Article - Landscaping - LandscapingWay.com

Perfect Shrubs for Your Landscaping Designs

For limited spaces, landscaping shrubs are the most ideal choices. Not only do they fit these areas, they are attractive to look at.

Different shrubs have different characteristics. Others are dwarfs, growing to just about 3 to 5 feet, while others can have a height of 10 to 15 feet, tall enough to be considered small trees. Some prefer warmer climate while a couple grow best in temperate and colder regions. More than their natural beauty, there are landscape plants that are used as hedges or privacy screens, specimens, or border plants. 

The mountain laurels have a long rich history, dating back into the times of Greeks and Romans. Moreover, it’s often confused with a similar plant known as bay laurels. Mountain laurels are gifted with the ability to display their lovely flowers during spring or even summer. They thrive in the woodlands of North America, a place they have considered home.

To plant mountain laurels into your own yard is not far-fetched. In fact, you can include it in your overall landscaping design. They can grow to a length of 5 to 8 feet. Their flowers, shaped like cups and speckled, come in colors of pink and white. Some landscapers and owners actually attempt propagation through transplanting them from the mountains, which can actually cause grave damage to their roots instead. Nevertheless, to ensure success you can simply acquire them from any of the local nursery. In landscaping mountain laurels, they shouldn’t be planted too deeply by not burying their crown, or else, they die. They also live longer in more acidic soil.

In landscaping, some shrubs make excellent “living walls,” privacy screens to ward off the prying eyes of your neighbors. A typical example is the Rose of Sharon. At maturity, they can develop to 8 to 10 feet in length, with a spread of 4 to 6 feet. Their flowers can either be in hues of red, white, lavender, or even light blue. Depending on the cultivar,the leaves of Rose of Sharon are small and colored light green.

What makes these flowers an ideal part in landscaping is its capacity to bloom to the delight of its owners and onlookers. Moreover, as hibiscus plants, they have such pretty stamens. While other plants have already lost color, especially in the late parts of summer, Rose of Sharon stands out.

Pussy Willow

Native of Canada and eastern parts of the United States, Pussy Willows are shrubs with hairy buds attached to their branches. They can grow to as tall as 20 feet at maturity. Hence, if you’re considering Pussy Willows as a landscape shrub, they must be regularly pruned.

These shrubs are used to moisture and wet locations; thus, they thrive in soil with poor drainage. However, in good-conditioned soil, landscaping designers should see to it that they receive a generous amount of water in order to survive. Landscaping Pussy Willows is also easy. Their roots can develop fast, and they can grow whether under full sunlight or in partial shade.

Butterfly Bushes

You have the power to add more life to your garden by landscaping butterfly bushes, which can attract butterflies and insects like the tiger swallowtails and hummingbirds, to name a few. These shrubs can grow to 6 to 12 feet tall, with a spread of 4 to 15 feet, upon full development. Their flowers—of colors red, white, purple, and pink—are always in full bloom all throughout the summer.

Landscaping designs can make use of butterfly bushes as perennial borders. They look more delightful when they’re planted closer to each other. Though they can tolerate drought, they survive best if the soil is well drained and there is sufficient sunlight.