December 9, 2016 – My “pointy shrub” Christmas 

          I have always had a love affair with what I call “pointy shrubs”. 

At my first house here in Rutherford County I bought two Italian Cypress, Cupressus sempervirens, and planted them at the exposed foundation of my home so that when I drove down the street I could clearly see them.   They were a delight to see every day.  They softened that exposed corner of the house.  Additionally, they had feathery blue-green foliage which matched the color of my house shutters.  So, I thought they were perfection.  They were drought tolerant and did extremely well.

This house I started with Leyland Cypress, Cupressus x leylandii, one at the front corner of the house to anchor it, five more at the back of the house in a half-moon planting to create a natural privacy screen for my patio area and then three more down at the North property line to accentuate the wind-screen that creates a micro-clime for my raised bed gardens.

Leyland Cypress grow extremely fast and make a wonderful landscape statement.  However, in this area they can quickly succumb to bag worms.  Again, they are year round green and make a dramatic impact in my landscape.   They are exciting to see in heavy wind as they toss and turn their green fluffy limbs as well as look magical when dusted with a few inches of snow.  They do extremely well in poor soil and even handle the drought once established.

Moving on, I like the column or pillar shrubs in the garden, yet the above trees grew much too fast for me to “decorate” them during the Christmas Holiday.

I was so delighted when I spotted the Sky Pencil Holly, Ilex crenata ‘sky pencil’, which is an evergreen Holly with vertical definition.  These shrubs  grow thin and upward.  They have a tight column effect that is dramatic in the landscape.

I started with two along the driveway, kitchen window area as anything planted there must be slim.  The shrubs have dark green elliptic leaves and they are actually soft to the touch compared to other hollies.   They grow to about 8 feet and about 2 to 3 feet in circumference.  I admire them when I park my car as they stay neat and green all year long.

The next spring I added two more at the end of the driveway for upright interest.  They, look extremely neat and green.  The one near the mailbox has had a permanent resident since the first year.  It has a small birds’ nest which I found only upon close inspection.  I leave it alone and it is freshly updated every year, but the occupant is unknown to me.  Possibly next year I will figure out what bird is in residence there.

Lastly, I added several Arborvitae, Thuja, which have thick green foliage and are upright.  Several years ago at Christmas time I bought a 3-foot specimen at a nursery to use in a large container as a Christmas decoration near the front door.  I decorated it and kept it watered until the next spring and then planted it at the end of the sidewalk near the driveway for upright interest.  During dry spells I have watered it.  It was a thing of beauty then and as the years go by, it is still a thing of beauty.   It is now about 12 feet tall.

A few years later I bought two smaller ones for the same purpose, to decorate at Christmas and then plant them out.  These two have also turned out extremely well.   They are now in the 4 to 5 foot range and are along the back patio.

What is nice about all of the above shrubs is that they are evergreen and give me year round interest. 

The weather was mild a few weeks ago and I decided to decorate Sky Pencil Hollies and my Arborvitae [my “pointy shrubs”] for the holidays as the weather was mild and I had the creative urge.

I started with the biggest one and soon discovered that the garland I used to decorate in years past wasn’t long enough to twirl around the tree as the tree is now 4 times the size it was the last time I decorated it - ditto for the rest of my specimens. So I had to rush out and obtain additional red garland in order to accomplish the project.

And, the largest Arborvitae is so tall now that I have to get the 10 foot step ladder out so that I can decorate it.   However, I was delighted with the results – Christmas pointy trees, all with a swirl of red garland from tip to toe are glistening and twinkling in the sun

Yes, it is starting to look like Christmas – 

but in a Southern way – no snow.