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 the key will give you a
few suggestions on what is available to use on a bank.
- 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.
- 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.
- Osmanthus -Tea Olive - small evergreen tree growing anywhere from ten to twelve 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Series of three rocks - create one or more series of rocks. Use three or five in one area.(odd number in designing)
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.
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 or slope.
