you are killing me here ....

just how much fun can a bunch of peeps have... with all their clothes on ... lol ...

besides the fact of aging .. do you miss the shear labor of building the new garden????

i know what i did 9 years ago ... and i doubt i could do it again .... or am i just smarter ... lol

second from last pic.. blue spreader.. awesome.. i am presuming something zone inappropriate for me???

ken

I'd like to know what that is too.

Can someone clue me in on Heath's and Heathers for zone 5a?

Great stuff...........

Dax

Ken & Dax - I would do it all again if I thought I still had the energy, just love creating new planting areas, that's one of the reasons I keep changing things around and replanting. The blue spreader is Cedrus deodara 'Feelin' Blue'
Dax - You should be able to get away with the two main species, Erica carnea the winter heath, flowers from around December to March, and culluna vulgaris which can flower from August to November depending on variety.

Dax - summer heat might be a problem though ? plus if you get a lot of snow you won't be able to see the winter heaths they only grow about 6-9 inches high.

The heather type plant we can grow best here is Coleonema pulchrum 'Aurea'.
Counted on as a reliable, adaptable plant, takes shearing well, yellow (no burn) in sun, bright green in shade.
Love it!

Barbara

Here is a link that might be useful: Coleonema pulchrum 'Aurea'

Spruce,

Your efforts on posting these "then and now" pix is outstanding. I'm a huge fan of seeing the steps taken before the project is complete.

Just a few questions on scale.

The beds that line the border of your property how many meters deep are they? I see from the google maps image that they bend in places but what's the average depth?

How far apart are those two larger center beds?

And lastly do your neighbors have any idea about your great conifer collection or do they just give one of those "there goes the plant guy again" looks?

steve, it's dark here now, so I'll have a look in the morning, Neighbours have no idea about conifers or any other plant for that matter.

steve, if you mean the depth of the border along the main boundary(main road) then it's narrowest point is 20ft, and it's widest point is 37ft. All the grass paths between island beds are about 6ft on average.

Thanks Spruce, that is what I was looking for. Scale in larger project is tough to determine from pix.

What tool did you edge your beds with originally?

Here is a link that might be useful: My Blog

Wow! That is down right amazing. So quickly as well. Must have been a significant investment at the time for all those plants. Certainly setting the bar high for everyone else.

great pictures thank you Bluespruce I feel inspired. I am new to this conifer "thing" but I know an object of beauty when I see it. The Cedrus deodara Feeling Blue leaves me speachless ( not an easy thing to do) It has been my number one next conifer to have and now there are big stars next to it on my list thanks to you. I love your house too. Lynn

klavier - The initial investment wasn't so bad as i transported many plants from our previous garden.

Lynn - welcome to the world of conifers, Cedrus deodara 'Feelin' Blue' is a great plant, and probably my favorite cedar, I doubt any cedar comes close for colour, plus it shows no tendency to throw up a leader.

Couldn't resist doing a few more photos, looks like my brand new scanner will be redundant before too long.

Many of the plants in these photos are no longer there, especially the heathers, also the purple Cotinus 'Miss Grace' in the first photo has since been moved elsewhere. I do look back and think how colourful it all was in the beginning, but needs must and the ongoing conifer collection has to take priority.
August 2001

Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone',Picea glauca 'Sanders Blue' (just in front), the prostrate spruce Picea abies 'Repens'(bottom left corner) and the unknown Picea abies cultivar to the right, are all gone and replaced by other plants.
August 2001

In this photo the Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Sungold' (front center) and the Picea pungens 'Blue Mist' are the only two surviving conifers in this particular bed today.
August 2001

The Pinus sylvestris 'Dereham' on right is no longer in the collection.
September 2002

I'm sure your changes are impressive as well, but I must say I prefer the color explosion the heathers and heath's give to these shots. I think I am going to mix in a few dozen among my many conifer beds. Do you have any particular suggestions, or more accurately, could you name the plants that are bright purple, yellow and orange in these shots? Thanks again, simply marvelous photos.

Have your photos been used in major literature? Sunset Western Gardening is one of the premier gardener books/magazines around here and I'm sure they'd love to publish some of your images.

Hi Blue.When you say some of them are no longer in the collection,do you mean they have found new homes,or do you dig them up on impulse and throw them on the compost heap?
I'm sure many of us would be quite willing to adopt,if only we could! T.

Thanks for more pictures Bluespruce I feel very inspired. I am happy to see some grasses and other plants in your gardens. Is that a Phormium on the left hand side of the last picture? My first conifer bed has only conifers in it but the next one has several grasses and I am really liking the effect. I like the movement the grasses create amoung the stiffer conifers. I love that P sylvestris in the last picute sorry it is no longer with you.

Tunilla...I was thinking the same thing; BlueStephen's "rejects" would be considered a treasure to most!

Finally found Blue's new website. He'll be selling plants soon. Will they be freshly dug B&B???

Barbara

Thanks Stephen. I thought Culluna vulgaris would be hardy here though I've never seen it, anywhere! Of course the other route is perennials of different sorts in mass plantings (yep ken).

Hell, I got a long ways to go before those but thank you. I'm thinking "moneywort" and and ya know anything else with intense coloration like that. Wooly time -
Laters-

Dax

We're obviously all thinking the same thing -- what's he doing with all those plants that are no longer in the collection??

That's one happy looking guy in the September 2001 picture (last picture, 1st series).

Bluespruce, is that Picea pungens in front of the Cotinus (first picture, 2nd series). That contrast was stunning!

Hey Dax. We picked up several Calluna vulgaris, unknown variety, in '07 at Lowes -- first I had seen them around here. They seem to be doing fine so far, but are pretty bland compared to Bluespruce's heathers. Dark green foliage and not much in the way of blooms. They do bronze nicely in the winter though. I'd say our growing conditions are pretty similar. I think it's time to try a few via mailorder.

Kim

Nice Kim. I'll follow your lead.

Dax

Will,Kim, Dax, The main flower colours (purples) in these pictures are from various Erica cinerea cultivars, some of the golden foliage heathers are either Calluna vulgaris or the winter flowering Erica carnea. Most of the main suppliers in the US for these plants are on the West coast, the reason being they are more suited to that climate. Although most species are hardy, they do not do! heat and humidity, they much prefer cooler summers.
tunilla, the majority of plants that get removed are trashed.
Lynn, Yes it is a Phormium, now gone!
Kim, Picea pungens 'Rovelli's Monument' in front of the Cotinus.

My phormium took a beating this winter when we had rare teen temps. I think our climate is pretty similar to yours Blue, we get mild sunny summers(70s and some 80s), and wet, mild winters. I am going to have to add some of those heaths and heathers to my conifer beds, those images are just stunning.

I wish I could have only one of those beds of Foxhollow.

Calluna vulgaris is usable in US zone 5, but all Ericas I planted died or continue to exist muiserably. I mix dwarf conifers with heathers, and have white, red, purple, pink and yellow Callunas. It is important to plant them deep and in acid soil, and water them when it is dry, and protect them in winter against cold winds. I have 4 inch to 14 inch high ones.

For 15 years I am buying heathers at Rockspray.com, a heather nursery in Truro, Cape Cod, Mass. on the US west coast, actually buy some regularly during summer vacations.

Happy new year with those conifers!
Bernd