Fifty Shades of Green
Garden Clippings for Sept 25, 2021
Three things this Landscape Architect most often gets asked for when he consults with clients: colour, low maintenance, and an address sign. I have never been asked to design a serene garden.
Earlier this week I visited one of the most beautiful backyards in the city. Dominated by bold green Oaks, and bordered with light green Pines and dark green Spruce, then connected by lush green grass meandering to a wide green path leading to the Howard Watson Nature Trail.
The landscape was void of colour save for a few pale pink Autumn Joy Sedum struggling for attention in the deep shade. The ultimate in tranquility and serenity.
My own backyard is quite the opposite. Boulders, Begonias, black fencing, brick, a babbling brook, Bea Balm and Blue Jays, all busy bullies vying for attention.
There are times I want to turn down the volume. Give me quiet rather than busyness. Give me elevator music rather than a rock band. Peace rather than violence.
Evergreens are the best trees to achieve a blanket of green. The deep green foliage and graceful form of huge Norway Spruce with limbs hugging the earth is a recipe for calm. Even the main stem is hidden by its own foliage.
Within the world of conifers there is plenty of variety, albeit more subtle than the contrasting colours of flowering shrubs and perennials. Norway Spruce is deep green. Yews are even darker. White Spruce introduces grey hues. Colorado Spruce has its own colour spectrum, ranging from true green to blazing blue. Douglas Fir is pale green. White Pine uses its lighter colour and longer needles to claim its space in the landscape.
Form and texture are the saviors of an otherwise boring green blanket of conifers. Weeping Willows, with their long cascading limbs are lovely to look at from afar. For a weeping conifer, ‘Nootka’ False Cypress is hard to beat.
The latest trend in distinct forms are tall and slim trees, popular because they take up little room in small, city lots. Emerald Cedar, on the bottom of my favourite list, is tall with a pointed top. Black Cedar is a faithful grower with dark green colour, making a nice hedge. ‘DeGroot Spire’ Cedar, is narrow, tall, and columnar, providing a stunning vertical accent.
For a sizable vertical form with deciduous foliage, varieties of Columnar Beech are a top choice. Most grow only a few feet wide, with ultimate heights of more than 20 feet. ‘Dawyk Purple’ Beech and ‘Dawyk Golden’ offer lots of foliage colour, while ‘Dawyk Green’ brings an upright form with more subdued colour. Other trees with slim upright form include Sweet Gum ‘Slender Sillhouette’ and Pyramidal Hornbeam.
When looking for trees with distinct texture, the possibilities are endless, because every tree has its own texture. On the one end is the plain green Locust ‘Shademaster’ with leaves so small that they don’t need to be raked up. Black Walnut is heavier textured with its large compound leaves contrasting with its own wide spreading black stems. The heaviest textured tree that I know is Northern Catalpa, with showy white spring flowers, long seed pods and leaves that would hide a sheet of paper.
In next week’s Garden Clippings we will look at nifty options for home address signs.
