Coniferous Trees for Privacy and Beauty

3 Coniferous Trees and 2 conifer shrubs on either side of them with a short hedge in front of them. A brown brick wall behind all the trees.

Coniferous Trees are a great addition to your landscape. They can really make a statement no matter where you use them.

What is the conifer definition? Any cone bearing tree or shrub. Therefore they are not all evergreens. There are a few that drop their leaves during winter.


When choosing the perfect one for your yard, ask yourself these questions:

  • Do I want year round privacy or only for summer
  • Am I a crafter and want the branches and cones for making crafts?
  • Or do I want them lining my driveway or close to the house?
  • How about something very narrow or something wider?


4 green pine cones with conifer resin (white sap looking liquid) dripping down them.


Some coniferous trees can be messy with cones dropping and/or conifer resin (sometimes referred to as pine pitch) dripping from the branches, so picking the right tree for the spot you want to plant it is important.

Certain Pine trees, for example, besides dropping all their cones everywhere will also produce conifer resin (the white sap looking stuff on the pine cones in the picture) which can drip onto cars if the trees are planted to close to the driveway.


Another example, some Larch and Cypress trees lose their needles during winter so they wouldn't make a very good privacy hedge all year around.

On the other hand, a conifer shrub is to small to be messy and they will look great among deciduous shrubs in your garden.


Below are a few that I offer in my nursery.

Coniferous Trees

Cedars (Thuja occidentalis)

A row of green cedar trees to form a hedge along the yard and to block out the building in the background.

There is nothing like the smell of cedars. Having them in your yard is worth the aroma they give off. They are pretty much trouble free and make great hedges.

They range in size from about 3' up to about 180' and will grow in full sun to part shade.


Spruce (Picea)

A bunch of brown pine cones hanging from a spruce tree branch.

Coming in both tree and shrub form, these conifers add a lot of variety to your landscape.

They can range in height from just a few feet up to 200'. You can get them in a range of colours from silvery blue to dark green.

They get best colour in full sun but will grow fine in part shade.


Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

A bunch if brown cones hanging from the branch of a Hemlock tree

Hemlocks are a nice addition to any landscape. They have soft needle-like leaves and can grow to about 70' tall.

They are dark green in colour and will look great among lighter coloured plants.


Yew (Taxus x media)

Several round green yew shrubs spaced out in a yard.

Ranging in size from just a couple feet tall to over 20' Yews make the best shrubs they look great in the landscape. 

Although they are poisonous, deer will chew on the leaves during winter and are not affected by them.


Pine (Pinus)

A branch from a pine tree with long green needles and small pine cones just starting to grow.

Ranging in size between 4' and 150' pine trees are very long lived. some even live for thousands of years.

They are the most common conifer tree known around the world.


Junipers (Juniperus)

Young juniper tree with gravel around it and gray fence in background.

Along with looking great in the landscape, Juniper "berries" (which are actually cones) have medical benefits. 

They range in size to fit any size garden and they add texture and colour. They also give off a very nice aroma.


Cypress (Cupressus)

2 rows of green cypress trees lining a dirt road with green field and blue sky in the background.

These fast growing trees can become a little drought tolerant once they are established but do need a lot of water when young. 

They can grow up to 80' tall in full sun to part shade.


Adding coniferous trees to your landscape is also a great way to provide shelter and food for birds and other animals.



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