I'm glad spring arrived your way. Keep on planting!

Take care Rick,

Dax

sublime ....

i am surprised picea abies needs staking[if that is what you might call you pull tie system ] ... in know when fresh.. it weak.. but man... once it hardens off... they are very strong ... i am thinking its from last season... and think it might be time to be released....

boy those two JM's are sooo different.. lol...

ken

As your garden demonstrates, conifers can be very colorful in the garden.

If you want to take the 'Gold Drift' higher, take the stake out of the ground, move it up the tree and tie it to the tree with horticultural tying tape that will stretch under pressure. Then tie the new growth to it. You can then move it up higher along the tree each year until your ladder won't go any higher or you have it as high as you want it. I got one of the originals up to about 10 feet (3m) that way.

Bob

Wow, that's an explosion of buds on the Kellerman's!

Thanks All!

Ken - That was last years stake. The new leader was growing at a 2:00 angle, that just helped hold it vertical until the growth hardened off... then I forgot about it.

Bob - Thanks for the suggestion... I never knew that Gold Drift needed staking to achieve height. The first year or two it did ok without a stake, then just last year the leader started to wonder. I didn't think anything of it, which is why I added the temporary stake. I'll definitely get a larger stake plus some horticultural tying tape.

Good looking plants, Rick and I like your fountain and supplementary perennials. Does 'Skylands' burn at all for you in full sun? It's a tricky plant for me in the PNW and it seems to enjoy *just* the right amount of sun.

One thing I'd mention is that 'Teeny' may have trouble if it's shaded too much. It seems from my experience that pines, more than just about any conifer, hate to have shaded areas. It's a sweet little dwarf, I'd hate to see it defoliate some.

Keep the updates coming!

-Will

For what it's worth 'Teeny' will not be so teeny. I wonder who hung that handle on it?

Looks like your up and running with your garden. A worth while investement that only gets better as the years add up.

Thanks for the update on your garden.

Dave

Nice sample, Rick. Thanks.

tj

Thanks Will! - Regarding Skylkands, it burned when it was first planted so I put a shade cloth around it. It's been 2 years and I just took the shade cloth away about a month ago. Fingers are crossed it does ok. During the summer, I might put a shade cloth up on one side so it gets full morning sun till around noon then shaded the rest of the day.

I'll cut that rose branch away from Teeny to allow for a little more sun

Thanks Dave & TJ, still waiting on everything else to come alive so I can take some more pics. It seems that most of my Picea pungens are taking a much longer nap this year than normal.

A few more...

Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst'

Picea pungens 'Procumbens'

Picea pungens 'Spring Blast'

Picea abies 'Perry's Gold'

Picea abies 'Nidiformis' - Generic Big box store plant, but still looks great in the spring.

Picea glauca 'Mac Golden' - This was the first to flush some 3 weeks ago so it lost some of it's yellowish color as it's starting to revert back to green

Picea pungens 'Blue Totem'

I love your Taylor and Mac for form!

Nice pics, Rick! You're place is going to look more amazing each year as your conifers grow. I look forward to seeing its progress.

Matt

Looking good, Rick. I especially like your 'Taylor's Sunburst'.

How much sun does your 'Perry's Gold' take, and do you ever see any burn?

Alex

Thanks Will & Matt - The bed where you see Mac Golden & Blue Totem is the bed I'm going to complete this fall by adding companion plants & mulch.

Thanks Alex - Perry's Gold takes full sun here in Ohio. I planted it in spring 2011 and it's never had a shade cloth. Depending on the heat, a couple of the needles may show a little brown on the tips, but that's about it.

On a side note... the rose bushes going over the arbor has hundreds of buds.... this will be the first year it has bloomed. Last year it was only 1' tall... it should really complement the conifers as everything grows.

Beautiful conifers! It looks like you have good spacing too.

Dax