Gardening 101: Conifers to Try

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – There are many advantages of coniferous trees. First, they are green all year round. This means that when used as a horizontal screen, whatever they block from your view, they block all year round. It’s also valuable on the downside: if you don’t want people looking at your backyard from the road, this green screen made of coniferous trees has been said to do its job 24/7/365.

Conifers are also quite effective at blocking sound. This has something to do with the presence of needles and not leaves, but this should be explained to you by the sound engineer. If used as a sound barrier, since they are evergreen, they will block this sound at any time of the year.

Pine and juniper have their own aesthetic. When properly placed and used, they can make a very special impression on your landscape. We made this week’s story entirely on the grounds of the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. One visit to the natural wonder of the Japanese Garden can show you how conifers can create a unique effect.

There are four trees in this week’s story. I introduced you to Oriental Red Cedar before, it’s one of the most bird-friendly trees you can plant in your yard. They provide both food (the female trees produce beautiful blue berries that birds love) and shelter (the dense foliage hides them and their nests). When lined up and given enough space, they also create a powerful green screen that blocks out wind and sound.

The Afghan pine can grow to gigantic sizes (the pine in front of the Japanese Garden is one of the largest in the area). When the wind passes through its long, soft needles, a sound unique to wood is created. In addition, the bark of this tree is very showy and can be used as part of the overall landscape design.

Lobolli pine comes from our area. I prefer these fast growing pines in bunches. They can create a grove faster than any other tree if you are trying to fill a large space.

The Japanese black pine is a pine commonly seen in a classic oriental garden. It can be pruned almost to a miniature shape, but still retain that asymmetrical look that is so desirable (a small tree that looks like an enlarged bonsai plant that is a hundred years old).

Where I lost one of my holly trees this winter, I plan to replace it with eastern red cedar (female) to fill in the space along my back fence line. I like the idea of ​​providing space for songbirds.

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