- Jacob Stidham - Director of Horticulture & Facilities
Appreciating the “Ever” in Evergreen
The color green in a garden is taken for granted during the warm months of the year. Deciduous trees and shrubs abound with their leaves and cast shade over green, herbaceous perennials. Green grass is everywhere you look. Nobody gives it a second thought- it’s green outside! Fast forward to the shorter days of fall when the leaves drop and perennials go dormant, that color green is suddenly much more appreciated. Trees that once blended in with all the green: pines, spruce, arborvitae, and many more have now become the focal points of the garden.
The Evergreens of Yew Dell
Our story has always been rooted in evergreens. During the days of Theodore Klein’s Yew Dell Farms, various yews and hollies were staples in his ornamental plant nursery. As time passed, he would collect and develop more plants. Many of those evergreens he planted continue to thrive today- often in plain sight until fall transitions the gardens from the heat of summer to the cold of winter. It is a wonderful time of the year to walk in a garden, or a woodland, and notice all the different species of plants that in summer formed that one, homogenous green look.
Early Stages of Winter Decor
At Yew Dell, we want to help everyone find their passion for plants and gardening. One direction we take is showing how plants can be used in crafts and decor- including our famous wreath making workshops. But those evergreen sprigs have to come from somewhere! For example, our giant Abies nordmanniana (Nordmann Firs) are some of the best! Trees that were planted decades ago by Theodore Klein continue to share with us their green color during the holidays. Even before Yew Dell became the botanical garden that we are today, the Klein family trimmed these same trees to make wreaths. Some of the evergreens in our collections have helped produce thousands of wreaths over the decades and could serve as an example to be mimicked in your own garden.
You don’t have to stop with a wreath for the holidays either. Clipping evergreen boughs from your own garden is not only a way to save money but also a way to enjoy your garden on those dark, dreary days of winter through the new year too. Plan ahead next spring by looking for new evergreens to add to your garden when you are shopping at local garden centers.
The shades of green and texture here at Yew Dell are amazing and are just now beginning to come back into focus in the garden as fall progresses. Stop by and visit and as you see the transition into winter, you’ll notice more and more of the evergreens that were hiding in plain sight all summer!
