A larger transplant we did this spring. It was growing into some old elm tree roots and the root ball was disturbed more than I'd have liked. However, it has shown no signs that it was even disturbed.

Visited Davidsan's Japanese Maples in Springfield, IL in early March. Only intended to buy "a few things" and came back with this.

We'll call this haul #1

Another larger transplant for this year. Larix laricina 'Deborah Waxman'. Did not expect this much growth. So far so good on this transplant as well.

A shout out to Conifer Kingdom for having a fantastic selection of conifers! Order #1

We made our first grafting attempt last winter. Overall happy with the results. Hopefully I'll have nice looking plants to post five years from now.

OK, the last big order. One of these days I'll stop ordering so many. Conifer Kingdom again on the right, and a handful from western evergreen on the left.

I don't have great confidence in this one surviving, but figured I'd give it a shot. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Filip's Golden Tears', nice yellow

I know I've posted this before, but these fernleaf peonies almost have a conifer look to them in the early spring. Heck, I like them better at this stage than when they're in bloom!

This plant has several towers that appear to be competing for a prize. Picea pungens 'Schloss Herrenstein' which I believe partly translates to castle?

Pinus parviflora 'Catherine Elizabeth'

Just some water droplets on a Larix 'Pendula'

I thought these radially arranged candles looked cool, Picea abies 'Medusa'

Cones on Picea jezoensis 'Howell's Dwarf'

Bright red cones on Picea pungens 'Gebelle's Golden Spring'

Tur

New hillside bed created this spring. That Larix 'Deborah Waxman' had to go somewhere. Many of the plants on this hillside were transplants from elsewhere in the yard.

One of my must have conifers, Pinus mugo 'Jakobsen'

ACS conifer of the year Thuja occ. 'Islprim' and a baby version I found at a local nursery after ordering the Mama. Resembles a Cham. obtusa which is good because I don't have good results with them but love them.

An infestation of needle-eating insects (sawflies I think?) that were eating my pines, including longaeva, mugo, etc. A quick spray of Bifenthrin (spelling?) and they're toast. Another reason to take daily spring yard tours to catch things like this before they get out of hand.

We try to avoid buying larger specimens, but this 'Pendula Bruns' had my name on it, and the price wasn't bad.

Picea orientalis 'Tom Thumb Gold'

Picea orientalis 'Spring Frost'. This is before it's massive candle expansion. Stanley and Sons is a great source for affordable unique conifers in fresh graft size. Sure, you'll lose some, but they're so cheap you can afford to lose some.

Pinus strobus 'Niagara Falls' along with some Tiarella 'Spring Symphony'...excellent early spring bloomers.

The hosta garden. This area used to be all hostas, but have been mixing in some other stuff.

Picea pungens 'Ferrance Skirt'

Picea glauca 'Ketch Harbor'

Picea glauca 'Pendula', a must-have for any conifer garden IMO

Picea pungens 'Schloss Herrenstein' again

Picea pungens 'Waldbrunn'. Put on a nice display of sparkling second growth recently (no pic of that)

I didn't take a pic of this one in full glory, here is just before all the new candles opened. It also put out one heck of a leader after this pic was taken. Abies koreana 'Silberlocke'. This one really has me wanting a mature 'Kouhout's Icebreaker'. I have a little stanley graft that I can't wait for to get bigger.

Acer palmatum 'Moonrise' and Tsuga canadensis 'Burkette's Dwarf'. The Tsuga almost has a Cham. 'Chirimen' habit to it, does it not?

Picea glauca 'Pendula' taking center stage again

I love Bob Fincham's gold introductions, but the green parentage of 'Acrocona' is no slouch either

A common one, but a good one. Picea abies 'Pendula' (or 'Reflexa' I guess).

Pinus aristata (species), this has taken my humid climate rather well. I do have it in sandy garden soil though.

Another Pinus aristata, this one 'Horstmann'. Fantastic combo of blue needles, white resin specs, and pointed buds

Picea orientalis 'Daureas'

Pinus parviflora 'Fukazumi' and an Itoh peony

Not a conifer, but chances are if you like these weird conifers, you might like this. I've been wanting one of these for a while and found one. Acer platanoides 'Curly Lamp Post'. Not a great pic of the overall plant, but shows off it's dark green foliage that appears to have been sprayed with herbicide lol. Definitely not for everyone

Picea orientalis 'Shadow's Broom'

Picea pungens 'Glauca Procumbens'

Picea orientalis 'Aureospicata'. This puts on a spectacular show every spring.

Water droplets on a hosta leaf, sorry I thought it looked cool.

'Aureospicata' again with friends

This bed started out at least 1/4 of the size it is now. Never planned to have this much garden

Probably my favorite new acquisition this year, Tsuga canadensis 'Greenwood Lakes'. I ordered this sight unseen and was pleasantly surprised. Very dense, very green (this pic has bright new growth). It was B&B so I figured it might decline for a few years, but it hasn't skipped a beat yet.

Bunny patrol. Haven't had rabbit problems since he's been here (knock on wood)

Garden view

Pinus nigra 'Hornibrookiana'

Just in time for Independence Day, this guy showed some fireworks with it's flashy second push, Picea abies 'Little Gem'

Picked up a handful of different types of dwarf Tsuga cultivars about this size. This one intrigued me with its interesting weeping branches and blue tone.

Picea abies 'Lanham's Beehive'

That's it. Hope you enjoyed the tour. Hopefully we'll do it again next year.

Dude, your're a maniac!

Excellent pics, thanks for sharing.

Wow! I will be back with more comments.

I've got criticism ,,,not enough plants

ha , ron

wow .....

So...

Did you mail order the fernleaf peonies? I have never seen those around me.

Is your profession something to do with landscaping or do you just rent the equipment in the spring/fall for "plant moving day"?

What is the Japanese maple behind the Silberlocke?

Your mugo jacobson, why is it a must have? Just something that you really like year round?

I like the new bed that you put in next to the steps. I think the new stone work blends seamlessly with the steps. Good job.

How did you determine the mulch beds vs using the rounded peble/river stone beds? Randomly or do you have plans for using more stone as $ permits?

Honestly, I am shocked that I couldn't find any weeds in your pics. The amount of beds that you have should yield some weeds but the pictures show immaculate atttention. Awesome job. Also, the pace that you are collecting with already such a large pallet of beds is impressive. Do you have an end goal of when you are done with adding beds? If I had this kind of collection, that would be the question that my wife would be asking me all the time so I want to hear your response so I can use it in 10 years :)

Did you mail order the fernleaf peonies? I have never seen those around me.

No, I have only ever seen them at two nurseries. One of which is Hornbaker Gardens, which does mail order on hosta and daylily. You could probably get them to ship it if you really wanted one. Especially as a tuber in the fall.

Is your profession something to do with landscaping or do you just rent the equipment in the spring/fall for "plant moving day"?

We have a very small lawn/landscape business. So we do have quite a few "toys" to make things easier.

What is the Japanese maple behind the Silberlocke?

Acer palmatum 'Hubbs Red Willow'

Your mugo jacobson, why is it a must have? Just something that you really like year round?

It is just one of my personal favorites. It has a tufty growth habit almost resembling a bonsai. Nice thick green needles. And Mugo is super hardy.

How did you determine the mulch beds vs using the rounded peble/river stone beds? Randomly or do you have plans for using more stone as $ permits?

All beds are mulch unless there is a water runoff concern. I prefer not to work in the rock (much more difficult to re-arrange plants etc.). But heavy rains will wash the mulch away in certain areas, thus the rock.

Honestly, I am shocked that I couldn't find any weeds in your pics. The amount of beds that you have should yield some weeds but the pictures show immaculate atttention. Awesome job. Also, the pace that you are collecting with already such a large pallet of beds is impressive. Do you have an end goal of when you are done with adding beds? If I had this kind of collection, that would be the question that my wife would be asking me all the time so I want to hear your response so I can use it in 10 years :)

The beds certainly grow weeds, but it's not bad so long as they're kept up with. The beds get a fresh layer of mulch yearly, so that helps. They get roundup if needed, and a thorough hand-pulling probably twice a year (usually only takes a couple of evenings). And if I see weeds when walking by or mowing the lawn, I'll stop and pull. I think the mistake people make is letting the little ones go for too long and then it gets out of hand.

End goal: We have one more large bed planned on another hillside. Then most of the room on these properties will be occupied. Future goal is to buy some land in the country to move specimens to as they get too big. That's a ways down the road though. It's gonna be hard to stop collecting just because I run out of space :)

Thanks for the comments

this needs a bump

ron

I agree

Gorgeous garden!

Beautiful and interesting!

I take it most if not all the trees need cold, I dont know anything about conifers, I take it Florida is not the place for a conifer garden?

Absolutely spectacular!! I can't express how much I enjoy this. Love the continuation of the hillside bed. So much eye candy. I'll be coming back to this post for a while.

I've been searching for Acer Plantanoides 'Curly Lamppost' for years. Where did you get yours?

I've also been hunting for that fern leaf Peony since I saw your's last year. Still can't find it. I visited Blue Horizon Nursery in Michigan that had it in their display garden but unfortunately they didn't have any propagated. =(

Picea abies 'Little Gem' reliably pushes new growth twice a year for me. The second push is never much but the little pop of light green against the dark is always nice.

I also added a tiny Stanley graft of Picea orientalis 'Spring Frost' this spring. I was surprised how long it kept it's gold color before transitioning to green. It just recently faded to green.

Love the bunny patrol.

Thanks for taking the time to post all the drool material. =)

Simply awesome. I'll have to enjoy in greater detail when I can take a slower walk through your virtual garden tour!

Garen Rees, I believe Broken Arrow Nursery grow Acer Plantanoides 'Curly Lamppost'. Maybe try contacting them and find out when they will be available for online purchase. I'm interested in obtaining a 'Curly Lampost' as well.

Thanks for the bump Ron.

Thanks for the additional comments as well.

I'll see if I can answer the questions.

SweetMonkeyCheese. I am really not familiar with climates not similar to mine. But I'd guess you are correct that most of what I am growing you could not. Between needing the chill period and the heat and humidity. I'm sure there are some conifers that will grow there though, right?

Garen, I purchased my Curly Lamp Post from Davidsan's Japanese Maples in Springfield, IL. I picked it up in person, but they do ship. They only list 1 3gal available. They have larger sizes, but you won't want to pay what they're asking, the 3-gal is bad enough. Expensive buggers

Fernleaf peony, if you're ever passing though Illinois on I-80, stop at Hornbaker gardens in Princeton, IL They have a field of them that they harvest and containerize. Unfortunately, they're expensive too. I've never seen them for under $50 for a small #1.

Thanks for the help. They will be mine, oh yes, they will. =)

Stewart, yeah I saw Broken Arrow had it available a few years ago and I've been kicking myself for not pulling the trigger when they had them. Coniferbros is right, they are pricey due to being difficult to propagate.

We have pine trees!!!!

NO JOKE!!!!

We have lots of this kind and I really like them... I love when they split into two!

And how did they let this happen!!!

I have a small yard so even if there were a nice selection of trees like yours I would never be able to fit them, I would need mini ones!

Araucarias get much bigger than that. Itoh peonies come from Monrovia. They aren't Fern-leaf Peony, conventionally that is Paeonia tenuifolia.

http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/collections/itoh-peonies-plant-collection/

Re: Fernleaf Peonies. I have one I bought this spring from McKinley's Nursery in Mishawaka, IN. Not $50 either - I think it was $20 for a gallon container, nice size. Not sure if you pass through here, but I can check to see if they still have any next time I visit (probably soon).

Outstanding conifer garden!! Your garden will be my guide for my own conifer beds.

also check out gall 2016

ron

Wow! Breathtaking. Spellbinding. If i ever go to Illinois, I would love to tour your gardens! Beautiful job... A garden to inspire!

On another note, there are several sources for fern leaf peonies in my area, both for single and double flowered varieties. That being said, they are nowhere near common. Many people have never even heard of them. And price? I've seen single flowered at $35 for a small 1gal, and double flowered are $70-75 for a 1 gal, CDN funds.

That's one of the best residential landscapes I've seen..,for my taste. What a beautiful enchanting place with amazing material....keep up the good work. Stunning!

Al

Wow.... and wow! Truly fabulous is your garden and organization. I am just starting a conifer garden and as have been collecting for the last few years big and small. Now for the planting and labeling..... which leads me to the question; Where do you order your display tags? They look sharp but affordable.

Thanks to all above for the kind words.

Scott - I get my tags from Kincaid Plant Markers. I chose the signature plant markers, 10" P-style. Less than a buck each, I figure they should last a LONG time. I print the label on brother TZe tape 1" white print on black label. Most people use the clear tape, personal preference. If a plant dies, I just stick a new label on top of the old, easier than peeling the old one off. You reminded me I need to order more for next year.

Thanks for the info! Definitely like the white on black, makes it look like black sheet fiberglass with engraved white lettering! Very sharp! Now if you could only make all those beautiful conifers grow in my Z8 hot/humid Florida environment............

That Picea pungens 'Schloss Herrenstein' with upright cones, 13th pic. I thought all spruces have depending cones, and firs have upright cones...

No Larry, Here's a photo from this spring of one of my pungens growing here in zone 7

A spruce with fir cones!

Before pollinisation, all picea cones (female flowers) are upright.