Today’s Garden Ideas

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Shrubs are a wonderful way to add elements to your garden that provide both privacy and ornamentation as a means of highlighting focal points. When choosing shrubs, most people start off thinking about what they like and don’t like. Instead of going with this method, start thinking like a professional garden designer, and choose shrubs that will act as a landscape element in your garden – highlighting the pieces you want highlighting, and acting as a significant garden support element.

Shrubs can act as a way to highlight dazzling beds of flowers, to line pathways, to highlight focal points such as statues or fountains, or to act as a privacy barrier between your garden and the rest of the world. When you are using shrubs as a means of enhancing focal points or flower beds, you need to stay away from flowering shrubs as otherwise, the shrubs will compete with the focal point for attention. The texture of their foliage should be medium to fine, and leaves should be delicately shaped. Good choices of shrubs for this purpose include Pistachio, Myrtle, Sumac, and Cotoneaster.

When you are using shrubs as a means of privacy screening or for blocking out views you’d rather avoid, you want to consider shrubs that are somewhat ornamental, but offer a more formal hedge look. Fine textured shrubs are great for this as trimming is much easier with these. When you choose your shrubs you want to ensure that the texture of the foliage, as well as the shape and form of the shrub will blend well with other types of plants in your garden. Excellent choices for screening shrubs include Grevillea, Melaleuca, and Callistemon.

If you are using shrubs for ornamentation, say to line a pathway, you want a look where the shrub stands out on its own and does not draw attention away from anything else. Flowering shrubs are good for this, but ensure that any focal points are not situated close to the shrubs. The Chinese Hibiscus for example is a beautiful flowering shrub that is used for a wide variety of locations.

If you are a novice gardener, you want to stay away from shrubs that are sculptural in nature. The novice gardener has a tendency to get carried away with these pieces, but the point of these shrubs is of emphasis, not as a backdrop like many other shrubs. Sculptural shrubs are by nature focal points in themselves, so if you really like this look, consult a professional on placement and selection so as not to distract from any other elements of your garden that you have worked so hard on.