Cedars of Lebanon are not fast growing and they only have tabulate structure at maturity, but these patriarchs of English gardens have a lot to teach us about how to use shape to unify a garden. When trees are small, they aren t very impressive, so we tend to plant too many of them. Trees with striking shapes are most effective when viewed against the sky, not as a part of a mass of trees. If you can practice self-restraint and patience, your garden may only need one large tree which has a striking growth pattern. If you are creating a new garden in an area without trees, you should look at the shapes of mature trees.
Many deciduous trees have cloud-like shapes maturity.
Cedars and many pines are tabulate at maturity, but when they are young they have the cone like shape typical of conifers. Other conifers retain this cone-like shape throughout their lives. Weeping trees direct they eyes downward, so you should have something at their base which is worthy of such a dramatic flourish. Fastigate and weeping trees should be used with caution, most gardens only have room for a few trees with such dramatic shapes. It is easier to have a collection of trees with horizontal branching patterns, since the trees will interlock with each other.