I'm curious about it too, wondering which is the superior cultivar? There is a bit more info on 'Niagara Falls' at the bottom of the linked page below. 10 to 12 feet in 10 years... Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus strobus 'Niagara Falls'

Well I'm late to get back. I was trying to digest all the feedback, and the work week was busy. So... Unprofessional: thank you for the suggestions. When you mention flowing lines, do you mean a smoothly curving bed line, or transitioning conifer sizes, from tall, gradually to short, not tall short tall short? How exactly does one achieve smooth flow. Sorry if that sounds like a silly question. The 5 I have now are intermediate growers. Is the rule of thumb to put dwarfs next step down from them, or it doesn't matter as long as it fits in the space for as long as I want? SC77: thank you for the combination example. That's exactly the kind of tip I was looking for. Mike: wow, your post is what stumped me, in a good way. First, I had never read about garden design explained with the analogy of a water body. Your explanation makes it easier to visualize. Are the any books or websites I can refer to that demonstrates that principle preferably with plenty of illustrations? I will work on a drawing for the overall design and attach that for feedback. I have a rough idea, but not the complete picture. I thought I can start at the boundary and work my way in. Over the years, if I need less lawn space, I thought I can expand the beds. When you mentioned a tree with a trunk for the incurves, does it have to be a big tree, or maybe just bigger in size compared to what's in the bay, or just something stronger impact/bolder texture compared to what's in the bays/ out curves? My square footage is not very large so I feel afraid of placing something large up close. Is that just foolishness from inexperience? I was glad my general plan matched with what you recommended. I did plant those trees to hide the house, and the curve was getting wider there. I was afraid of making the lines too busy and squigley, so I thought the oval would give me a simple design with one smooth curve, and make the lawn minimum, but functional for badminton, croquet, etc. but I think you are encouraging me to add a few gentle curves to make it more interesting and add depth! Ken: No way is it going to be a fast project. Conifers are expensive for me, and starting a garden from nothing takes time and hard work. The planting appears flat to you because I started with the big trees first, and they'll be at the back even in places where the bed will be wider. The bed lines are not drawn yet. As for the triangle, refer to the picture in my first post. The 'Gold Drift', P. glauca 'Pendula', and P. pungens create a triangle. I was looking for help in placing smaller plants next to them that will be complimentary. How large, in terms of growth rate, do i pair with them, and that kind of determines how many plants I can fit into each triangle, before I add more out in front of those trees. 'Gold Drift' and the pungens are more then 8 feet apart, and I will not leave all that space empty. You and many others are advising me to go with what I like and then I can move them if I want. I don't want to move the larger trees (if they live, there's that still) but I can certainly play around with the smaller ones. No more conifer planting for me until Fall. For now planning, setting up watering, and finding out what lived. I did mail order some perennials though, for other parts of the yard.

besides the fact that Niagara falls is a hosta.. and a waterfall.. and no conifer is named such/??? now.. this one DOES NEED TO BE TRAINED UPWARDS ... as far as you want it .... which is usually limited by the stake you can find .... and you will earn how flexible pine is compared to spruce.. picea glauca .... get rid of that flimsy not-wide-enough bamboo stick.. and get a 8 to 10 foot tall stake.... shove it 2 feet into the ground.. and tie that sucker up on it .... without breaking it, of course... it will look stupid .... but then we all do.. until we grow into our mature beauty ... lol ... ken

"There must be a geographic transition zone between the two that changes its needle shed characteristics from year to year based on climate conditions? That would mean a double year shed would occasionally occur" Not necessarily; if all trees shed in early autumn (the obvious time to do so, removing weight from the crown when light declines and before winter storms start), you'd get a mix of trees some keeping their needles 18 months, and others keeping their needles 30 months, but not necessarily any with intermediate times. Resin