One of the most attractive trees for the small garden is the Irish Juniper. It grows in a thick, narrow column of no more than 12 ft high and only about 2 ft through, though many of it’s relatives such as J. c. aurea can be found in prostrate form and in the latter case, golden foliage. A slow-growing sweetie that will be delightful miniature in a rock garden is J. c. compressa.

The Chinese Juniper, Sabina chinensis has many different varieties ranging from bushy, spreading shrubs like Sabina vulgaris with its thick, layered bluish to grey-green foliage, to more stately columnar species. Junipers will give an interesting diversity of shape to your garden, but don’t use them exclusively or it will make the area look heavy and dark.

Junipers are actually conifers, but just to confuse you a little more, many have now been renamed sabinas. Conifers are cone-bearing trees that mostly have narrow, and sometimes needle-like leaves. They include cypresses and pines as well as others. Junipers seem to thrive in most soils, even the more alkaline ones, so that makes them useful garden plants. Some of those that grow into a narrow column would even make good little Christmas trees, if you could bear to cut them down.