My all time favorite evergreen shrub is the Dwarf Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis Obtusa 'Nana Gracilis'). This particular shrub is the shrub version of the tree, Hinoki Cypress. It grows slowly to a height of about 6 feet tall with a spread of 3-4 feet and grows in zone 4-8. (Massachusetts and southern New England is 5-6). The Dwarf Hinoki Cypress is able to grow in sun to partial shade and needs almost zero pruning, making it a low maintenance plant.
This particular evergreen, the Dwarf Hinoki Cypress Nana Gracilis, features fan-like foliage and an irregularly globe-shaped, upright habit. The way the needles grow and form look like a web and have beautiful dark green color.
Their web-like needles are unique to this species and is what makes them contrast a stone hardscape with elegance. This combination of evergreen shrub and stone creates what is referred to as an "Asian Landscape". This means that along side a smooth stone there is an evergreen, weeping shrub or boulder used as a focal point in the landscape. I love to install a regular blue stone patio that has been professionally designed to accompany a Dwarf Hinoki Cypress. This provides a clean look next to the softness the evergreen shrub has.
The perfect combination~ regular blue with a Dwarf Hinoki Cypress as focal point with smaller plants surrounding for extreme color contrast!