Plant picks

Landon Buhler grew up learning about plants from his botanist father, Brent Buhler, who is the director of Lagoon theme park’s landscaping department. Buhler grew up around the local nursery sales representatives and he was taught from an early age to keep up on the latest plant introductions.

 

“I see a lot of landscapers have a small plant palette they work with and they get ‘cookie cutter,’” Buhler says. “If you call us and you want us to design a new yard or have your yard redone, you’ll get a unique yard.”

 

Plant placement and balance is just as important as selection, Buhler says. Technique matters. So does seeking out interesting plant stock. Buhler loves specifying evergreens that add interest during Utah’s hard winters. “I want people to look at their yards in the winter and feel like they still have a nice landscape,” he says. “We love the lesser-known evergreens.”

Here are two evergreen species that Buhler loves:

 

Bosnian pine: “These trees have a beautiful green color and they are slow-growing so they won’t grow up fast and make a mess with needles, which is something people worry about,” Buhler says. When young, it produces unique purple-blue cones that mature to brown. Its pyramid shape makes it ideal as an accent tree or windbreak.   

 

Chief Joseph lodgepole pine: This dwarf evergreen has deep green spring and summer needles that mature to yellow-green in late summer and turn brilliant gold for winter. It’s an ideal accent tree that grows slowly, only about 3 to 6 inches a year.