One needs to plan properly before planting any shrubs and bushes. Here are tips on selecting shrubs which provide privacy and shrubs which produce beautiful looking blooms, and a list of top bushes and shrubs for landscaping.
Thinking, how to landscape - shrubs & bushes? The first thing you need to do is plan. Take a piece of paper and draw a layout of your landscape in a top angle. On this piece of paper, note down regions which receive full sun, partial sun and note down shaded areas. This will guide you in selecting plants that grow in shade and in sun. You can use three colors to note down these regions, based on the amount of light they get. Then decide which areas you want to be the focal points, which areas you need to use as borders, and which areas you need to use to create privacy and wind barriers. Make a list of shrubs and bushes for landscaping, according to these three categories. First is the border providing shrubs, second shrubs serving as focal points, and lastly bushes which provide privacy.
In the list, it is wise to put plants which are of local variety. This will cause the least amount of problems while growing and maintaining the shrubs. You can visit local nurseries and seek other gardeners' advice to learn more about the shrubs used for landscaping. Once you have the final design, prepare the soil in the landscape, and plant the shrubs. Then look out for the individual needs of the type of bushes and shrubs, like watering and weeding. Make sure you provide plenty of fertilizer during the growing season, keep adding mulch to the soil and keep pruning the bushes whenever required.
Landscaping Ideas to Consider
Shrubs and Bushes to Consider
Sheared Hedges
- Privet - This is one of the best choice of sheared hedges, and is one of the fast growing privacy hedges. There are around 5 kinds of privet shrubs which include Chinese privet shrubs, Amur privet shrubs and the common privets.
- Other Hedges - Other good choices of sheared hedges are Myrtus communis, Pistacia lentiscus, and beautiful blooms producing lilacs.
Beautiful Flowering Bushes
- Hydrangea - These flowering bushes and shrubs are easy to care for, and have large pompons or flattened clusters of blooms which can be pink, white or blue in color.
- Forsythia - These are among the first plants to bloom in spring. Forsythia gets golden bell-shaped blossoms.
- Rhododendron - Rhododendron comes in wide range of colors, which makes them one of the most popular flowering shrub.
- Buckeye - If you are looking for a low on maintenance shrub which adds great color to your landscape, then buckeye shrubs are a great choice with their showy flowers.
Shrubs for Screening
- Viburnum - If you are looking for some ornamental shrubs for screening, then viburnum shrubs are a great choice. They are beautiful and versatile, and easy to grow, and provide colorful fruits.
- Conifers - Conifers come in different shapes and sizes, and make excellent shrubs for screening.
- Agonis flexuosa 'Burgundy' - These are stunning looking plants which add rich color to the landscape.
- Other good choices of landscaping bushes used for screening include myoporum and Anamirta cocculus plants.
It is very important that you pick shrubs and bushes, according to the light and soil present in the various landscape regions; rather than just picking some beautiful looking bushes and shrubs that you have seen before. Because careful planning and plantation will provide you a beautiful and easy to maintain landscape, and not having too many fancy looking shrubs which will make gardening a difficult job.
