Very nice article...its been challenging so far for me. Availability of plants has made it quite tough.

For the most part my screen I put up is mixed but the general shapes, textures and colors are quite similar.

I'm hoping to really mix it up in the intermediate layer next spring!

Check out the master's work. Prepare to covet. LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: Them ain't just yews

Obviously you don't want to invest in a long term landscape project unless you plan to stay in your abode for yeas to come.

If so, set your goals high even though you can't see your way clear because of time and money to pull it off.

Draw up a landscape plan for the future but one that you can begin to invest in now. Decide what plants will work for a given area and make a mental note. I say this because it may take years to find all your special needs. If you come across that special plant buy it even if it is not in your plans to use it now. Put it where it needs to go and move on. Be resolved to the fact it is part of the big picture and it will be there in the future when needed. Start with focal point or specimen plants first and build around them. Pay special attention to color. Make sure one color feeds off another. You can use Acers, Ginkgo's and other perennials of color Great companion plants. Don't be afraid to stretch the zone tolerances, one up or down, if so offer them some protection. A mulch bed presentation is much easier and cheaper to do as opposed then the use of gravel, pebbles and other landscape material. Both ways are acceptable it just depends upon what look you want.

Just a few of the basics I try to live by. Yes, there are variables, losses, mother nature and indecision you will have to contend with. Not a big deal...that's life.

Dave

I wonder if anyone has any specific comments about color? When I think of the way one uses color in a great perennial garden, the goal isn't to use a riot of sharply contrasting colors with no overall plan because otherwise it would look too chaotic (although still could be quite pretty). What I mean is that one might choose a specific color pallette (to use an obvious example, the primary colors -- red, blue, and yellow -- might be used) and then the colors within that pallette repeated in large clusters (all red flowers over here, all yellow flowers in a cluster over there, etc. etc.)...

However, with conifers, the pallette is somehwat limited. So I'm not sure if one can really choose a pallette. What I'm thinking is that with conifers, because of the limited pallette of subtle variations on yellow, green, and blue, your pallette is pretty much set. Thoughts?

Contrast is still important, however.

I'm thinking that for small conifer specimens, a color grouping could be used (for example, a cluster of blue minis juxtaposed against a separate cluster yellow minis), but that for intermediate or large specimens, clustering of like-colored specimens would be a design mistake, and one would be better off setting one big green specimen against one big blue specimen (for example).

One color that does not seem to be readily available in the conifer world is red or purple (there are a few exceptions I guess), so for these colors, I'm thinking one could pull in deciduous trees and shrubs, such as tricolor beech or purple ghost japanese maple). It seems like one could completely forego deciduous trees/shrubs in shades of green or yellow because those colors are so readily available as conifers....

So I'm thinking one might like to look out at the conifer garden and see equal parts blue, green, yellow/gold, and red/purple, with the eye moving pleasingly from one color to the next... I guess I'm rambling at this point.... thoughts? Anyone?

I don't think equal parts of various colors would be right. Green (and there are various shades of green) would need to take dominance and have the other colors/shapes/textures play off that. Having said that, I have a neighbor with several 40-60 foot Picea abies that serve as my main green (borrowed lanscape) so I plant whatever "curls my toes". ;-)

tj

Another point that occurs regarding Fox Hollow... the color pallette is decidedly pastel... And this seems to work wonderfully, perhaps because the colors in conifers tend to be soft and muted. For example, the blue of a Hoopsi is soft compared to, say, the navy blue flowers one might find in a perrenial garden... and the same can be said of the yellows.... And because of the generally muted tones and the obvious splotches on the color wheel of yellow/gold, green, and blue, I find the addition of soft/muted shades from the purple/pink family to be especially pleasing to the eye...

This really makes me want to reconsider the lovely Orangeola japanese maple I've just planted.... and replace it with something less bold... lol....

I think the best advice I can give, and note that it's from a new gardener, is to mix in contrasting colors, shades and shapes. I wouldn't put five mounding plants next to eachother, or five narrow uprights, but three mounding plants and two uprights make for a wonderful contrast, to my eye at least. Try and keep from placing too many bright gold plants next to eachother. Also limit gaudy blues, mix with nice colors of green so that the color stands out. Almost every article/book I've seen on successful garden plans suggest that no matter what you do, aim for CONTRAST.

Happy planning!

-Will

The garden, as nice as it is, neglects a few design elements as far as I can see.

Dwarf conifers belong in a high latitude sub-alpine environment, not a windless jungle. The design should reflect it. Which way do you want the prevailing wind? Where are the rock outcroppings of the leading edge of the islands? Can you show the leeward side? Can you give it a definite north? Other than a few heaths and heathers, where are the appropriate ground covers? Since you have 'islands', the grass is the sea. The location of the islands should have some flow, or cohesiveness to the 'mainland', (Your house) not spotty.

I realize that those in a glass house should not cast stones, but I am wrestling with those same problems in my garden as it evolves. I am always trying to take it up one more notch in the design realm. With these general principles in mind, the placement of plants becomes easier and the design is better.
Your admirer,
Mike

Mike, just curious.. to whom is your post directed?

Foxhollow, or any conifer garden, for that matter.
Including my own.
Mike