In article ,
Prakash writes
Hi,
I have a conifer like shrub in my garden - approx 5-6 feet in height. It has
flat leaves, and the shrub looks a bit like a fan. Could someone tell me
which one this is ? There a picture available at
www.pgnet.plus.com/gardening/unknown_fir1.jpg . I've looked in the RHS
Encyclopedia of Gardening (its the only gardening book I've got !) and on
the rhs web site too. It seems to resemble something called 'nana aurea'
(http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantselect...?plantid=42685).
Would this be correct ?

It belongs to Cupressaceae. My guess would be Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
(Lawson Cypress). The shape of the cones differs between Chamaecyparis
and Thuja, in the former they're "berry-sized" and globular; in the
latter they're elongated. You can usually run your hands over the
foliage of a Thuja and use the scent to identify the species; Thuja
orientalis is the exception. I'd need a field guide to separate the
Chamaecyparis species.

I also have another shrub, and I cannot find this in the RHS book or the
site. There a picture at www.pgnet.plus.com/gardening/unknown_shrub1.jpg
.Could you please also tell me what this is - I'm clearing out an overgrown
garden and dont want to lose any shrubs etc simply because of my ignorance
of gardening.

I think this is a plant which one frequently sees in retail park
plantings. It's not one I'm familiar with, but I think it's a species of
privet (note the purplish berry in the bottom right corner).

Also ( I'm new to this news group), are the file sizes of the pictures ok,
or do I need to have them in a lower resolution so the files are smaller ?

There's not much point having a picture larger than people's monitors.

Cheers,
Prakash.



--
Stewart Robert Hinsley