Evergreen Bank

Evergreen Bank is a landscape design you can take pleasure in year around. More and more people today and looking for a landscape project with very low maintenance. This design was created in 2004 for a previous client. The picture on my home page is of their bank right after it was planted. They had existing roses and pavers up the bank. Evergreen trees are in the background to create a privacy shield. After I designed this, ornamental grass and a few other shrubs were added. Take a look at the design and and the key will give you a few suggestions on what is available to use on a bank.

Bank Design And Design Key

1. Leyland Cypress - Evergreen tree growing anywhere from thirty feet to seventy feet high and fifteen to twenty feet wide. The Leylands are fast growers and can grow three to four feet a year. You can prune the top to keep it under control. It is a upright with long, soft needle like leaves. Great in zones six through ten. This tree is very popular for providing a privacy wall. Plant at least seven to ten feet apart. A substitute for the Leyland is an Emerald Green Arborvitae. Arborvitae trees and shrubs add spice to any evergreen bank or garden project.
2. Chinese Pizazz - Loropetalum - evergreen shrub with purple and green leaves year around. Pink/red flowers will bloom in spring and summer. The Ruby Loropetalum is a dwarf and will grow 3 to 4 feet high and 3 wide. The larger versions will grow 8 to 10 feet high and 4 to 5 feet wide. The larger variety will need to be trimmed, unless you have it in an open area and want the shrub to grow naturally. Grows well in zones five through eight. Nice shrub next to the Mop Cypress.
3. Osmanthus -Tea Olive - small evergreen tree growing anywhere from eight to ten feet tall and four to six feet wide. Wonderful fragrant flowers appear in spring through fall. The Tea Olive has been known to bloom even through the winter months. It takes a normal watering program after the roots are established in the ground. Likes sun to part shade. Birds love to make their nests in the spring.
4. Mardi Gras Abelia - evergreen shrub with striking with white or pink flowers in the springtime and summer. Leaves turn reddish pinkin the fall. Grows two to three feet high and four to five feet wide. Grows well in zones six through nine. The Mardi gras can take full sun or partial shade. A nice shrub throughout the summer and springtime, and wonderful accent in the fall with other autumn colors.
5. Lemon Thread Cypress- - stunning yellow and green variegated leaves all year old. Grows six to eight feet high and three to five feet wide. Will do well in zones four through eight. Takes full sun but can handle partial shade areas. great plant specimen next to to a solid colored shrub or tree. The Lemon Thread is in the same family as Mop Cypress. Birds love to nestle inside the shrub in the winter time.
6. Blue Pacific Juniper - evergreen low growing shrub. Grows well in zones five through nine. Likes full sun but can take shade better then other junipers. Great plant specimen draping over or in and around rocks or stones. Will grow around one foot high and can sprawl out five to nine feet. Great ground cover. Color is green with teal tones on the long needle like leaves.

7. Gardenia - a very fragrant evergreen shrub with white flowers in the springtime and part of the summer months. There are many different varieties. The Gardenia will grow six to eight feet high and three to four feet wide.The dwarf version will grow two to three feet high and 2 to 3 wide. Gardenias grow well in zones seven through ten A wonderful shrub to do a mass planting.
8. Globosa Nana - shiny bright blueish green evergreen shrub. Grows around three feet tall and two to four feet wide. Some people call this the funky shrub as the tiny long leaves have a wild look to them. Will grow well in full sun or part shade. Good to plant in zones five through seven. This plant has become very popular over the last couple of years. I love to put the Globosa Nana next to a Mop Cypress, Indian Hawthorn, or a variegated boxwood.
9. Series of three rocks - create one or more series of rocks. Use three or four in one area. The rocks make such a natural setting to the bank. If you have rocks laying around your property, collect and use them.

This particular design was created on a slope. There are a variety of plants to put on a bank. Depending on how steep of an area, you can add Jute, a commercial landscaping fabric, to help with any potential erosion problems. Many areas you see while driving will have just one type of juniper all over the bank. You can create your bank using many different specimens available in your area and zone. You could also incorporate some deciduous plants if you want to. I think we would have to change the name of the design, don't you? If you decide to do some deciduous shrubs or flowers, remember to surround them around evergreens. This way you won't create a dead space during the winter months. I hope this gives you a little insight on suggestions for a landscape project for your bank.