Champion Coastal Conifers

Winter is a great time to assess the bones of your garden. With all the deciduous plants bare and flowers removed or cut back, we can really see the structural evergreen plants.

Picea abies 'Pendula'

Evergreen plants fall mainly into two large categories: broadleaf and conifer. Technically "conifers" should indicate cone-bearing, but for our purposes we will simply consider those plants with needle-like foliage rather than leaves.

The gardener will find a wide variety of conifers available for successful landscape use on the Oregon coast. Do yourself a favor and start your search with a leisurely stroll (or hike) in one of our many public parks or open spaces, for the purpose of observation.  Many mistakes can be avoided, and great ideas discovered, when the gardener begins by observing successful plant communities. Which conifers prefer some shade? Which need shelter from wind? Which are especially resilient near the ocean, and which ones are snapped off in winter windstorms?

The primary coniferous trees on our stretch of the coast include Sitka Spruce, Shore Pine, Western Hemlock and Western Red Cedar. The spruces and pines are most tolerant of high wind, while the hemlock and cedar will thrive in shady and wetter conditions. All of these trees, in the right setting, are potentially very large (50' or more) specimens. The prudent gardener will plant and nurture them where they won't require extensive pruning to fit the space, and instead allow them to fulfill their potential.

Excellent examples of small landscape conifers can fill that next tier on the landscape hierarchy, the medium to tall shrub or small tree. Hollywood Junipers (Juniperus chinensis 'Torulosa') have become a favorite in the Lincoln City area, with high wind tolerance and a naturally "wind-sculpted" look, featuring deep green, non-prickly foliage (rare for a juniper). These fine plants also provide for wildlife, with dense clusters of juniper berries throughout fall and winter.

Picea abies 'Nidiformis' in foreground

The genus Picea (spruce) offers gardeners a vast array of landscape conifers, with some performing quite well on the coast.  Picea abies 'Nidiformis' or Bird's Nest Spruce offers a tidy, dense, dark-green foundation shrub that conforms to a roughly 3' square profile and rarely needs pruning. A focal-point can be achieved with Weeping Norway Spruce (Picea abies 'Pendula'), a medium-height (4-5') narrow shrub that gracefully drapes layers of cascading branches. It will tolerate some wind and only needs minimal pruning to keep from spreading too wide.

The coastal gardener should carefully site spruces that are adapted to inland conditions, like the Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens var. glauca). Between sandy soils, persistent north wind and sparse rainfall in late summer, these alpine trees can really struggle for moisture. They should be given some shelter from summer winds and provided regular water.

Conifers for groundcovers are a popular choice, with two of the most successful coming from the genus Juniperus. The Shore Juniper, Juniperus conferta, is native to Japan but thrives here. A popular variety in our local nurseries is 'Blue Pacific.' If you want quick cover on a large slope that's exposed to ocean winds, this blue-green beauty is the ticket. Be sure to provide good drainage-- sandy soils are ideal.

A more compact groundcover juniper is Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star.' This tidy, composed juniper sports grey-blue foliage and is slower growing than Shore Juniper. Blue Star juniper is an excellent specimen groundcover for landscapes with a bit more shelter from the ocean and very good drainage.

Conifers can also be utilized for color in the landscape during what is an admittedly bleak season. A fine example of this is Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' or Japanese Plume Cedar. While the species tree in its native range is a towering timber tree much like our own cedars, 'Elegans' is a shrub to small tree, and on the coast it tends to grow more slowly, ranging from low shrub to 6-8' tall tree. The outstanding feature is the soft, ferny (hence the name Plume) foliage that in winter turns bronzy for nice contrast. New growth is a soft bright green, then darkens and turns with the onset of cold weather. A bonus: the needles never drop.

Another fine conifer for the role of small-colorful-shrub is Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea' or Golden Threadleaf Falsecypress. This soft-textured weeping shrub (to 3-4') holds its golden foliage year-round, providing highlights in the mostly dark winter landscape and nicely contrasting against blue conifers.

A fine reference book for northwest trees including many of these conifers, is Arthur Lee Jacobsen's classic North American Landscape Trees. For specific information on landscape conifers including great photography and design guidelines, see Adrian Bloom's Gardening with Conifers.

Winter Vegetable Gardening on the Coast

There are those of us who just can't give up the taste of fresh produce from the garden.  Nevermind the December storms, pouring rain, gale-force winds... we have to get our fix.

By now nearly all of my outside raised beds in the garden have been put to rest with cover crop and a blanket of straw.  Perennial herbs and pathways are newly dressed with wood-chip mulch, and tender hanging baskets have been brought inside.  Still, there are opportunities for winter vegetables with a little extra effort.

The enchanted Swiss chard forest in December

Normally this time of year I would still have large kale plants, which after frost come into their glory with sweetness.  Unfortunately this year the kale patch had to be rotated at just the wrong time due to poor planning and I didn't manage to get the winter crop started on time.  Other brassicas fared better, with my broccoli and cauliflower just finishing a few weeks ago (late November).

A star of the garden this past year has been 'Bright Lights' chard, with another bumper crop this year, and quite a few of the volunteer seedlings carefully transplanted to the front and side yards for use in the "edible landscape."  If you want to add edibles to your manicured front yard, this selection is outstanding for color, structure and it holds throughout the year.  When it finally bolts to seed there is a spectacular tall (over 5') spike that rises and produces thousands of seeds... so cut that and lay it down where you want a new patch.

Garlic has been planted for next season, and the herbs all neatly trimmed with a final harvest in late fall going to the drying shed.  There are still a few late artichokes on my established plants, and the foliage adds a striking evergreen texture to the front yard landscape.

The tomato house - center lid left in place

Access to the tomato house via end panel

Finally I wanted to share some options for off-season cold frames.  Nearly every ambitious vegetable gardener will know already about season-extension by the use of these adaptable little structures, merely a rectangular frame with some sort of removable glazing for the top. They are useful in starting early or keeping late many marginal crops like baby lettuces or Asian greens, and critical for transitioning plants that were started inside in the spring.

Small cold frame by peach tree - doing temporary duty storing straw

We have identified a few sunny spots in our tight city landscape where we custom-built frames from reclaimed materials, and another is used in the garden for growing tomatoes.  You will note from the pictures the variety of design, depending on how it's used.

Gull-wing cold frame - designed to fit SW facing nook

Important on the coast is to provide a way to secure the lid for high winds.  The last thing you want is an airborne lid crashing through your neighbor's window... or some other tragedy.  Also be sure to create a sloped lid on your frame, so that more light enters from the south.  Remember the sun is at a very low angle at our 45-degrees-north latitude in winter; a box with equal sides will create too much shade inside for your plants.  If you create a very tall frame like our tomato-house, be sure there is access on the sides for planting, harvesting, etc.  It will be impossible to manage just from the top.

Detail of lid construction - note angled top edge

Additional resources - great books I use on this topic include Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest and Gardening Under Cover: A Northwest Guide to Solar Greenhouses, Cold Frames, and Cloches

Coastal Landscape Planning: Hedges

Japanese holly hedge, neatly sheared

We might all dream of a place in the country with acres to spare between our house and the neighbor's... but the reality is that most of us live within view of each other.  Hence, hedges.

As a coastal landscape gardener and designer, a good share of my time is spent maintaining --and subsequently thinking about-- hedges. The usual motivation for planting a hedge is quite frankly, to shield one's eyes from the fellow next door and his laundry on the line.  Or perhaps to create a nice backdrop for colorful blooming plants.  They can also define the edges of adjacent spaces, creating outdoor "rooms."

Whatever the reason, choosing a hedge material is one of the more important landscape decisions.  First, planting a hedge can be a large investment, depending on the length and how large (instant) the plants are you want to purchase.  Some hedge plants are available from 1 gallon container size all the way up to 6' tall.

Some species are certainly cheaper than others, due to their popularity and subsequent supply by nurseries, but please don't let that be your guide.  The bigger investment will be in maintaining your hedge for years to come.  If the plant you choose is needy, requiring multiple shearing sessions per year, or poorly suited for the coast and needs babying... your "bargain" purchase at the big-box store may be anything but.

Based on my experience working in landscapes throughout Lincoln City, Depoe Bay and surrounding areas, here are my picks for coastal evergreen hedges.  Evergreen is usually preferred for year-round screening.

Wax myrtle at far left

Tall Hedges (5' tall or more, depends on variety)
Ceanothus impressus 'Victoria' - shiny evergreen leaves, profuse early summer bloomer, bee magnet.  Be sure you get the right kind, some are low groundcovers.  Ceanothus thrives on neglect, don't overwater.

Myrica californica or Pacific Wax Myrtle - great native, best where it can be unsheared but will take it, very attractive larger foliage than most hedge plants and birds like the fall berries.

Escallonia - most varieties, 'Pink Princess' common, 'Newport Dwarf' smaller.  Get ready to cut hedges, these plants grow like crazy on the coast and need frequent shearing annually.  Will outperform all others on the oceanfront.

Viburnum tinus in bloom

Viburnum - for example, V. tinus 'Spring Bouquet'.  Probably not ideal for oceanfront but highly adaptable.  Look for a future post on this vast genus.  Should be chosen for an unsheared hedge to highlight flowers and shape.

Rhododendron - often used as a very large, unsheared (please!) hedge where there is plenty of width for the plants to grow.  So many to choose from, and they grow magnificently on the central coast.

Low Hedges (4' or less usually, good for defining edges or hiding unsightly structures)

Hebe - another large collection to choose from, a favorite is 'Patty's Purple' on the coast.  Highly tolerant of coastal wind and drought, some with lovely blooms.  H. buxifolia is a good choice to stand-in for boxwood.

Salal - a champion native in our area, salal can vary from a groundcover to a medium hedge depending on its location and method of pruning.  Almost no work, tolerant of most locations on the coast.  Sun or shade.

Ilex crenata or Japanese Holly - another good stand-in for boxwood that is much more tolerant of coastal conditions.  Can vary from low hedge with gold foliage to tall highly sheared and shaped hedge.

Vaccinium ovatum or Evergreen Huckleberry - another great native with the bonus of wonderful fruit.  Lightly shaping this plant instead of hard shearing will deliver more fruit.  Takes well to most conditions, taller in shade, needs a little shelter from the oceanfront winds.

Final cautions:  Popular hedge plants include arborvitae, laurel and boxwood in the Willamette Valley.  They are cheap, available, and familiar.  I don't generally recommend them here, at least not within a half-mile of the sea.  Arborvitae tends to get "burned" on the ocean side, and soon becomes unsightly.  Boxwood does the same and tends to hold onto that hideous orange-leaf color on the coast,  instead of greening up in spring.  Laurel grows fine... but maybe too fine?  If you know how fast it gets out of control inland, imagine what it does here in our mild climate.  Use only if you have an estate-sized property and room for a giant green wall.

An Unlikely Holiday Tree

Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, many of us will set about with holiday lights in hand. One tree that thrives on the central coast of Oregon decorates itself-- Arbutus unedo or Strawberry Tree.

The common name misleads, causing the gardener to imagine a late-spring or summer harvest of the red fruits.  Happily, the fruits in question are actually borne on this tree in late fall and early winter.  While edible, they are a little mushy and don't taste like strawberries.  The fruits are about 3/4", deep red and textured with tiny seeds, but the resemblance ends there.  The fruits conjure tiny Christmas ball-ornaments, seemingly lit from within.  On the coast they appear in late October into November, previewing the season.

This remarkable evergreen tree is native to the Mediterranean coast, and possibly related to our native Pacific Madrone tree (Arbutus menziesii)-- hence the shared genus.  Like madrone, it sports reddish-brown bark that peels gracefully, and is clothed in glossy evergreen leaves.  The clusters of white flowers are typical of the family Ericaceae, to which the madrone also belongs, as well as blueberries, rhododendron and heather.  Like all these family members, the Strawberry Tree appreciates our mild climate and acidic soils.   Set back just a block or two from coastal beachfront, it tolerates the wind and rain just fine.

Arbutus unedo can reach 15' tall.

The Strawberry Tree can be planted and maintained as a striking singular focal point, pruned to expose and highlight the bark and fruit in season.  However on the coast this dense evergreen is sometimes allowed to spread and sheared into a hedge, similar in texture to Pacific Wax Myrtle.  As the fruit takes almost the full year to develop from the flower stage, it will be removed if the timing of pruning is too late or frequent.  For the best fruit display, it should be sheared or pruned immediately after the last crop is gone.

Arbutus flowers in November

If you are visiting Lincoln City, a good example of this tree in several forms can be found on a single public landscape, the post office on East Devils Lake Road (across from the Tanger Outlet Mall).  Walk around to the side of this corner lot and up a set of stairs, and there at the top you will see a very large (15'+) specimen. Continue further toward the building to see several that have been sheared into "green meatballs" for an example of this plant's use as a hedging material.  You will note that no fruit remains due to shearing.  Back down to the sidewalk, walk north to the truck entrance and there is the nicest one of all, a neglected (unsheared) tree that has been allowed to form flowers and fruit, brilliant on my last visit in November.

Flowers and fruit borne simultaneously

Sheared into green meatballs

More fun facts on the history and uses of this wonderful tree can be found on the Oregon State University landscape department website, and many pictures to compare A. unedo and A. menziesii.