Richard Bitner has written three books about conifers in the garden; I think the best is the most recent, “Designing with Conifers.” Organized by notable features such as shape, color, or bark, the author uses his own photographs to illustrate a wide range of planting options. He clearly detests foundation plantings: “Why this mandatory dress code? It is time to break free of this tradition and change our practices.”
Specialty situations such as hedges and topiary are included, along with some unexpected chapters on recommended Christmas trees, dwarf cultivars for garden railways, and–the most curious–traditional plantings for German graveyards. Although the author is from the East Coast, I thought his best work was a case study of a garden near Eugene, with a photographic dissection of the different purposes for the plants used in the landscape–quite instructive.