, such landings are unpretentious in care and delight the eye all year round. One or more types of evergreen plantings will transform a summer cottage, turning it into cozy place for relax.

Most plants in the autumn-winter period, when the leaves fall off and the branches become bare, look depressing. A completely different impression is made by conifers, which delight with fresh greenery even in the darkest months of the year. This alone is a worthy reason to use conifers in landscape design. Let's add to this the original leaves-needles, multi-colored fruits-cones, a variety of crown shapes. They will allow you to avoid the monotony of the garden, to bring a new “coniferous” touch to the usual deciduous and grassy landscape. And there are a huge number of ways to implement such a plan! Let's talk about them.

With the help of conifers, diverse landscape compositions are created.

A classic of the genre is the use of conifers as hedge elements. Dense weaves of branches with year-round greenery create dense plantings that block the path and serve for zoning the site. For hedges, breeds with a pyramidal, columnar and spherical crown shape are considered the best, which tolerate regular shearing well. When forming high hedges, preference is most often given to such large-sized trees as spruce, pine, fir, pseudo-hemlock. For fences of medium height, yews, thujas, junipers, araucarias, podocarps, taxodiums, cypresses, cypress trees, cryptomerias are suitable. The creation of low hedges, like a border, is possible when using dwarf varieties of mountain pines, thujas, cypresses, junipers.

To obtain a uniform green fence, one variety is usually used. If you want variety, then it is allowed to alternate varieties with multi-colored needles. For example, an interesting spruce hedge can be obtained using blue, green and silver forms for planting. Moreover, prickly and common spruce are in good harmony with each other - they can also be used with a certain frequency. Dark green varieties ("Smaragd"), light ("Brabant"), golden-colored ("Yellow Ribbon", "Sunkist", "Europe Gold") look great at the same time in the western thuja fence.

Thuja hedges are dense, impenetrable and require little to no care other than regular shearing in spring and fall.

The alternation of conifers with different colors creates an interesting effect.

Option # 2 - an accent element on the lawn

A coniferous plant with a bizarre crown shape can be placed in the center of the site, where it will successfully play the role of a landscape accent. Almost any tall and medium-sized varieties will do. It is desirable that they have a pronounced geometric shape: cone-shaped, spherical, weeping. Such conifers in garden design are the most decorative, so they look great alone, without plant companions. A neatly trimmed emerald lawn can become a spectacular frame for them.

Columnar thuja - a catchy element against the background of the lawn

Option # 3 - group plantings of conifers

Planted in groups, conifers are combined in crown shape, color, size. Especially effective are coniferous compositions in landscape design, created on the contrast of color and shape. For example, when spherical and creeping varieties are planted among columnar conifers. Or the scaly needles of cypresses are adjacent to the needles of firs, pines, junipers. What if you land next to blue firs, golden arborvitae, green firs and emerald junipers? Bright mood guaranteed!

In coniferous compositions, spruce and columnar arborvitae often act as dominants.

Group plantings should be designed taking into account the size of adult plants. That is why the use of wild species in such compositions, the growth of which is difficult to predict and maintain, is undesirable. It is important to understand the nature of the grown plant!

Option # 4 - mixborders with the inclusion of conifers

Mixborders are prefabricated compositions that use different types of plants. In such groups, conifers often play a dominant role or serve as a backdrop for bright flowering perennials. A good idea is to create a mix where next to the conifers are adjacent deciduous shrubs: rhododendrons, heathers, dwarf spireas, creeping cotoneasters, undersized barberries, boxwoods, magonias. The combination of needle-shaped coniferous branches with succulent leaves, bright flowers and fruits of shrubs looks harmonious.

A bright combination of fluffy spruce with variegated hostas, begonias and petunias

It is important that harmony does not end solely on the decorativeness of the composition. It is necessary that the plants feel good together. Conifers are not so harmless neighbors. With their fallen needles, they acidify the soil, so many capricious plants may not get along on the changed soil. Others, on the contrary, on loose, breathable soil with a lower pH will feel like a fish in water. For example, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, ferns, daylilies, sedums, euphorbia, saxifrage. Blueberries and blueberries will take root perfectly on coniferous litter. Many bulbous plants are also unpretentious to soils: daffodils, snowdrops, blueberries, hazel grouses.

On a large plot, the owners sometimes leave corners untouched by culture, decorating them like a natural forest. Such a forest can be represented as a mixborder of deciduous and coniferous trees. As a grass cover here, you can use shade-tolerant ground cover (saxifrage, periwinkle, creeping tenacious) or unpretentious cereals (red fescue, sheep fescue, bluegrass).

Option # 5 - conifers in rocky gardens

In rock gardens and rockeries, conifers take their place of honor. They help to diversify the structure of the garden group, change the shape and proportions. Columnar arborvitae and junipers, compact spherical firs and creeping microbiota visually stretch the composition upwards, on the contrary, draw attention to the surface of stones.

On an alpine hill, undersized, unpretentious conifers are planted. Particular emphasis in the composition is placed on their bizarre shape: cushion-shaped, spherical, creeping

For stony compositions, mainly undersized and dwarf varieties conifers, not exceeding 0.5-1 m in height in adulthood. There are such mini-trees among almost all types of conifers. Dwarf spruce trees include varieties "Little Gem", "Reflexa", "Repens". A very beautiful dense silhouette is inherent in the decorative “Moll” spruce, which barely reaches 1 m in height. But the “Microphilla” baby tree is especially “impressive” in size, growing up to only 25-30 cm!

Among the pines in rock gardens, low-growing varieties of mountain pine will be especially useful. For example, the variety "Winter gold" is a fluffy pillow that grows more in width (up to 1 m) than in height (up to 0.5 m). The dwarf "Mors" is more like a dense coniferous ball, up to 1 m high. An even shorter pine was bred from this variety - "Mini Mops" with a flattened-spherical crown. By the age of 10 "Mini Mops" grows up to 40 cm.

Dwarf pine "Humpy" - an excellent choice for rock garden, plant height - up to 0.5 m

dwarf thuja: "Danica" (0.5 m), "Tiny Tim" (up to 1 m) - spherical shapes suitable for landing on alpine slides and in containers. Cypress trees can also boast of their "babies". Cypress cultivar Lawson "Minima Aurea" in adulthood reaches 1.2 m, but it grows very slowly. So much so that by the age of 10 it reaches only 30 cm. The dwarf form "Minima Glauca" with a rounded crown is characterized by the same growth. The pea cypress "Golden Mop", in addition to its compact size up to 1 m in height, is also distinguished by the unusual golden color of the needles.

The secrets of creating coniferous compositions in rocky gardens are revealed in the plot:

Option # 6 - conifers in topiary art

Topiaries are trees or shrubs trimmed to give them the intended shape. Most often correct geometric, but there are also more complex figures depicting living beings, household items, or even scenes from life. Conifers are used in the art of topiary most often. This is due to their dense needles, which can be given any shape by cutting.

curly haircut coniferous green hedge elements

Option # 7 - conifers in containers

Not all coniferous plants can be grown in our area. There are many beautiful varieties, originally from southern countries, which do not tolerate harsh winters and freeze out at zero temperatures. However, thanks to container growing, gardeners successfully decorate any corner of the garden with them: paths, terraces, gazebos. Containers with conifers can be installed between other plants in a mixborder or flower bed. Or, create a whole green hedge of tub cypresses, junipers, thujas.

Dwarf species feel especially good in containers, root system which is not oppressed in a limited amount of land. The larger the conifer, the larger the container for it should be - be sure to follow this rule so as not to get a frail, non-viable plant.

Cypress trees in containers decorate the recreation area

In winter, containers with conifers are transferred to a cool, but not freezing in winter, room. For example, on a glazed insulated balcony, covered veranda or in a greenhouse.

Due to their unpretentiousness and the ability to look great at any time of the year, conifers create long-lasting landscape compositions. Take note of the proposed options and then your garden will be beautiful from spring to ... infinity.

Many owners are fond of landscape design suburban areas. As a result of their efforts, the space surrounding not only expensive cottages, but also simple private houses has noticeably changed. Today, vegetable gardens and even gardens are gradually losing ground and giving way to lawns, flower beds, flower beds and unusual plant compositions that please the eye. However, flower beds have always attracted the attention of gardeners, and decorative shrubs quite often decorated plots, but if conifers were used in landscape design, they were not so often used. Today they are becoming more and more popular.

Coniferous mixborder

Semi-dwarf juniper

Eastern dwarf thuja

Creation of coniferous paradise

When inscribing conifers in landscape design, you must follow some rules:

• the tallest specimens are planted in the background;
• coniferous composition from different plants should not combine more than three forms of crowns;
• symmetry and precise geometric shapes are out of place when creating an evergreen open-plan group;
• the parterre strict composition must be strictly symmetrical and requires constant care and haircuts;
• an ensemble of coniferous plants does not need variegation;
• accents are required;
• the place for review should be at a distance equal to twice the length of the composition;
• the wrong green neighbors can nullify the gardener's efforts.

Some of these rules require a detailed approach and specifics. If the first postulate is simple and understandable, then the question of forms can be explained by the structure of the human eye. The abundance of forms, as well as colors, creates a sense of unrest. A composition of three colors or two or three contrasting forms looks much nicer and more holistic. Pyramidal thuja Brabant in the landscape design of the group is best placed in the background. Their severity is emphasized by the spherical forms of cypress, and in the foreground the whole ensemble is calmed by creeping juniper or ground cover deciduous plants. Even if the territory for conifers is quite extensive, the rhythmic alternation of the same plants is better perceived, and not a set of all kinds of varieties and colors.

In order for the eye not to wander around the composition, the beginning of contemplation should begin with an accent, which can create a tree or shrub of an unusual shape or color, slightly different from all the others. The small heather garden, which is beautifully combined with conifers. A boulder of an unusual shape, immersed in the arms of a juniper or a garden lamp, also attracts the eye and helps to perceive the entire composition as a whole and each plant separately.

The combination of sizes of coniferous plants in the group should be harmonious. A tall spruce is perceived at a great distance, while a small spherical thuja is interesting up close.

For a decent development of coniferous plants, it is necessary to take into account the influence that plants have on each other. The neighborhood of spruce and thuja will oppress both plants. A beautiful specimen of larch will not tolerate anyone next to it. This maverick loves to grow alone, just like birch.

Larch

The combination of conifers with roses looks very beautiful. But for a rose, this neighborhood may not be very comfortable.

Ephedra in different roles

Many gardeners give preference to conifers when decorating a plot, because these plants can play a variety of roles:

1. Hedge;
2. solo part;
3. Mixborder;
4. Alpine hill or rockery;
5. Ensemble;
6. container garden.

A hedge of evergreens can be functional or aesthetic. If you need to separate a place of rest from prying eyes, columnar junipers or thujas will do this role very well. Closely planted to each other, they will create a beautiful and impenetrable wall that will look organic in the green mass of the site.

From dwarf juniper or cypress, you get a wonderful fence for fencing a playground or flower bed, which will not block the view, but will create a beautiful frame.

As a solo performer, coniferous trees or shrubs with an interesting crown shape, needle color or an exotic type of fruit are used. BUT better combination all at once for the decorativeness of the soloist throughout the year. The background for the artist can be a lawn, gravel or decorative wood chips.

The composition, that is, the “mix”, of plants along the path or fence forms a kind of border, and all together this is called a mixborder. This element of the garden is very popular among gardeners. It can be decorated with conifers or a combination of conifers with flowers and ground cover plants. Mixborder near the path is better to decorate with dwarf and semi-dwarf forms so that the eye covers the entire group of plants at once.

Alpine slides or rock gardens in the recent past were a favorite decoration of garden plots. On any, even a very small, piece of the garden, amateurs tried to create something similar to the Alps with an obligatory assortment of ground cover and coniferous plants. To create a rock garden that would naturally fit into the landscape of the site is not an easy task, but it is quite feasible. It is much easier to create rockeries - a combination of plants and stones. For this element of the landscape, you do not need to build mountains, a beautiful boulder and evergreens, correctly matched to it, are enough. Dwarf mountain pine in landscape design will feel like home when surrounded by a few stones of interesting shape or color. Ground cover flowers or creeping junipers are planted between stones and conifers. In this case, plants and stones located on pebbles look more natural.

Coniferous compositions are the simplest and most beautiful solution for revitalizing a lawn or patio.

Conifers can be combined with deciduous plants suitable for growing conditions. The unpretentious and beautiful staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) with its feather-like leaves will look great in summer against the background of strict fir trees, and in autumn its scarlet colors against a calm green background will attract the eye of even a sophisticated gardener.

In group compositions, the contrasts of form and the play of color play a major role. Columnar thuja with bright green needles are perfectly combined with golden thuja balls, and creeping deep green juniper completes this composition, spread out on the lawn.

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A park in the estate or a flower bed near a private house will look good if there are evergreen plantings in it. This fact has been known since ancient times, so most people use conifers in the landscape design of their summer cottage. They make it possible to give the space a rich and stately look. And they look original all year round. And it does not depend on whether there is a single tree or a full-fledged composition.

Conifers in landscape design: problem of choice

• The size of a coniferous plant that it will have after 10-20 years. Therefore, ordinary spruces are best planted along the main paths or to create a hedge around the site. A low fence allows you to get the western thuja "Golden Globe". And a low border, the height of which will not exceed 50 cm, will be obtained from the western spruce of the Danica variety.
• Coniferous growth rate. This fact turns out to be important in the flower bed. Because the plants different speeds growth will quickly greatly change the appearance of the entire composition.

• Needle color. It depends on the variety and breed, and also, sometimes, on the planting site. For example, Lawson's cypress will be painted blue in bright sun, but will fade in the shade. In addition, one plant can have needles of different shades. For example, the Korean fir "Silberblock" is silver-green, and the green needles of the Nutkan cypress "Variegata" have yellow spots. Moreover, such multi-colored conifers on the site are recommended to be planted separately. Then their shades will not merge and get lost against the background of other plants.
• Compatibility of different types of conifers. Fir trees do not get along next to pine or cedar. Spruce will not allow thuja to develop, so they are not combined in one composition of conifers. And larch will not allow any other coniferous plant near it.

Coniferous flower bed: options

1. Compact for a small area

It will require only conifers, for example, you can take a coastal juniper to supplement it with one western arborvitae and several mountain pines. In such a coniferous composition, thuja should be placed in the center, and the rest of the plants around it. The indisputable advantage of the flower bed is its maximum compactness.

1. Thuja western Holmstrup
2. Juniper medium Old Gold
3. Mountain Pine Mops
4. Juniper Coastal Shlager

2. Large coniferous flower bed for a spacious cottage

Her place is near a wall or fence. In its design there are juniper, thuja and pine. The farthest row of the coniferous composition should be the row of common juniper. It is recommended to plant a row of western thujas in front of him, on both edges of which you can place an average juniper.

The center of the coniferous flower bed should be a mountain pine on a trunk. In addition to it, it is advised to plant a medium barberry in several places, alternating it with a scaly juniper. The front part of the composition is supposed to be created from a horizontal juniper and use from 2 to 3 of its species for this.

1. Common Juniper Suecica
2. Common Juniper Horstman
3. Thuja western Rheingold
4. Pine mountain Mops on trunk
5. Juniper Mint Julep
6. Juniper scaly Blue Star
7. Thuja western Danica
8. Juniper horizontal Wiltonii

3. Horizontal coniferous compositions on the site

It is used if conifers in landscape design are used to decorate a large area with a flat surface. The only plant that makes it up is juniper. Just take a few different types. So that the flower bed does not look boring and monotonous, it is recommended to supplement the composition with large and small stones. They allow to break the green mass.

1. Virginian juniper Gray Owl molded
2. Juniper horizontal Andorra Compact
3. Juniper horizontal Prince of Wales

4. Bunk in separate flower beds

The farthest of them should contain a plant that will be the tallest in adulthood. For example, mountain pine. You can add horizontal and rocky molded juniper to the company.

The front part of the flower bed can be decorated with two types of juniper: recumbent and scaly.

1. Rocky Juniper Blue Arrow
2. Juniper rock Skyrocket molded
3. Meyeri scaly molded juniper
4. Mountain Pine Mops
5. Juniper Horizontal Blue Chip
6. Lying juniper Nana

5. Flowerbed for a site with uneven terrain

It successfully masks the shortcomings of the territory, but requires sufficient space. In the center of a coniferous flower bed, you need to plant an eastern thuja, it can be replaced with a mountain pine. Fill the background with western thujas, and place a horizontal juniper along the edges. The latter can be replaced by the Cossack. It is recommended to make the edges of the flower bed asymmetrical: plant Japanese larch on one side, and Thunberg barberry on the other. The final step is to plant the middle juniper around the larch.

1. Thuja western Smaragd
2. Japanese larch Stiff Weeper
3. Barberry Thunberg Red Chief
4. Thuja orientalis Aurea Nana
5. Mountain Pine Mops
6. Juniper medium Old Gold
7. Juniper Cossack Blaue Donau
8. Juniper horizontal Prince of Wales
9. Juniper Horizontal Blue Chip

6. Coniferous composition in the forest style

In landscape design, it is used to reproduce natural look wildlife. To create this coniferous flower bed, you will need to plant from left to right: lilac, undersized mountain pine and Canadian spruce. Fill the space between them with different types of juniper and barberry. This will allow you to get a natural and artistic coniferous composition.

1. Rocky juniper Skyrocket
2. Norway spruce Inversa
3. Meyeri lilac on stem
4. Juniper medium Old Gold
5. Canadian spruce Echiniformis
6. Mountain Pine Mops
7. Barberry Thunberg Bonanza Gold

Rules for arranging flower beds of their conifers in landscape design

1. Create a project - what will be your flowerbed of conifers. At this point, it is necessary to take into account such points as the number sunlight, free space (it should be enough for the full development of each plant), soil features, site topography, house design, area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe site.
2. Select species of coniferous trees.
3. Make a coniferous composition.
4. Prepare the soil. To do this, limit the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe future flower bed. Then you need to remove the top layer of soil and mix it with sand and peat. It is recommended to take the same amount of sand and one part of peat for every two parts of soil. If possible, add two more pieces of leafy ground.
5. To draw up the boundaries of a coniferous composition; in landscape design, fences made of brick, wood or stones can act as boundaries. Mark the territory of each plant with pegs and dig holes for them. The depth of each should be about 50 cm.
6. Plant conifers. Fill the bottom of each hole with pebbles or sand. The height of this layer should not be less than 15 cm. Add fertilizer, compost is best. It will need 3-5 kg ​​per square meter. You can buy vermicompost, you just need to choose the one with the lowest nitrogen content. Since the application of fertilizers with nitrogen under conifers is contraindicated. Set in the center of the seedling in a coma of earth. Fill with prepared mixture. Well tamp and water. Pour another layer of soil, which must be well leveled.
7. Close plantings with mulch. In its quality, you can use cones, pieces of bark, sawdust. Sometimes ground cover plants play the role of mulch.
8. Abundantly water the coniferous flower bed in the autumn. Especially if there is little rain. Coniferous plants need to accumulate a lot of moisture before a long winter.
9. Feed plantings regularly, but this must be done until the moment when the growth of conifers begins.

Conifers in the landscape design of a summer cottage: advantages

These plants can endure any vagaries of nature. They are not afraid of frost and heat, prolonged rain or its absence, of course, when they have already taken root in a new place.

Coniferous compositions differ in that they are not susceptible to various diseases. On the contrary, they create a special microclimate that can reduce the number of insects. Phytoncides, which secrete coniferous plants, prevent the development of viruses and bacteria.

Climate in a limited area country house becomes soft. The air is filled with oxygen. It reduces the amount of dust particles. Trees create a barrier to noise and wind.

Many gardeners dream of growing coniferous plants of various types and varieties in their garden. 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 along certain rules 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 this group will have different shape. If you want to create a composition of a circular view, 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 the plants will receive 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 with our partners. In addition, there are all types of conifers of which we will now make a composition!

In our example, most conifers will be tall trees, so they need to be planted at a sufficient distance from each other so that when they grow up, 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), common 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 strong wind. It is not demanding on soils, but does not like compaction and strong salinization of soils. Very light-loving. Actively releases 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 (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, in winter they retain their color, in the shade the color darkens. 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 ornamental deciduous and flowering shrubs, perennial flower crops. This article is all about conifers for the garden; creation rules 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. Range coniferous crops for landscaping areas is constantly expanding, including spruce, cypress or juniper trees of unique color.

Advice. Trees with needles of 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:

1. Coniferous trees retain an attractive shape, as they grow, their crown only becomes thicker and more elegant.
2. Plants do not freeze even in the most severe winters, decorating the winter landscape, coniferous trees and shrubs are easy to care for and hardy.
3. The powerful root system of these plants fully provides the conifers with moisture, so mature trees can be watered infrequently.
4. Ephedra easily tolerate insufficient lighting, put up with shading.
5. 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 and on.

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.

Familiar green color pine needles is not the only one modern varieties pine needles can 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 spruces have different colors: green, blue, gray, which adds decorativeness to the created landscape compositions.

A huge variety of spruce crown shapes allows these trees to be used as group and solitary plantings; elfin trees are an ideal decoration for 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 may have a needle or scaly shape. various shades green, blue and 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 shades of green or blue. Often the needles have a specific bluish bloom.

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 different style.

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 is an amazing plant that has leaves reduced to needles and bright berries. In total, there are 8 types of yews in nature, most of which have decorative forms.

Yew berry is the most decorative species from the Yew 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. In addition to the berry yew, yew medium and spiky yew are successfully used in landscape design.

Coniferous plants on the site: video

Conifers in landscape design: photo

For the design of a plot of a country house, coniferous plants are increasingly used. These unique plants are able to maintain their attractiveness in summer and winter, and the right composition will make your garden uniquely beautiful and aesthetically attractive.

When grouping plants in a composition, it is important to take into account not the number of planted conifers, but the harmonious selection of conifers, which ideally will be adjacent to other types of plants, be it shrubs or flowers. Plant a white rose or heather next to the thuja and juniper and the composition will sparkle with delicate beauty. alternating landings flowering shrubs and evergreen conifers are able to maintain an attractive appearance of your site at any time of the year.

The choice of a specific site for the organization of coniferous compositions plays a significant role in creating a natural corner. If you organize the planting of conifers at the main entrance or entrance, then this option will add solemnity and splendor country house.

From conifers that tolerate a haircut well, you can land hedge. Carry out an unusual haircut and the hedge will look original. Creating a dense hedge, plants are planted in a checkerboard pattern, in 2-3 rows.

Dwarf species of conifers planted in mixborders will serve as an excellent background for flower crops and emphasize bright colors flowering plants. Mixborders are created against the backdrop of houses, fences, along paths and as a decorative element covering unaesthetic areas of the garden.

You can not do without conifers when creating rockeries, rocky gardens and alpine slides. Coniferous plants planted along the banks of flowing streams, with waterfalls and against the backdrop of the quiet expanse of water bodies, will add a natural landscape to the summer cottage.

How pleasant it is to walk along a winding path decorated with compositions of undersized conifers or grouped with tall specimens.

The plot located on the slope is decorated with terraces in the form of a cascade step. The lower tier is decorated with juniper or dwarf pines trimmed with neat shapes in combination with other plants. Creeping junipers with replanting climbing plants will look great, and in addition, such landings prevent the destruction of the slope, strengthening the soil from erosion.

You can not miss the recreation areas. Conifers planted next to the gazebo, at the recreation area or at the playground will protect you from prying eyes, as well as from dust and the hot scorching sun. In practice, container gardening with conifers is used. The patio, decorated with container coniferous plants, will look cozy - convenient and practical.

It is especially desirable to note that all conifers do not tolerate zones with stagnant moisture. The soil under the conifers is ennobled with drainage and sand is added to the soil. In the first years of planting, fertilizing with special fertilizers is necessary. For large and single specimens, a sufficiently large and unshaded space is allocated for them to develop a fluffy symmetrical crown. When designing compositions, one should take into account the distance between plantings (at least 0.8 m for undersized and 1-1.5 m for taller ones).

The color range of coniferous plants is also varied. Grouping compositions, plant 3 or 5 conifers. It is important not to overdo it here, in a group with three copies two colors are used, and when composing groups of five conifers, you can dream up with three different colors. If a complex composition is compiled from a large number of plants, it is necessary to divide it into subgroups of 3-5 plants and work with them separately, taking into account the ratio of different colors of conifers.

The shape and height of the conifers when compiling the ensemble is taken into account at the initial moment when planning and composing the composition. It is important to learn how to predict the state of planted plants after some time, when the plants reach an adult state.

Today, landscape design is gaining more and more popularity. To decorate the area around a private house, not only more and more new technologies are being used, but the decor elements are now so diverse that they make it possible to realize the most daring and unusual design fantasies.

Ephedra

One of the fashion trends in jewelry adjoining territory is the compilation of a single composition of coniferous trees. Depending on the size of the site, as well as on the basic concept of the project, certain types of conifers are selected for this purpose. It is not advisable to put a spruce 5 meters high in the middle of a plot of 2 acres, but undersized plants in combination, for example, with stone chips, they may well become a worthy decoration of your garden. In addition, decoration with conifers will delight the eye at any time of the year, since most of these plants are not picky enough to changeable weather conditions.

Softwood rockery design

Rockery is a gentle slope, decorated with a scattering of decorative stones of various sizes, combined with low coniferous trees and shrubs. The main idea is to place the main cone-shaped seedling in the middle or upper part of the composition and surround it with smaller coniferous counterparts. The stones, ideally, should be some kind of whole picture, and not point-wise lie at different ends of the rockery. Although, with a certain creative approach, even this option can look very interesting. In addition, fresh flowers, which are distinguished by their unpretentious nature at any time of the year, may well fit into the overall concept.

Softwood rockery design

Decoration of a personal plot with rockeries is purely decorative in nature, and, as a rule, has no functional features. Usually, the installation of benches or other seating places inside the composition is not provided, therefore, if you decide to put a gazebo or just a table for evening gatherings with family and friends, it is better to choose a separate area for this purpose, rather than trying to combine a design element with a resting place.

Conifer flower bed design

Coniferous flower beds are also an equally popular way to decorate household plot. They can be located both along the borders of your possessions, and inside them, collected in small bright compositions. In the first case, tall pines, larches, and sometimes junipers are suitable. In the second, shrubs will fit more and dwarf conifers, not covering general review on the land plot. Different shades of needles, such as gray, purple and green, will look good.

Conifer flower bed design

In the middle of the site, if it has the correct geometric shape and has required dimensions, you can place a round or square flower bed. The center of the composition is usually decorated with a taller tree, and lower seedlings surround it. Along the edges, as a rule, low creeping conifers are located. The choice of trees is entirely up to you and the basic idea of ​​the flower bed. Decorating with stones around the perimeter can be a logical finishing touch.