EMERALDS of the ROUGH

North America's woods and fields provide lovely alternatives to our most ubiquitous and problematic evergreen shrubs 

- MAX J. EBER

Evergreen shrubs and trees provide structure, screening and four-season interest for our foundation borders-a backbone, so to speak. But what happens when said backbone gets bent out of shape?

Increasingly, deer just love a buffet of evergreen favorites like camellia, yews, azalea and rhododendrons. Other go-to's like privet, leatherleaf mahonia and nandina have become invasive in some locations. Our native hemlocks and redbays and the non-native garden-staple boxwoods are threatened with widespread pests and disease, further limiting their use.

Where does all this leave us as we're planning gardens? In the face of such stressors-along with a changing climate-it's important to expand our repertoire and consider alternatives already here.

A good handful of native evergreen shrubs from northern and southeastern North America, some of them old favorites and some lesser known, are proving increasingly useful well outside their natural ranges. They're more than up to the task of keeping the evergreen backbone straight and looking its best.

JUNIPERS

For full sun conditions in nearly any soil, junipers (Juniperus) are a prime ingredient for mixed screening. The wide-ranging, confusingly named eastern red cedar (J. virginiana; USDA Zones 4-9), once a common choice for hedgerows and windbreaks, now offers very refined selections.

These cultivars recommend red cedar for garden space again, making great wildlife-supporting replacements for arborvitae and other true cedars (Thuja), especially where deer are bothersome.