Bushes or Shrubs?
What's the difference between a bush and a shrub? Both are smaller than trees, but when people speak of a bush, they usually mean a plant with many branches or stems that's less than six feet six inches tall. A bush can form part of the midstory of a garden between the lawn or ground cover and the taller shrubs and trees. Bushes are often used to divide a garden into distinct areas or "rooms" and provide privacy. They also add line, form, texture, and color to the garden.
The beauty that bushes and shrubs bring to your lawn
Though many bushes produce beautiful flowers, especially miniature azaleas or peonies, gardeners usually choose them for their leaves, bark, fruit, or habit. The hedge should also be disease and pest-resistant and should thrive in the climate, soil, and light conditions around the gardener's property. The plant may need to be pollution tolerant if the property is in a large city.
A bush can be a bit expensive to buy, and most gardeners start with young plants. They should be symmetrical, and the root system should be big enough to supply the plant with enough water and nutrients. The plants shouldn't have dried, wilted or dead leaves, buds, or stems, and the bark should be healthy. When these plants are put into the places the gardener chooses, the area can look a bit bare at first. However, the gardener must be patient to allow the plants to fill out. In the meantime, you can plant perennials or annuals around the bushes to fill empty spaces. When planting, it's also a good rule of thumb to figure that a hedge that will grow to about six feet tall will have a width of about six feet.
