70s style conifers are back in fashion, here's which variety to choose

Seventies conifers are back in fashion, but reinvented for contemporary planting schemes. Once established, conifers will provide year-round structure for very little effort. Slow growing and easy to look after, they need minimal or no pruning, are wind- and drought-tolerant, and will survive well in containers. Gone are the static rock-garden classics in unnatural shades of gold and blue-green, which have been updated with loosely shaped evergreens slotted into naturalistic planting schemes to provide contrast and structure.

Some of the hummock-forming dwarf conifers, such as Pinus mugo, can even be used as substitutes for box, as seen in Matt Keightley’s Jeremy Vine Texture Garden at the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Fergus Garrett is a modern-day ambassador for conifers, experimenting with them in the garden at Great Dixter in Sussex, where he is using them for structure in the long border and in the exotic garden. They even appear in Dixter’s pot display at the front of the house, which showcases the different foliage textures and colours achievable with a mass collection of these plants.