Using Shrubs and Perennials in Your Garden Design

Shrubs and perennials are essential elements in any garden design. Combining them with annual plants will keep the landscape interesting throughout the year. Shrubs are important in the garden as they provide cover for wildlife and shade the ground. Perennials are low maintenance and they return bigger and better year after year.

Using Shrubs in a Garden Design

Shrubs are versatile in the landscape. They provide year round interest and give cover to songbirds and other wildlife. Use shrubs to define garden borders and rooms. Too many people plant them close to the house resulting in the the shrub outgrowing its space. Allow enough room for the plant to grow properly. Most shrubs will grow as wide as they are tall. For example; a four foot tall shrub will expand to a four foot radius in width. Try to incorporate shrubs along the edges and as individual specimens in the garden design.

Adding Perennials to the Garden

Perennials are low maintenance plants. They return year after year with very little care. You can choose from a large variety of perennials. Some are vines, others are ground covers and another group grows in clumps. Periwinkle is a very popular perennial ground cover that has small purple flowers in the late spring to summer. Popular clumping perennials to add into your garden design are Echinacea (purple cone flower), Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) and Alstroemeria (Sweet Laura).

Garden Design

Proper planning is an important step in garden design. Decide where you want your garden to grow. Check the amount of light it gets during the day. Most sun loving perennials and shrubs will require six to eight hours of sunlight. Shade loving plants do well in areas where the house and other objects cast shade over the garden. In the hot humid south, plants enjoy a break from the midday sun.

Use shrubs instead of fencing to define a garden area. Flowering shrubs such as saucer magnolia make great individual specimens. Forsythia in mass plantings defines a large area and brings a brilliant show of yellow flowers in the spring.

Perennials combined with annuals will give the garden year round interest. Combine a variety of perennial flowers in the garden design to have flowers almost all year. Crocus and snowdrops will bring early spring color, sometimes poking up through late snows. Tulips, lilies and daffodils add late spring color. As the spring flowers die back; bleeding hearts, Black-eyed Susan and coneflowers will hide withering spring foliage burst forth with summertime flowers. If left undisturbed, the seed cones will add interest and provide food for songbirds throughout the winter. Pachysandra, American cranberry and Periwinkle keep out weeds and protect the soil.

Place taller plants toward the back of the garden if it is up against a fence or wall. For garden designed with a 360 degree view; plant the tallest plants in the center. Plant trees and shrubs first, followed by bulbs, and then add other perennials. Use annuals to add temporary color and to fill in empty spaces.

Using shrubs and perennials in your garden design will give you a low maintenance garden that is enjoyable and interesting throughout the year. Add them into your garden plans when you decide to put in a new garden or update an old one.

Other gardening articles you may enjoy:

Garden Rooms: Create a Hummingbird Garden

A Guide to Garden Torches

The Basics of Xeriscaping