My mother had a juniper plant in her garden. Other conifers, too. I thought they were awful, just awful. Dull, squat and flat, the juniper just sat there year after year, seemingly unchanging. No colorful flowers. Too small and spikey for a kid to play in. Never thought I'd say what I'm about to say: now I'm a believer! In the power of juniper, that is.

Why the change of heart? Simple: I got some hands-on experience with my own gardens. Now I know how time and labor intensive gardens are. Tough-as-nails, no-maintenance plants like juniper are now beautiful in my eyes. I particularly like juniper when it's used as a groundcover, replacing high-maintenance areas of lawn.

Why you'll love juniper

Not into juniper? I believe I can convert you. Here are a few reasons you should give junipers a try...