Evergreen Saving Graces

Evergreens keep the hope of spring alive during the winter.

Written and photographed by Carole Ottesen

Fall in the Washington area is arguably the most colorful season of the year until late October or November when the landscape crashes with the first hard frost. Trees become gray skeletons and perennials shrivel to blackened stubble. Only the evergreens remain. They are truly the landscape's saving graces. They keep the garden dynamic and the hope of spring alive throughout the dark, cold months of the year. A good mix of their arresting shapes and vivid colors can make hard frost not a dismal event, but the means of refreshing change.

The word "evergreen" makes people think first of Christmas tree-type needle evergreens such as pines or spruces. Fortunately, we live far enough south to be able to grow not only a good many broadleaf evergreens such as hollies, mountain laurels, rhododendrons, and Washington's signature plants, azaleas, but a fine selection of evergreen perennials. In our salubrious climate, every garden can enjoy a mix of all kinds.

Bamboo-zled

In fact, mixtures make for the most intriguing textural compositions. Noted horticulturist and plant hunter Dan Hinkley, who travels the world seeking new ornamentals, juxtaposes wildly differing textures in his home garden. A favorite combination contrasts the large, spiny, leathery leaves of the grape olive, Mahonia, with the pliant softness of bamboo. It's a striking combination, but one that scares some people.

"People are flat out afraid as soon as they hear the word 'bamboo'", says Craig Takacs of Merrifield Garden Center in Fair Oaks. "They don't know about clumpers like the Fargesia we carry."

Clumping types of bamboo such as Fargesia will never invade your neighbor's yard or send up shoots through your asphalt driveway. They are well-behaved evergreens with a soft texture and pale lime-to-olive green foliage. They thrive in rich soil and semi-shade. And they are gorgeous.

Many bamboos take around a hundred years to bloom, but when a given species flowers, it does so worldwide. After blooming, all members of a species die and leave big holes in landscaping around the globe.

One species that bloomed some years ago is Fargesia nitida. This means that if you buy a Fargesia nitida now, be confident that there are at least ninety years left on the meter. Fargesia nitida reaches a gracefully arching six-feet-high by a dense, lime green four-feet-wide size.

Not Only Green Screens

Much taller, growing to a height of about 15 feet, is dark green Fargesia robusta. One cultivar of this species on the market is called 'Green Screen'. It is a refreshing, non-invasive, deer-resistant substitute for the ubiquitous Leyland cypress.

"Another good alternative to Leyland cypress," says Doug Sennewald, nursery manager at Johnson's Florist and Garden Center in Darnestown, is "Green Giant arborvitae (Thuja 'Green Giant'). It's a better plant." It's been tested at the U.S. National Arboretum since 1967. 'Green Giant' is resistant to bagworms and deer, grows at an amazing three to five feet per year and can reach 50 feet in height.

Similar in ultimate height and pyramidal habit and similarly easy to grow, Cryptomeria japonica, another of Sennewald's picks, is slower growing. It has awl-shaped, blue or bright green foliage that is smooth to the touch and bronzes in winter, especially if exposed to wind.

Color Conscious

The bronzing produces a rich earth tone, but for those who long for brighter, livelier colors in the winter, there are plenty from which to choose. Despite the name, evergreens are not always green. There are blue-toned junipers, red burnished nandinas, and purple loripetalums to name just a few, but, no matter what the weather, yellow is the color that brings sunshine into the garden.

"Aucuba 'Gold Dust,' a neat plant for shade," says Tom Phillips of Phillips Landscaping, "makes it look like sun is filtering through and hitting the leaves." Phillips likes Aucuba 'Gold Dust' for screening in the shade, where it can reach a height of eight feet, but may be contained by pruning. Female plants bear bright red berries, but it is the yellows and creams that light up the garden's darkest places.

In the winter, colored foliage takes the place of flowers. Evergreens such as Osmanthus 'Goshiki,' a holly look-alike that grows to a five-foot mound of compact, spiny foliage, are garden stars. "It has gorgeous color," says Takacs; "it's almost a tri-color, a mottling of cream green with a hint of peach."

Mark Simpson of East Coast Landscaping frequently installs colorful evergreens for his clients because "they keep their color 365 days a year." He likes the false cypresses (Chamaecyparis spp).

"I like gold thread cypress," says Simpson, adding, "it weeps, it has soft needles, and it's evergreen," eventually reaching 15 feet tall by about four feet wide. Another of his favorites is the dwarf globe blue spruce (Picea pungens 'Globosa') with bright blue needles that stay blue all year.

"Dwarf globosa spruce is zero maintenance," says Simpson. "It's a blue ball that grows one to two inches per year," eventually to about five feet high by six feet wide.

Good Habits

The habits of evergreens are another way to enliven the winter landscape. Interesting shapes "add contrast to the garden," says Peg Bier of Merrifield Garden Center in Fair Oaks. "At the top of my list," she adds, "are all of the Hinokis" (Chamaecyparis obtusea), a forest tree in Japan, but one with many small, garden-sized cultivars. Hinoki cypress has beautiful, flattened fans of foliage that grow into an irregular outline.

Another of Bier's favorites is "'Sky Pencil' holly (Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil')," an extremely narrow, upright female form of Japanese holly that can reach a height of ten feet by less than two feet in width. 'Sky Pencil' can serve as a narrow hedge or as a specimen. As the latter, says Bier, "it will contrast with the Hinokis and perform better than some of the boxwoods."

At the feet of these shrubs, evergreen perennials add another layer of color and texture. Lenten roses (Helleborus xhybridus) form deep green mounds of foliage that bloom in shades of white, rose, and pink in March. Sweet flag (Acorus 'Oborozuki') faithfully glows yellow all year long and a legion of sedges (Carex spp) such as Carex 'Sparkler' and Carex morrowii add their bright variegation to the winter scene.

When hard frost banishes deciduous plants from the garden, evergreens come into their own. In the brighter, more spacious geography of the winter garden, evergreen trees, shrubs, and perennials play all of the starring roles.