How to Design and Plant a Wilderness Garden Shrubbery

When one of my spruce trees fell down in a storm last year, my yard was left with a gaping hole that exposed some pretty unsightly junk in my neighbors yard. Instead of planting another tree which would have taken years to mature, I decided to plant a wilderness garden shrubbery around what was left of the tree stump.

Wilderness garden shrubberies are planting beds that are filled with a collection of shrubs instead of annuals and other bedding plants. Very popular in the late 1800s, wilderness garden shrubberies were easy care alternatives to the formal gardens early Victorians were known for. For homeowners interested in saving water and time, a wilderness garden shrubbery is a wonderful alternative.

Selecting the space. Just like a flower bed, shrubberies need plenty of sunshine, access to water, and healthy soil. Additional points to consider before choosing a planting site is if there will be enough space for the shrubbery to grow, and whether the mature shrubs will block a nice view or hide an undesirable view.

Enriching the soil. Unless your yard has a deep layer of black loamy soil like mine, the soil should be enriched with items like peat moss, composted manure, leaves, and other goodies. One easy way to prep the bed at a low cost is to spread a four inch layer of manure over the space first, roto till it under, and then maintaining a compost pile on the site using grass clippings, leaves, garden prunings, and vegetable scraps. After a year, spread what's left of the compost pile over the ground before rototilling the area again.

Choosing shrubs that will work in your area. Not all shrubs will grow in all planting zones. Where I grew up in southern California, for example, the shrubberies in our yard were made of Gardenias, Oleander, Jade, and Geranium bushes. In the cool northern climates where I live now, Common Lilacs, Mock Orange and Pink Tartarian Honeysuckle are popular shrubs often found in older neighborhoods..

A local nursery can suggest old fashioned shrubs that will work for your planting zone; be sure to include a mix of tall woody shrubs that grow to 15 feet in height, along with smaller shrubs that won't grow higher than 4-6 feet. Other things to consider are the watering needs and how well the different foliage and blooms will complement each other.

Drawing up a planting blueprint. One of the biggest mistakes novice gardeners make is planting things too close to each other. Shrubs need space and sunlight to grow, and cramming them together means that you'll be taking a chain saw to them in about five years. A planting blueprint helps you figure out the spacing requirements, color balance, and how best to manage the differing heights.

Selecting a year round ground cover. To keep down the weeds and reduce ground water evaporation, choosing a ground cover is the final step in designing a shrubbery. My preference for a wilderness garden ground cover is the Dwarf Periwinkle, which does a great job of keeping the weeds at bay. Dwarf periwinkle produces a pretty blue bloom in the spring with foliage that stays green year round.

Planting & watering the beds. Referring to your planting blue print, the shrubs should be planting following the planting instructions provided to you. To avoid damaging the plants, it's best to start at the center back first, then work forward. Water the shrubs as directed, and continue watering them as needed.

Old fashioned wilderness garden shrubberies are not a short term gardening project since they require at least ten years of nurturing before developing into a dense bed reaching heights of 8-10 feet. Once established though, a shrubbery can provide a dramatic backdrop to your yard that will be enjoyed for decades to come.

More by this contributor:

How to fit an orchard in your back yard
Trees never to plant in your yard.
Old fashioned shrubs for the Victorian garden.