Shrubs

4 Ways To Choose Shrubs For Landscaping Designs  

 Shrubs offer property owners perhaps the greatest landscaping flexibility of any plant life. Varieties include substantial greenery, ornamental blooms, and certain shrubs can infuse your grounds with sweet fragrances.

While the value of including forsythia plants, hydrangeas, and burning bushes, among others, cannot be understated, employing shrubs in your landscape requires some forethought and keen decision-making. The same flexibility that renders shrubs invaluable to a Tennessee landscape also makes them increasingly complicated. As experienced TN plant nursery professionals, we hope the following information helps you choose the right shrubs to enrich your landscape.

1: When & Where To Plant Shrubs For Landscape Designs

Shrubs generally thrive when planted during early spring and fall. These seasons allow them to establish firm root systems. Although it may seem logical to also plant during summer, the sometimes intense TN heat can prove detrimental to a shrub’s health. If you need to plant during the dog days of summer, take proactive measures to ensure the shrub gets adequate water and care.

When deciding on a shrub, property owners would be wise to consider the plant’s full maturity. Although varieties such as forsythia plants may seem relatively modest when you purchase them, they can achieve a height of 10 feet and spread out to upwards of 12 feet. While annual pruning can keep them from overgrowing a space, options such as burning bushes might be more suitable at 4-8 feet tall and wide. In other words, it makes sense to consider whether you want the shrub to seamlessly fit into a space or prune it back to a thickening stalk each year.

The length of time a shrub blooms also ranks among the top placement considerations. Some shrubs bloom for short periods. Others produce new flowers on an ongoing basis. These differences should be accounted for in terms of placement because some spend more time providing greenery to an area than showing off exciting colors. It may be worthwhile to weigh this element when positioning a shrub.

2: Use Shrubs To Form Privacy Hedges

Many homeowners find six-foot privacy fences unappealing. These tall wooden or plastic-based structures fail to enhance the landscape. By contrast, the strategic placement of shrubs that intertwine to form a boundary line delivers both privacy and aesthetic value. These rank among the most common shrubs employed in this fashion.

• Privet Plants: These shrubs varieties can reach 12-15 feet high, but landscapes usually manicure them to create finely defined boundaries. Presenting soft white flowers against abundant dark green leaves, Privet Plants remain a popular option for front and backyard boundaries.
• Spirea Plant: These shrubs can reach 10-20 feet and offer gorgeous sweeping white flowers across their arching branches. When planted close together, they form a lush, colorful privacy wall that acts like a butterfly magnet.
• Maple Leaf Viburnum: Growing to 4-6 feet tall, these shrubs can form thick hedgerows. They deliver sizable white cluster blooms during warm weather months. They also add to the TN fall foliage with soft pink, rose, burgundy, purple leaves. Many considered them a low-maintenance option.

These shrubs highlight the fact that landscaping involves personal decisions about greenery and color. Some people like green hedges because they do not distract from other elements. Some enjoy splashes of color along the perimeter.

3: Plant Shrubs To Strategically Infuse Color Into Landscapes

Certain shrubs help by integrating color in lackluster spaces. For example, house corners that call for color at heights make blooming shrubs a perfect choice. Also, areas such as outbuildings and low walls look more robust when adding hydrangeas, and forsythia plants, among others. These rank among the popular shrubs that add color.

• Witch Hazel Tree: This deciduous shrub infuses yellow blooms, grows 1-2 feet annually, and can reach 10-25 feet.
• Crepe Myrtle Plants: This standalone shrub offers white, purple, or red blooms that can last for 120 days.
• Golden Bell Forsythia: Flowering in early spring and late fall, they mature to 9-11 feet, and the yellow flowers evolve to a golden hue.
• Burning Bush: Maturing to about 8 feet, its spring leaves couple with small yellow flowers and red berries. The green leaves evolve into a stunning red come fall.
• Wisteria Plant: This shrub adds impressive blue and purple hues and ranks among the most sought after for landscaping. Some varieties also infuse the landscape with a sweet fragrance.
• Pink Weigela Bush: Known for its eye-catching pink and dark purple flowers, this bush matures to 6-10 feet high and wide.

Other popular varieties used to infuse color found at our TN nursery include Sweet Shrub, Spiraea Van Houtte, Flame Leaf Sumac, Red Chokeberry Plant, Red Osier Dogwood Bush, and Coral Red Dogwood, among others.

4: Deploy Shrubs To Accent Low Fences & Hardscapes

Some shrubs naturally add texture by contrasting fences and hardscape elements. This landscaping strategy typically leverages shrubs to create a sense of depth by placing them in the foreground, background, or meshed with items such as low fences. Popular TN accent plants generally include the following.

Rose Of Sharon: This hardy hibiscus presents soft pink or bluish flowers and remains a darling for low-fence and hardscape accent.

Arrowwood Viburnum: This low-height green shrub with white flowers offers a subtle contrast to rock gardens and along walkways.

Although these uses rank among the popular ways that shrubs add value to landscapes, their flexibility opens the door for many other creative uses. By considering your personal taste in flora, landscape specifics, and the growth of shrubs, your property can enjoy the natural beauty you deserve.

Select The Best Shrub To Enhance Your Landscape At Our TN Nursery

We understand that choosing a shrub to enhance your landscape requires careful consideration. The wide variety of colorful blooms, maturation heights and widths, and landscaping strategies sometimes make this a difficult decision. If you have questions about adding shrubs to your landscape, contact our TN nursery today. We are happy to answer any questions.

Buy Ferns Online at Tennessee Wholesale Nursery- 1 Year Guarantee, Fast Shipping To Everyone