Why you should plant boxwood and juniper

Evergreen shrubs like boxwood and juniper never go out of season. Dwarf evergreens make great accents for entryways, or you can use larger varieties to balance a view that's dominated by large trees. Here's what boxwood and juniper can do for your garden.

Boxwoods can be pruned to create a formal hedge, or you can use other evergreens, such as the low-maintenance junipers described below, in simple foundation plantings.

Ideal shrubs for low hedges, boxwoods are incredibly uniform.

• To plant a low hedge of dwarf boxwoods, stretch a string between two posts and dig a trench 40 centimetres deep.
• Put rotted manure or compost at the bottom of the hole and plant a boxwood every 15 centimetres ; don't remove the leaves at the base.
• Firm the soil, then water.
• Mulch to cover the roots, but leave an open space around the trunk to keep stems from rotting.

Boxwood is famous for being drought resistant once it is established. If you maintain even soil moisture the first year after planting, you may never need to water your boxwoods again.

Boxwood takes well to pruning, from the simplest form to the most complex topiary. But be conservative; develop the shape slowly, permitting some extra growth each year.

Unpruned boxwoods are beautiful, too — in an informal setting.

There are dozens of junipers, which may be tall and thin, compact 60-centimetre bushes or sprawling plants that hug the ground.

• Colours vary as well, from dark pine green to bright blue-green, and there are even junipers with gold or icy gray foliage.
• All junipers need full sun, and require little if any pruning.

Dwarf junipers do a great job of turning a slippery slope into a lush wave of greenery.

• Use a weed barrier mat to hold the soil while the plants become established; hide it with a mulch of pine needles or bark.

Juniper berries are small and dark and often escape notice by people. Birds typically wait until late winter to gather them up.

Try trimming a few berry-bearing branches and using them in cut flower arrangements.