For a focal point 'island', my personal opinion is that you should select only one of those you mentioned to be the tall 'focal point'. Then, depending on which one you pick, select smaller shrubs to complement that one. Of course it depends on the dimensions you want this 'island' to ultimately be, which you did not say.

Or another idea would be to use 3 cypresses, and around them, plant lower contrasting shrubs (2 to 3 feet high but spreading) that have foliage all the way to the ground. This will anchor the planting to the ground, visually. Maybe mounds of Santolina, or lavenders, dwarf conifers, etc. I'm not really familiar with your plant palette.

Those three you mentioned might work IF the bed was quite large, you left a LOT of room between them AND you planted understory shrubs/herbs in masses to tie them all together as a cohesive form.

Here are some ideas:

Thank you, Dave, for getting the ball rolling and my wheels turning! I guess I'm kind of confused as to ultime mature sizes. It says on the site of the nurseries that the cypress reaches a mature height of 18-22 meters, whilst the weeping juniper only gets to 3 meters max, and Forest Pansy goes to 3-5 meters. In other words, giving me the impression that the cypress would be the tall focal point, and the other two would serve as the shorter "anchors". Can you comment on that? another thing: I am wondering if Forest P. would be able to thrive in the area in question; it is very hot, dry and exposed to southwest sun all afternoon. I am wondering if the native Cercis siliquastrum might be a better choice for this difficult spot,though it would be nice to have the purple leaves of Forest P. Also, Cercis s. does get bigger: 4-6 meters ultimate height. I will try to measure it to give exact dimensions, but my whole garden is very, very large; it's not around a house; it's in a woodland ,and the idea is more like a botanical garden-y thing,not home landscaping.

In the top photo, I really like the grouping of the "weepers", but I don't know what they are and guess I'm suspicious that they might require much cushier conditions than my garden can provide! same goes for the japanese maple(?) in the second photo. This is why I'm thinking Italian cypress and the juniper...

"the cypress would be the tall focal point, and the other two would serve as the shorter "anchors". Can you comment on that?"

You'd put the cypress in the middle and the others on each side. The other two should be planted forefront of the cypress.

You need to give them plenty of room/spacing. I'd expect someday a 'Forest Pansy' to be 25' tall and 25' wide as that's what old redbuds look like here. Your juniper you need to research it's annual growth rate in terms of height and in terms of width and calculate that to the annual growth rates of the width of both plants. Obviously the Italian cypress is very narrow but, be sure you do all the math for all (3) plants. 10-years ahead is going to creep up on you real fast. For me and at my age and for the interest of anyone whom may take over my property when I pass, I'm spacing for a minimum of 40-years. I'm 41 years old. And I do the math for each planting on my 6-acres of land.

Best regards,

Dax

And honestly the cypress just might be too tall for that usage. I mean those things get tall! It may be all out of proportion. Again, it may depend upon how large your bed is going to be. With all three of those plants I'm picturing a bed at least 10 metres in diameter? The shape of the bed depends upon its surroundings. If you could supply a pic of the area, that might help.

Here's one rough idea. The various groundcovers, shrubs, etc. tie the design all together. They could be fairly low - between 20 to 60 cm high. They also provide a 'buffer zone' filling in between the 'anchor' plants and if and when the anchors plants become really big, they can be reduced in size or moved.

I'm not at all familiar with plants that grow in your region, so you'd have to consult local nursery about the Redbud. Instead of that, I'm thinking Bay laurel, oleander (tree form), or Olive would take the Mediterranean conditions well? Or maybe a small citrus, Med Fan palm?

And for the lower-growing plants, I would plant 'masses' of maybe boxwoods, Dwarf Pittosporum, Dwarf nandina, Indian hawthorns, sages, lavenders, rosemarys, succulents....I would look especially for evergreen plants for year-round appeal. I don't know whether these suggested plants are overused and too 'cliché'.

The 'mulched' area could be decomposed granite or pebbles.

To push it 'over-the-top' as a real focal point, you could work in some large boulders or even statuary.

So am I Dave.

Dax

I'll try to get a picture posted. The juniper is Juniperus communis Oblonga Pendula.I'll measure the diameter of the area,but 10 meters might not be that far off. It's backed by some mature oaks, so I doubt that the cypress would be out of proportion at maturity, plus I've got some other baby cypresses further back. In part, I want these trees to provide a bit of shady protection against the blazing southwestern summer sun to the rose garden on the slope above this area,yet at the same time not block the beautiful view of the surrounding hills and woods-a pretty tall order! which is another good reason to think"tall and skinny"; i.e., trees that would "punctuate" the view, but not block it. My climate is too harsh for citrus or palms. Also, I think some trees-deciduous ones in particular?- tend to not grow as tall here as they do in the USA,perhaps due to the very dry summers,but I am no expert! I've put up another post about Forest Pansy; I am beginning to think that the area may be too hot and sunny for that, and that I'd be better off with C. siliquastrum.

Are you comparable to a USDA zone 8 or 9? If so, Med fan (European fan palm) should do well. Which province or nearest city?

conifers are trees ... and neither trees nor conifers ever stop growing ... wither up... down.. or spreading ...

most size estimates are at 10 years ...

perhaps i missed your location.. but throwing in the whilst.. usually indicates england ... it can really matter ...

i usggest you track down some local .. call that within 3 hour drive ... arborteums.. and visit.. and eyeball how these things are used ... it will really help you get a feel for how it is done ...

see link for ANNUAL GROWTH rate .. which is around 1/10 the estimate size... you can presume.. at 20 years.. they will be twice as big ...

ken

there is an active british conifer society, as far as i know.. they would be a great resource to find local collectors who might welcome a visit

http://conifersociety.org/conifers/conifer-sizes/

Ken: Tuscany Italy

Forest Pansy Redbud is an understory tree. It does well in shade. The shade might offset the effects of the excess sun in your zone. Also, it is way shorter lived then a cypress. It will probably die of old age before the cypress gets really huge. I actually like your plan.

Oh, here is an example of a cluster of evergreen and deciduous trees, if you want to see what one looks like years later. Not the same species of course.

O, thank you,edlincoln! I am thinking more and more that Forest P might prefer some shade,and that for this particular spot,Cercis s would be better...I'm in the province of Prato, but in the hills, about 650 meters above sea level. Iìd say it's closer to an 8 here than a 9. People in Prato can grow bougainvillea vines in sheltered spots,but here it wouldn't work,I'm pretty sure. Also, my land is wide open to some pretty fierce wind. For example, I toy sometimes with the idea of trying a Jacaranda,in a sheltered spot, but it would be awful iffy...

Redbud is rated as being particularly wind tolerant, for what it's worth.