True, junipers have been abused as universal problem-solvers in landscapes, but if planted with an artful eye, they can overcome their mundane image.

It's unfortunate that we see so many hedges of Andorra junipers planted in a sea of mulch at the front of office buildings. Hybridizers have created all sorts of shapes, textures and colors. All are hardy and drought-resistant.

TIPS FOR NOVICES

• All junipers need full sun and prefer dry, gravelly soil. • Spreading varieties need horizontal space, while tall varieties need vertical space. Keep in mind the location you choose. • A dormant oil spray is good to use in the spring to control occasional attacks from bagworm, scale or spider mites. • Never plant J. virginiana near apple or hawthorn trees - they are co-hosts for cedar-apple rust.

Junipers vary from upright, narrow columns to creeping mats, their foliage from coarse and gnarled to needle-fine. In color, they range from steel blue to blue green to bright green. One variety is predominantly yellow. Another, yellow-tipped.

The creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) has given rise to the largest number of prostrate junipers: "Blue Rug," "Bar Harbor," "Andorra Compact" and "Mother Lode," which grows much like "Blue Rug" but has yellow foliage that shows up even brighter in the winter.

Another good mat former is the Japanese garden juniper (J. procumbens "Nana").The best-known of the mid-size junipers - with feathery arching sprays - are the Pfitzer cultivars. These come in many shades from green to blue to gold-tipped. They combine well with smaller shrubs, such as barberries; both plants tolerate a hot, dry exposure and poor soil.

If you want a plant to serve as an exclamation point, something tall and graceful, consider the columnar junipers. These are best used as accents at the back or sides of the border.

Several popular columnar forms include J. communis "Compressa," which forms a column only 2 feet high; J. "Robusta Green," a slow grower that tops out at 10 feet with bright green foliage; or J. scopulorum "Skyrocker," a more narrow form that will soar to 20 feet while spreading only two.

Contact Tim Morehouse by Web site: www.getmoregarden.com; mail: c/o Cincinnati Enquirer. (If writing, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.)