Cultivating a Love for Conifers

From what began as scenery for a miniature railroad holiday display in our conservatory in 2001, Powell Gardens has amassed a collection of more than a hundred dwarf conifers over the past 20 plus years. When nearby garden renovations unearthed sandstone subsoil, which has much better drainage and is perfect for conifers, the choice became clear to build a garden just for them.

The late Marvin Snyder, (Overland Park, Kan.), long-time member and supporter of Powell Gardens and former president of the American Conifer Society (ACS), donated a considerable amount of the original conifer collection and continued to do so as the garden grew. This included the donation of most of the specimens he had designed for a conifer collection at the Linda Hall Library which had to be moved for building renovations. What started as only a small collection in one bed on the north side of our Visitors Center has since expanded and grown into a space that feels as if you are in a room built with living walls. In 2012, our garden applied for and was designated as an ACS Reference Garden. For more information about ACS and the Reference Garden program, visit www.conifersociety.org.

In recent years, Deb and Gary Guardia and Kirk Duncan, our local sponsors with the American Conifer Society, and senior gardeners Marissa Mills (2020-2021) and Zoë Aber (2021-present) have taken over the helm of leading the garden. We have fine-tuned the collection, continually bringing in new specimens, removing those that are tired, and elevating the design generally. In 2020, we began a small collection of bonsai which can be found tucked between their much larger cousins. Other additions include a bench, a small natural river stone birdbath, and a rotating display of conifer cuttings in the form of a mandala.

In 2021, we applied for and were awarded a grant from the American Conifer Society to continue expanding and improving our collection. The funds from this grant have allowed us to introduce several new conifer cultivars, with more planned for the spring. Among these new additions, Picea omorika ‘Bruns’ is a striking Serbian spruce which adds a lovely pop of blue and fills in a gap in our ‘wall’ framed on either side by our pair of Tanyosho pines.

Another star of the garden, which was recently transplanted from elsewhere at Powell, is Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’. The texture and practically neon color of this specimen is exceptional. Since it is located along the sidewalk towards the entrance of the conifer garden, it is great for catching a visitor’s eye and helping to bring them into the space.

One of our oldest and most impressive showstoppers is our Norway spruce, Picea abies ‘Acrocona’ which spills out of the bounds of its bed. In the spring it produces large cones that are a wonderful bright magenta color.

Pinus densiflora ‘Golden Ghost’ and Platycladus orientalis ‘Franky Boy’ are two of our most beloved crowd favorites who never fail to wow. Both have such distinctive forms and colors and are wonderful examples of the breadth and variety within the dwarf conifer category.

When Powell Gardens opens to visitors in the spring, we hope that you will plan a visit and spend some time in our ‘room’ of conifers. Then you can determine for yourself which of our more than one hundred cultivars most catch your eye and perhaps be inspired to grow one in your own garden!

In early June, Powell Gardens will welcome visiting members of ACS taking part in the Central Region’s annual conference in the Kansas City area. For more information about the Kansas City conference, please visit www. conifersociety.org/news-events/ event/2023-central-region-annualmeeting/.

Photo courtesy of Deb and Gary Guardia.

Pinus densiflora ‘Golden Ghost’ Platycladus orientalis ‘Franky Boy’

‘Acrocona’ cones

ZOË ABER Senior Gardener

Zoë Aber first grew to love conifers while working beneath the ponderosa pines of Arizona while on a conservation crew as part of AmeriCorps. It has been a pleasure to continue that passion at Powell Gardens as a Senior Gardener and lead of the Conifer Garden.