PLANT SOME SHRUBS
Garden shrubs are
just as essential to the landscape as is a lawn, trees, patio and paths.
Everyone who has a garden no matter how small or large will at some time be
considering a bit of landscape planting
for many different reasons, and when we move house to a new property or an
established one we still want to create our own wee patch of heaven.
If the new garden is
already well established by a previous owner, we need to assess what is there
and what we want. Most often you will find several plants that are well worth
retaining, so do not be in a rush to clear the site. However on a new built
plot just vacated by the builders we will have a blank canvas to create our
personal landscape to our own needs. There are many factors to consider so take
plenty of time and work things out on paper before buying in the plants.
There are always
your own personal “must have” shrubs to find a spot for. My personal choice
includes the rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias, plus heathers for ground cover.
Viburnums and honeysuckle gave me the scents and clematis and climbing roses
gave me colour for tall fences.
I know of many
impressive very small gardens who may only have one decent specimen shrub, but
when it is in full bloom that garden comes alive even if only for a couple of
weeks. For the bigger garden with room to grow a magnolia or philadelphus
unpruned and allowed to mature it can make a fantastic specimen, but
unfortunately too many people get nervous as it reaches ten feet or more and out
comes the loppers.
Different parts of
the garden will be sunny or shaded, sheltered or flat and in the open or
adjacent to walls and fences so each area’s needs will be quite different. I
always use all my south facing walls and fences for the more tender or exotic
plants such as my outdoor grape vines, cherries and figs.
Shrubs can be used
for screening along boundaries or around the compost heap and if an
Steep banks that are
difficult to maintain can be planted with ground cover such as ivies,
cotoneasters, hostas or heathers and if the ground is sunny and dry then use
senecios, ceanothus, brooms, pinks, and cistus or rosemary and lavender. Some
ground cover such as hypericum can also be underplanted with bulbs such as the
stronger Darwin Hybrid tulips which will give a spring display of colour.
It is also a good
idea to try and create strong impact in a range of places at different times by
grouping those plants together that flower at the same time. Cistus flowering
in early summer looks great with a background of the taller deep blue
ceanothus.
Plants with good
autumn colour can also be combined together to give an autumn display before
all the leaves fall off. Deciduous azaleas, cotinus, the smoke bush, and dwarf
maples will combine to brighten up the autumn display.
Similarly berried
plants such as the cotoneasters, pyracanthas, pernettyas and berberis will
provide food for small birds as well as being attractive in early winter.
Then for interest
right through winter give thought to the coloured stemmed shrubs such as
cornus, willow, kerria, rubus and some maples. They make an eye catching
display right through to the end of March, when they then get pruned back to
ground level. However the show can continue as they are quite happy to share
the ground with spring flowering bulbs such as snowdrops, aconites, crocus,
daffodils and tulips.
Shrubs can be
planted from now right through till next March.
Plant of the week
Rubus cockburnianus is a very prickly white stemmed bramble growing to about six feet tall.
It makes quite an impact in the winter garden growing alongside cornus, kerrias
and salix. To maximise on the white stems it should be cut down to the ground
at the end of March every year.
END
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