Just because it is cooler and all the leaves have fallen doesn’t mean your garden has to be barren. There are many evergreen shrubs and trees which can carry the winter landscape gracefully. This is really the time of year when they shine because all the other plants with showy foliage and flowers have gone to sleep.

Some of the best evergreens to add to your landscape fall into the dwarf conifer category, the small versions of the big evergreens. Conifer refers to a chiefly evergreen tree or shrub which has cones and needles or scale like growth, these include the firs, spruces, pines, yews, junipers, cedars, cypresses, and a few others. Dwarf is a smaller, slower growing version, so when you combine these two you have an amazing selection of useful plants for your landscape.

These are a versatile bunch, especially if you are short on space in your garden, but even if you have the space they are great for helping pull a design together. They can serve as the anchors for a space which has rotating plantings, they can add some vertical height if its needed, and they can be grouped together to create a beautiful scene. Here at Nature’s Friends Landscaping we can help you choose some dwarf conifers and place them into a design perfect for your garden.

The selection of these small plants has really grown over the last few years, they come in so many shapes, sizes and colors you are sure to find some which make you smile. One way to choose is to pick by color if you have a definite color scheme in your garden, they appear in blues, greens, yellows and variegated varieties. Another way to make a choice is to choose by shape, they come in pyramidal, round, mounded, weeping and others.

Dwarf conifers are easy to plant and transplant due to their smaller size, and they are tough plants once established. Just be sure to provide enough water for them, even in winter if it becomes dry. You will be pleased with the addition of these lovely plants, especially when you see them shine in the winter!