Landscaping Designs Plans

Add contrasting early spring color with the Flowering Green Giant design. This do-it-yourself landscape design provides a show of spring flowers highlighted by an evergreen backdrop of the Green Giant Arborvitae. This planting can serve as a great focal point or accent piece to any yard.

* Add 3 Forsythia below each Yoshino Cherry 7-10 years after they are planted.

Planting Specifications

This landscape design can be expected to grow in the temperature extremes of the zones shown in color in this arborday.org hardiness zone map.

• Hardiness Zone: 5–7
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Space needed: 65 feet by 35 feet
• Required topography: Flat to rolling

Layout

The Green Giant Arborvitae planting begins with the installation of the three Green Giant Arborvitae. Once the Green Giant Arborvitae have been installed the locations for the Yoshino Cherries can be easily determined with a few simple measurements.

As a phase 2 to the Green Giant Arborvitae Planting, add three Forsythia below each Yoshino Cherry 7–10 years after the Yoshino Cherries are planted. This phase two of the planting insures that the Forsythia do not overcome the Yoshino Cherry.

Recommended Use / Design Principal

The Green Giant Arborvitae planting provides a show of spring flowers highlighted by an evergreen backdrop of the Green Giant Arborvitae. This planting can serve as a great focal point or accent piece.

The Yoshino Cherries offer a dazzling profusion of white blooms in the spring accompanied by a mass of bright yellow blooms of the Forsythia. The Green Giant Arborvitae provide a uniform deep evergreen backdrop for the white and yellow blooms acting as a punctuation mark for the flower show.

Peak Time(s)

Spring

Yoshino Cherry: white bloom
Forsythia: yellow bloom

Winter
Green Giant Arborvitae: evergreen

Modifications

This design can be easily modified to work with your existing flowering trees or trees with different colored blossoms or different bloom times. But the Forsythia's yellow flowers contrast best with the white blossoms of the Yoshino because they both bloom early in the spring.

Other white flowering trees that prefer full sun include the Washington Hawthorn, Sargent Crabapple, and Snowdrift Crabapple which will all work nicely with this design.

The Eastern Redbud, Saucer Magnolia, and Sargent Cherry are all sun-loving flowering trees with a range of pink blossoms.