THINK of a conifer, and the first thing that comes to your mind is probably an iconic leylandii looming over your garden.
After their popularity soared in the 1970s - as the desire for privacy and hedging grew - they’ve floundered somewhat since.
Centre to thousands of neighbour disputes - they’ve even been blamed in murder cases.
In 2003 a leylandii hedge led to the death of two men.
Robert Dickenson, 52, was arrested after allegedly shooting dead his neighbour, 66-year-old George Wilson.
They'd argued about a privet hedge and also said to have fallen out over a taller section of hedge at the bottom of Mr Dickenson's garden and a 15ft leylandii tree, which was thought to have been the latest bone of contention.
Dickenson was found hanged in prison where he was waiting to appear in court on a murder charge.
Because leylandii can grow 2-3 feet a year, they can also be costly to maintain.
But happily, there’s a whole range of conifers now you may never have considered.
And they can all bring colour, structure and joy to your outside space.
BBC Gardeners Question Time panelist Matthew Pottage, who’s now head of horticulture and landscape strategy at the Royal Parks, told Sun Gardening: “The bad taste left in many people's mouths is perhaps the mislabelling and misinformation on eventual heights, and growth rates.
“Many slow growing conifers were labelled as dwarf conifers, when in fact they were actually small trees, so ended up causing neighbourly disputes, and inconvenient ‘blobs’ in the garden landscape.
“But when positioned right, conifers are a celebration of colour, texture and add important ‘bones’ to a garden. I love them!”
Zoe Large, from wholesale conifer Golden Grove nursery, added: “They give you colour all year round, when everything else is dying back, they're the heart of the garden.
“ And even though they’re all evergreen, some can change the most incredible colours - the classic is Fire Chief that goes a deep bronze.
“Then you have Lime Glow, and Rubicon, which go lovely purple colours. And there’s subtle changes throughout the season.
“We’re coming up to a time where you get fantastic new growth - but a lot won’t dominate any garden at all.
“We sell a lot to nurseries that are suited for small gardens, modern gardens, or are perfect in containers that will only grow 2-6 cm a year - maybe up to ten.
“Plus they grow in any soil types, if they’re planted in the garden they only need minimal watering.
"And if you haven't got much time or more knowledge they'll just look after themselves - they're really low maintenance.
“They’re really good impact plants for making a statement, and are minimum effort for maximum impact.”
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