Evergreens
Britain is home to relatively few evergreens. Our native flora consists of mainly deciduous plants, plants which loose their leaves in winter. It is an adaptation to our cold season. Those that hang-in-there, like holly, box and some conifers, protect themselves against water loss with needle-like or waxy leaves. In the highlands being evergreen can be a successful adaptation to low nutrient levels too as losing your leaves annually is resource-draining.
Thanks to our plant-hunting history and our comprehensive climate, Britain’s native garden flora has been enhanced with many introductions. How you use these “exotics” depends on where they are from and how they are adapted. Woodland plants like semi-shade, dry to moist but well drained conditions. Some will tolerate higher light levels if they have extra moisture.
Here are some examples of plants for continuous colour. Don’t forget to plant your evergreens together so you don’t get a spotty planting design in winter. And don’t go over board; two many evergreens in a garden is like a static face with no expression:
Abelia x grandiflora – this graceful small, soft pink flowers work well with the large ageing pink blooms of a hydrangea. Reckoned to be slightly tender, however many Edinburgh specimens survived last year’s very cold winter.
Pieris japonica ‘Variegata’ – an evergreen shrub with variegated glossy leaves from woodlands of Japan. The variegated and glossiness of it’s foliage really lifts a dark corner and the relaxed, asymmetric habit looks contrasts well clipped box ball.
Quercus ilex (holm oak) – this Mediterranean tree should not like our frosts but there is a large, happy specimen growing at Braco in Perthshire. An under planting with Pachysandra, a ground-hugging evergreen perennial, will frame this evergreen tree nicely.
Sciadopitys verticillata (umbrella pine) – a funky looking, architectural tree with soft, long, needle-like leaves on a clutter of branches. This usual tree looks great contrasted with the large, open, hand-shaped leaves of Fatsia, the false castor oil plant.
Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Carpet’ – a prostrate blue-grey conifer that looks great planted with a whitish pink flowering hydrangea or an orange-berried pyracantha.
Eucryphia – a small genus of shrubs and trees with dark green, soft-glossy evergreen leaves and delicate, white saucer-shaped flowers in late summer. Perfect for woodland style gardens this plant looks even more stunning if planted along side the white edged green-grey leaves of Pittosporum tenifolium ‘Silver Queen’, another evergreen shrub/tree.
Photinia x davidiana – a round, multi-stemmed bush or small tree with soft splashes of red and white on simple, green foliage. The leaves look good contrasted with the soft, spiky leaves and pinky-red flowers of Schizostylis.
Published in ‘at Home’ a supplement of the Scotland on Sunday on 14 November 2010
