Sam’s Conifer Reserve

This garden showcases rare and dwarf conifers, providing year-round interest with their diverse forms, colors, and textures.

Sam’s Conifer Reserve

Dedicated to the beauty and diversity of conifers, Sam's Conifer Reserve includes rare and dwarf species that offer year-round interest with their varied forms, colors, and textures. This area celebrates the versatility of conifers and their ability to thrive in different environments, providing an evergreen showcase of natural elegance.

Key plants from this area are listed below by their botanical and common names to help inspire your sustainable garden designs.

Botanical Name

Common Name

Abies alba

Bystřička Dwarf European Silver Fir

Abies amabilis

Spreading Star Pacific Silver Fir & Compact Pacific Silver Fir

Abies balsamea

Wolcott Pond Abies balsamea

Abies beshanzuensis

Baishan Fir

Abies bracteata

Bristlecone Fir

Abies cephalonica

Anthoine Dwarf Greek Fir & Meyer's Dwarf Meyer's Dwarf Greek Fir

Abies concolor

Hoop-dee-doo, Jack, Ostrov nad Ohri, Spala, Viona White Fir

Abies delavayi

Delavay's Fir & Major Neishe Delavay's Fir

Abies fraseri

Old Glory Golden Fraser Fir, Wingle's Blue Bonnet Fraser Fir

Abies grandis

Cascade Falls Grand Fir & Mrs. Collier's Pet Duck Grand Fir

Abies homolepis

Tomomi Nikko Fir

Abies koreana

Blue Magic, Gait, Kohout's Hexe, Kohout's Ice Breaker, Grübele, Crystal Ball, Oberon, Silver Pearl, Wellenseind Korean Fir

Abies lasiocarpa

Prickly Pete Subalpine Fir

Abies nordmanniana

Nordmann Fir & Dobrichovice, Jacobson Nordmann Fir

Abies numidica

Drath Dwarf Algerian Fir

Abies pinsapo

Aurea' Golden Spanish Fir

Abies procera

Noble Fir & Golden Crown, Rat Tail Noble Fir

Abies x borisii-regis

J. K. Greece Jorg Kohout Bulgarian Fir

Abies x bornmuelleriana

Franke Dwarf Turkish Fir

Acer elegantulum

Chinese Maple

Acer palmatum

Ryu sei' (Falling Star) Weeping Japanese Maple & Twombly's Red Sentinel Japanese Maple

Antenaria microphylla

Littleleaf Pussytoes

Arctostaphylos columbiana x hookeri

Hairy Manzanita

Armeria maritima

Sea Thrift & Alba White-flowered, Dusseldorf Dusseldorf Sea Thrift

Artemisia versicolor

Sea Foam Curlicue Sage

Asphodeline lutea

Yellow King's Spear

Berberis wilsoniae

Mrs. Wilson's Ace Barberry

Callitropsis nootkatensis

Hope Alaskan Cedar

Calluna vulgaris

Angela Wain, Kinlochruel, Ruby Slinger, Sandy, Soav Scots Heather

Calocedrus decurrens

Berrima Gold Incense Cedar

Cedrus atlantica

Liliput Atlas Cedar & Mount Saint Catherine Atlas Cedar

Cedrus deodara

Cream Puff Himalayan Cedar

Cedrus libani

Green Prince Cedar of Lebanon

Cedrus libani var. brevifolia

Kenwith Cyprian Cedar

Cercocarpus montanus

Silverleaf Mountain Mahogany

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana

Blue Surprise, Ellwood's, Filip's Golden Tears, Rimpelaar Dwarf, Snow Queen, Treasure Island Lawson's False-Cypress

Chamaecyparis obtusa

Butterball, Chirimen, Hage, Sunspray Hinoki False-Cypress

Cistus monspeliensis

Montpelier Rock Rose

Cistus x pulverulentus

Sunset Rockrose

Cryptomeria japonica

Araucarioides, Black Dragon, Tansu Japenese Cedar

Cunninghamia konishii

Little Leo Taiwan Fir

Cytisus multiflorus

Elegantissima Sterile White Broom

Elymus glaucus

Blue Lyme Grass, Blue Wild Rye

Elymus magellanicus

Magellan's Blue Wheat Grass

Erodium x variabile

Album White Cranesbill & Bishop's Form Pink Cranesbill

Eryngium alpinum

Blue Star Alpine Sea Holly & Blue Hobbit Sea Holly

Euptelea pleiosperma

Ling Chun Mu

Fagus sylvatica

Mercedes European Beech

Ficus carica

GE Neri Italian Fig

Fitzroya cupressoides

Patagonian Cypress, Alerce

Geum triflorum

Prairie Smoke, Purple Avens

Ginkgo biloba

Sari Ginkgo

Hebe x

McKean Hybrid Hebe

Hesperocypress (Cupressus) arizonica var. glabra

Blue Ice Arizona Cypress

Juniperus chinensis

Torulosa Hollywood Chinese Juniper

Juniperus communis

Swanborough Gold Common Juniper

Juniperus horizontalis

Blue Forest, Blue Pygmy, Copper Harbor Creeping Juniper

Lagerstroemia indica

Tuscarora Crape Myrtle

Larix decidua

Kreji European Larch

Larix kaempferi

Paper Lanterns Japanese Larch & Wolterdingen Japanese Larch

Larix laricina

Newport Beauty Tamarack (American Larch)

Leucothoe axillaris

Coast Leucothoe

Liquidambar styraciflua

Emerald Sentinel Sweetgum

Mahonia aquifolium

Tall Oregon Grape

Mahonia nervosa

Cascade Oregon Grape

Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Gold Rush Dawn Redwood & Miss Grace Dawn Redwood

Miscanthus sinensis

Yaku Jima Dwarf Maiden Grass

Muhlenbergia filipes

Purple Muhly Grass

Myrica californica

Pacific Wax Mytle

Myrtus communis

Alan Van Common Myrtle

Narcissus

Mini Daffodil Hawera, Sundisk & Mini Daffodil Tete a Tete

Olearia x mollis

Daisy Bush

Parahebe catarractae

Miss Willmott Parahebe

Paxistima myrsinites

Oregon Box-leaf

Physocarpus opulifolius

Center Glow Ninebark

Picea abies

Acro-yellow, Atys Norway, Clanbrassiliana, Glima, Gold Dust, Hillside Upright, Humilis, Klucenice, Lettle Gem, Medusa, Stephanie Green Golf Ball, Tufty Dwarf, Van Bemmel's Dwarf Norway Spruce

Picea asperata

Chevreloup Chinese Dragon Spruce

Picea breweriana

Kohout's Dwarf Brewer Spruce

Picea engelmannii

Blue Magoo, Dwarf, Talbot Lake, Troll Engelmann Spruce

Picea glauca

Blue Teardrop, Cecilia, Flying Squirrels, Goldilocks, Weeping White Spruce

Picea glauca var. albertiana

Pixie Dust Alberta Spruce

Picea jezoensis

Howell's Dwarf Yezo Spruce

Picea mariana

Normanna Black Spruce

Picea omorika

Buttermilk Falls, Pévé Tijn Golden, Treblitzsch Dwarf Serbian Spruce

Picea orientalis

Ferny Creek Prostrate, Losely, Mt. Vernon, Miniature Oriental Spruce

Picea pungens

AS, Blue Pearl, Christina, Filip's Blue Compact, Monkey Puzzle, Niemetz, Petrin, R.H. Montgomery, Ruby Teardrops, Stanley's Gold, Straw, Yvette Colorado Spruce

Picea rubens

Pocono Red Spruce

Picea schrenkiana

Almaty Schrenk Spruce

Picea sitchensis

Papoose Dwarf Sitka Spruce

Picea smithiana

Ballarat Dwarf Western Himalayan Spruce & Sunray Golden Western Himalayan Spruce

Pinus banksiana

Chippewa Dwarf Jack Pine & Jack's Bean Stalk Jack Pine

Pinus cembra

Aurea Golden Swiss Stone Pine & Stricta Upright Swiss Stone Pine

Pinus contorta var. latifolia

Chief Joseph, Rand Dwarf, Taylor's Sunburst Lodgepole Pine

Pinus fenzeliana

Hainan White Pine, Fenzel's Pine

Pinus flexilis

2 Mile High Limber Pine & Wee Rogue Limber Pine

Pinus heldreichii

Ätze Säule Arboretum Column, Shamrock Shorty, White Cloud Bosnian Pine

Pinus jeffreyi

Joppi Dwarf Jeffrey Pine

Pinus koraiensis

Golden Eye, Inner Peace, Silveray, Varigated Korean Pine

Pinus mugo

Buttercup, Monophylla Single-Needle, Mr. Wood, Ophir, Rodda, Yellow Point Mugo Pine

Pinus nigra

Oriesok Little Nut Austrian Pine

Pinus parviflora

Aoi Upright, Blue Angel, Catherine Elizabeth, Kino, Miyajima, Goldilocks Japanese White Pine

Pinus parviflora x wallichiana

Wasabi Japanese Himalayan White Pine Hybrid

Pinus pinaster

Wrecking Ball Maritime Pine

Pinus ponderosa

Warm Valley Ponderosa Pine

Pinus resinosa

Green Egg American Red Pine

Pinus strobus

Green Twist Eastern White Pine & Niagara Falls Eastern White Pine

Pinus sylvestris

Bennett Compact, Cerik, Genolier, Green Flare, Jeremy, Kitsap Molly, Little Ann, Meffengowd, Odegärd, Pixie Dwarf, Platypus, Spaan's Slow Column Scots Pine

Pinus thunbergil

Aocha Variegated, Callie Jane, Kotobuki Dwarf, Ogi Fan Japanese Black Pine

Pinuus uncinata

Gorgenfeld, Jazek, Nana Dwarf Himalayan Pine

Linus x schwerinii

Wiethorst Hybrid Pine

Pistacia chinensis

Chinese Pistache, Chinese Pistachio

Polygonum affine

Fleece Flower

Polystichum munitum

Sword Fern

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Albers Elegant Weeping Douglas Fir & Mt. Angel Blue Douglas Fir

Rhamnus frangula

Ron Williams Fine Line Glossy Buckthorn

Ribes sanguineum

Pink-flowering Currant

Sciadopitys verticillata

Grüne Kugel Green Bullet Japanese Umbrella Pine

Sequoiadendron giganteum

Blauer Eichzwerg Blue Dwarf Giant Sequoia

Symphoricarpos albus

Common Snowberry

Taxus baccata

Filip's White Column, Silver Spire, Upright Golden English Yew

Taxus cuspidata

Amersfoort Japanese Yew

Tetracentron sinense

Spur-leaf (shui qing shu)

Thuja occidentalis

Joe's Pillar, Sherwood Frost, Westerfield Eastern Arborvitae

Thuja plicata

Watnong Green Western Red Cedar

Thujopsis dolabrata

Nana Dwarf Japanese Elkhorn Cypress

Thymus pseudolanuginosus

Woolly Thyme

Thymus serpyllum

Alba White Thyme & Elfin Creeping Thyme

Tsuga canadensis

Jervis Dwarf Canadian (Eastern) Hemlock

Tsuga dumosa

Yunnanensis Himalayan Hemlock (Yunnan Hemlock)

Tsuga mertensiana

Bump's Blue, Elizabeth, Sherwood Dwarf Mountain Hemlock

Vaccinium corymbosum

North Country Blueberry

Vaccinium ovatum

Evergreen Huckleberry, California Huckleberry

Vaccinium x

Chippewa, North Sky, Polaris Hybrid Blueberry

Veronica repens

Sunshine Golden Creeping Speedwell

Veronica x

Tidal Pool Speedwell

Viburnum ellipticum

Western Cranberry Bush, Common Viburnum

Viburnum tinus

Robustum Round-leaf Laurustinus

Viburnum trilobum

American Cranberry Bush

Evergreen Elegance

The diverse beauty and adaptability of conifers

Sam’s Conifer Reserve at Vista Gardens is a dedicated celebration of the beauty and diversity found within the world of conifers. This carefully curated area features an array of rare and dwarf species, each selected for its unique form, color, and texture. As you explore the reserve, you’ll discover the remarkable versatility of conifers, showcased in an evergreen landscape that remains vibrant and captivating throughout the year.

The design of Sam’s Conifer Reserve emphasizes the year-round interest that these resilient plants bring to the garden. From the rich, deep greens of towering pines to the striking blues and silvers of dwarf spruces, the reserve offers a visual feast for plant enthusiasts and casual visitors alike. The varied forms, from the sweeping branches of cedars to the compact, globe-like shapes of certain dwarf species, highlight the adaptability and beauty of conifers in different garden settings.

Sam’s Conifer Reserve is a living testament to the enduring appeal of conifers in landscape design. It demonstrates how these evergreens can thrive in a range of environments, from shaded groves to sun-drenched hillsides, and how their persistent greenery provides structure and continuity in a garden through every season. This area invites visitors to appreciate the natural elegance of conifers and to consider their own potential in creating landscapes that are both beautiful and enduring.

Explore the next area: Santica’s Perfect Solitude

Tranquil garden with expansive views, a gazebo and seating. Ideal for gatherings and scenic enjoyment.

Vista Gardens
Info@VistaGardens.org
124 NE 31st Street
Bremerton WA 98310

Albers Marcovina Vista Gardens Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Federal Tax ID is 37-1546572