Real-Life Communication
Arlene, the landscape architect of a project you are working on,
wants a variety of compact conifers in the garden centerpiece of a client's
driveway. However, she hasn't specified on the drawings exactly what types
of shrubs she would like planted. Because there are so many conifers on the
market, you e-mail her for clarification.
Arlene writes back and tells
you again that she wants a mix of compact conifers with bright green foliage.
In the middle, she would like some densely packed pyramid-shaped trees that
will mature in about 10 years. Around the edges, she would like some short
globe-shaped conifers that will also mature in about 10 years. She is rather
busy and trusts your judgment. Could you please select the appropriate conifers
from the nursery?
As a landscape contractor, you must communicate with
landscape architects, with nursery managers, with materials and equipment
suppliers and with clients. "It's a big part of the job," says Rick Doesburg.
He is a landscape contractor. "It's all about leadership and communication
skills."
At the nursery, you find six types of compact conifers that
might be appropriate:
- The thuja occidentalis is a low-growing shaggy conifer that grows well
in sunny locations. It is bushy, with yellow-tinted foliage. It grows to be
about 42 inches tall.
- The charmaecyparis lawsoniana is a very slow-growing compact conifer with
tightly packed foliage. The center foliage of the bush is green and the outside
foliage is tinted yellow.
- The juniperus communis is an extremely popular garden conifer. It grows
in a cone shape and reaches about three feet tall. It has dense dark green
foliage.
- The picea glauca var. albertina conica is a compact conifer that grows
into a tidy, densely packed shrub that is shaped like a pyramid or triangle.
It has bright green foliage and reaches its mature height of three feet in
10 years.
- The picea mariana is a dwarf form of the above conifer and has blue summer
foliage. It grows well in rock gardens. It grows to a height of 16 inches
in about 10 years.
- Picea glauca var. albertina is a rounded conifer that has densely packed
foliage in the shape of a globe. It has bright green spring foliage and reaches
a mature height of two feet in 10 years.
After looking at these six conifers, which two types do you select
for the garden? Why did you make these choices?