Very nice pictures Dan!

Taken pictures during the rain gives a special shiney effect, everything looks shiney now!

Always good to see photos of your garden Dan, and agree with Edwin taking pictures in or just after it's been raining does, more often than not, have a nice affect on many photos.

Awesome!

It looks like you've done some heavy lifting with those rocks. How do you get the large ones stacked high like that?

Living beauty. Fantastic imagary here of rocks, conifers, maples and other companion plants in perfect harmony. Surely a magazine or book company would post pictures like these.

Thanks coniferjoy, blue, Will, and sluice, I really appreciate the comments. I kept waiting for that perfect bright overcast lighting all day and never got it, so the pictures aren't great, but colorful nonetheless. Sluice, I'll answer your rock question when I get back from work. Gotta go, have a great day, Dan

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HI Dan,

Where have you been all winter...hibernating with your plants.

What are your plans for this year?

As always...beautiful plants and design. You have a natural ability to combine conifers, deciduous trees, along with companion plants and boulders. All these players are necessary for a conifer garden setting and you have certainly done that.

Excellent presentation with good flow.

Dave

Beautiful. I love the weeping white spruce and the picea pungens 'Millcreek Broom'.

Beautiful new growth on excellent specimens. Great attention to detail too. Thanks,Gary

Dan,

your garden always amazes me. Looks like you have been getting some of the high country garden conifers. My parents live in NM so I have sent them a few of the HGC plants. I was especially interested in seeing the 'Blue Bear' and my dad hasn't sent a pic yet. Nice to see one.

thanks for the photos

keith

Sluice, the rocks are moved with a hand truck (dolly) and some muscle. Occasionally I'll use a 2X4 as a lever to get the heavier ones in place. I can handle rocks up to a little over 500 lbs. this way.

Thanks Sprucebud and Gary.
Sprucebud the Picea glauca 'Pendula' is definately one of my favorites even though its pretty common. I got this one 5 years ago at 4 feet and it now tops 12 without this years full growth.

Keith you're right the Pinus aristata 'Blue Bear', Pinus edulis 'Trinidad' and 'Farmy', and Abies concolor 'Charming Chub' all came from High Country Gardens this year. That mini bed with the Acer palmatum 'Sharp's Pygmy' in it is new. I was debating about switching out the small rocks because I found some I like better but it will probably be a moot point in a year as the ground covers will have it mostly covered by then. Thanks.

Hi Dave, Thanks for the nice comments. As far as new garden projects go. This past week I moved 2.75 tons of weathered limestone outcroppings and made a new island bed that I ended up using all Spruces in. I used all existing plants moved from other areas of the yard and added another Picea glauca 'Pendula'. Here's a pic that shows the type of rock I used. I'll try to get some more soon. Also moving a couple of plants freed up some additional space to add to that new mini conifer garden which I'm excited about because I still have an order coming from Bethlehem nursery. Thanks again!
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Wow, great to see your garden again, Dan. Your plants are filling in nicely.

Take care,

Dax

Dan...by now you have figured out that you have moved into a new phase of cultivar growing...building more beds to accommodate plants that are out growing their present location. From now on a revolving process that will only terminate when you run out of room.

I started that process two years ago and by now I have become real selective with regard to what I plant. With the foremost thought...will I have a place to move it as the need arises because of growth and size. I figure I have room for two more beds and that's it. Needless to say...miniatures and smaller slow growing dwarfs are now my first consideration if contemplating new purchases.

Something to think about.

Thanks for posting your photos.

Dave

Perhaps the most underrated part of a great conifer garden - rocks, and yours are the best looking ones I have seen - ever. Fantastic.

Dripping with envy. I've got the muscle to move some huge rocks, just not a good source, or the money lol

Will

Very successful composition for a complex context involving a wide variety of plants. All the plants look so healthy and juicy.

Thanks Dax and garcan. I like the term "juicy" conifers :)

Dave you're right about where I'm at with the gardening process. I gave away about a half a dozen conifer cultivars this year to a friend who has 80+ acres. They had no long term future in the garden and this way I can still see them once in a while. Other ones are getting moved around. Each year I try to refine things but I always find myself saying next year this will really look like something. My focus has also been on mini and small dwarf conifers lately. With the minis it's really nice because you can always find a space for them.

Will, I was really excited about the new rocks too. The place I get them from is only a few miles from my house and they let me pick through them to find the best and then I take 1/2 a ton at a time in my truck. In the past they only had the weathered limestone outcroppings in sizes that would require a Bobcat to move, but recently they've had them in smaller more manageable sizes and I had to find a project to use them in. Maybe I'll post some pics of the other stones if you'd like.

Thanks Dan

Superb stuff Dan. I never tire of seeing your plants and design.

tj