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Landscaping With Shrubs

 

The Missing Link.

 

Perhaps you are under the impression that shrubs are unimportant, something easily looked over. You could not be more wrong. The landscape without a shrub is in serious trouble. In the flora world the shrub is the missing link. How is that? It’s a simple matter of aesthetics.

Trees are at one end of the world of flora, towering over everything, all imposing and powerful. They are the background against which everything else plays. Ground covers, bulbs and other flowering perennials are at the other end drawing the eye with their exciting colors, varying textures and unassuming cheeriness . Trees and flowering plants are both lovely and lovelier still when placed together, each working off the other’s strengths. There’s no denying this and yet there is something missing. They seem to be two separate and unbridgeable parts of a whole. They cannot connect, not visually anyway, without the not-so-subtle presence of an intermediate. And in comes the amazing shrub.

The shrub serves as the background for the flowering plants and also brings those imposing trees into better perspective just by knocking them down a peg, visually speaking of course. In the perfect landscape plants are arranged in layers, tallest to smallest with many heights in between and this is where the shrub shines, connecting everything in such a visually pleasing way.

Want to learn more about this wonder of nature the shurb? Well, you wouldn’t be here otherwise.


photo by Carolyn

An evergreen shrub the Azalea bursts into spectacular bloom in early spring starting off the growing season with a bang.

by Sharon Brook

There is no such fixed time to plant Azaleas but should be preferably done in the early fall to get used to the place before winter. Azaleas offer the striking brilliant spring color admired by all. N...More>
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photo by Celeste Lindell

by Glory Lennon

"Honeysuckle!" Pooh Bear exclaimed just before sticking his face into a bouquet. "No, you don't eat them, Pooh. You smell them." Kanga told him kindly. Oh, he was disappointed but only before he sm...More>
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by Janet Harriett

As broad-leaf evergreen with a wide variety of flower colors, rhododendrons are a popular choice for the home landscape. Their four-season interest makes up for the extra care that must be taken sele...More>
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Camelia: The Southern Treat


photo by

Camellias burst into bloom in the southern states around the time we northerners are just starting to think spring will never come. February through late March the south is bedecked with the lovely, wax-like blossom. Camellias are so similar to the Rose it can barely be distinguished from the more well know, hardier and wide spread floral beauty. Alas, that is the only retort to the northern gardener’s lament. We may not be able to grow Camellias up north but at least we got the Shrub Rose. Oh, well, we can always go down south for a peak at the Camellias in bloom. Get us out of the cold for a bit at least!

by Glory Lennon

Boxwoods are extremely easy to grow evergreen shrubs botanically known as Buxus. They are a densely growing shrub with stiff branching and dark green, oval shaped leaves. Some varieties can easy be tr...More>
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photo by Jeffrey Beall

by Janette Peel

Viburnums are easy-growing, wonderfully fragrant year-round delights that beautify the garden with clouds of white or pale pink blooms in spring and berries in summer. Multi-purpose Viburnums brin...More>
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by Glory Lennon

Shrubs are an essential part of any good garden design. They can be an organic alternative to fencing, break up space in a large yard creating garden rooms and if chosen wisely can encourage wildlife,...More>
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Hedges Boring?


photo by Karen Blaha

So, you think a hedge is boring, huh? Well, if you've never lost yourself in a hedge maze you'll never know how much fun they can be. Of course, planting your own hedge maze would be a daunting task even if you had the land required for it.

Have you ever seen the astonishing plant shapes the more artistic gardeners amongst us have created using ordinary hedge plants like Yews, Boxwoods and even Forsythia? You have if you've gone to Disney World. From dragons, Tinkerbell and Goofy to Mickey Mouse himself Disney's horticultural geniuses have turned a simple little bunch of shrubs into wonderful topiaries.

Don't say it. You simply don't have the patience or perhaps the skill for all the trimming involved in creating a hedge maze or fanciful characters. No worries! Simple geometric shapes are great to start you on your creative way. Cones, pyramids and even square shapes can be easily done even by the novice.

 Still don't trust yourself with the hedge clippers? No pressure. Gardening is for the relief of stress not the creating of it. Just line your shrub plants up in neat and tidy rows, trim them as you will and enclose your very own secret garden in as tall and impenetrable a hedge as you want. Within the hedge you can have your fantasy garden all to yourself. Relax and enjoy your "boring" Hedge. Who says boring is all bad?

    Topiaries at Disney


    photo by Neal Jennings

    Comments (1 to 1 of 1)

    Becca Badgett
    Sep 24, 10 at 03:47 PM
    Great page, glad I visited!

    Zone Manager

    Helium member since Nov 30, 06
    Number of Zones: 15

    by Glory Lennon

    The wonder of plants is their innate ability to survive with no help from, or perhaps in spite of, human intervention. Plants know how to perpetuate and increase their numbers through several diffe...More>
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    photo by Karen Rice

    by Glory Lennon

    My son's speech therapist sighed enviously as she looked at my lush Lilac hedge in bloom."I can't get mine to flower." she said sadly. "I think we have too much shade."She then told me her house was ...More>
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    by Glory Lennon

    How to start your own hedge from cuttings. I stood in horror as I watched my friend take the clippers to her Forsythia. It had been a nice though admittedly a way too big patch of brambles, for her t...More>
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    Golden Spirea


    photo by Henry Heatly
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