Ornamental shrubs and small trees provide shade, privacy and wind protection, and serve as structuring elements that you cannot do without. But it's not just personal taste that matters when making your choice. Shrubs for the garden that bloom in summer, exude a gentle scent and delight with the particularly striking color of the growing foliage, combine with native plants in small and spacious outdoor areas for a change.
With a clever selection, the typical ones can be foundhedgesReplace with free-growing ones or create a dream combination with attractive, red-leaved varieties, such as barberry, and with strikingly flowering species, such as firethorn. In the article we provide an overview of easy-care garden shrubs that present their splendor in summer and decorate private green areas.
They would be happy toDwarf shrubsplanted in groups or as ground cover due to its low growth. It should be emphasized that about three plants per meter should be planted for hedges and for green areas - five per square meter. The small shrubs next to weigelia, deutzia and buddleia look very beautiful on slopes or in the front garden.
The name “Dwarf Spiere” (bot.Spiraea japonica Golden princes)indicates that they are dwarf shrubs. It is rounded and compact, reaching a height of around 50 cm and a maximum of 60 cm. Dwarf spars are hardy, densely bushy and after years grow more in width than in height. They bloom from May to August in different colors depending on the species - white, yellow, pink or purple. Their flowers can last up to a month and after. The dwarf spar is characterized by many, quite small, strikingly golden yellow leaves and is an eye-catcher in small gardens with its bright foliage. During the flowering period, a veritable sea of flowers is created from many small umbel-like clusters.
For the spar Crispa (Spiraea japonica 'Crispa') the abundant, dark pink flower umbels and the red leaf shoots are typical features. The elliptical leaves are wavy to curled and deeply cut. These dwarf shrubs like sunny locations, but can also tolerate partial shade and survive for a relatively long time without water. In principle, they can be trimmed at any time, but so that they become dense and bushy, it is recommended that they be cut back to a height of 40 centimeters.
The sour thorn (Berberis vulgaris) is a plant from the barberry family (Berberidacae) that is widespread in Europe, South America and Asia. The deciduous shrub can grow up to 3 meters high, grows on stony, hard soils and is often found in the mountains. It is known as a medicinal plant. The fresh roots of the young plants are used to produce a homeopathic remedy that is used against discomfort and pain in the joints, digestive organs and urogenital tract. Its plant parts, except for the berries, are poisonous. The berries have an antibacterial effect and strengthen the immune system. Its leaves are covered with thorns and the common barberry blooms yellow in May.
The red neck barberry (Berberis thunbergii Atropurpurea) stands out with strikingpurple to reddish-brown leavesand creates effective contrasts in garden design next to the other green-leaved plants. Even standing alone, this shrub looks impressive, especially in autumn when its leaves turn bright fire red. Above all, several plants of this type can be grown as hedges because they are impenetrable and weather-resistant.
The dark red one is a dwarf shrub (Berberis ‘Bagatelle’) from the barberry family, which forms dark red foliage balls. The leaves turn dark red in summer and scarlet in autumn, then they fall off. It is often planted along sidewalks because of its thorny branches. Because of its undemanding nature in terms of garden soil and ease of care, it finds other uses in rock gardens, graves and borders.
The variegated barberry (Berberis thunbergii ‘Harlequin’ )grows tightly upright with overhanging shoot tips. The leaves are their special feature - fresh green in summer, then dark red with a red-white variegated color.
The cotoneaster (Photinia fraseri 'Little Red Robin') is a relatively small shrub - reaches a maximum height of 1 meter, which is why it is equally suitable as a container plant or as an ornamental shrub in the garden. Because of its striking red shoots, it is one of the most attractive evergreen plants.
Grown as a dwarf shrub, it rarely exceeds 150 centimeters. Its leaves change colors - the shoots are light red to purple and become shiny dark green. It tolerates sunny to semi-sunny locations and thrives in all normal garden soils. Depending on the intended use, it is usually cut in spring and is widely used - in front and small gardens, as a stand-alone ornamental tree, grave plant and hedge planting.
The finger bush (Potentilla) prefers nutrient-poor soils that are calcareous, in full sun without waterlogging. It is not so sensitive to pruning and 2-3 years are usually enough to rejuvenate the plant.
Several species from this family are known and widespread. They delight with different colors of flowers in summer: “Snowbird” and “Ice Princess” in white, “Goldfinger” – yellow, “Lovely Pink” – pink, “Red Ace” – orange.
The Firethorn (Pyracantha) is also sometimes called Mediterranean firethorn and is often noticed because of its shiny, evergreen leaves and gorgeous red berries. It is hardy, but in very harsh winters its leaves turn brown and later fall off. The shrub presents the magnificent, red fruits from September to winter. It thrives best in a sunny or partially shaded location, on normal, well-drained soil and can reach two to three meters in height. It grows at a rate of around 20-50 centimeters per year. Its flowering time is in May and June. During this period, its delicate, white flowers exude a delicate scent and offer a spectacle for the eyes and nose.
The firethorn belongs to the rose family and is therefore sensitive to drying out. The young plants should be protected against frost in winter, and after 2 years they can be exposed to harsh winters without any problems. It is often used as a hedge plant because of its sharp, strong thorns. This makes the hedge impenetrable and an ideal privacy screen. Wild animals, pets and small children can get injured, which is why you need to be careful.
The dwarf pipe bush (Philadelphus microphyllus) comes from the southwestern USA and is an approximately 100 centimeter tall, hardy shrub that was heavily used for crossbreeding.
The dwarf pipe bush is characterized by small leaves that are 1-2 centimeters long and only 1 cm wide, which are elongated and have short stalks. Its foliage is slightly lighter on the lower side, fresh green on top and slightly hairy. The dwarf shrub blooms in May and June with creamy white, fragrant flowers.
The weigela (Weigel) give the garden a structure and can be used equally well as a hedge to delimit garden areas and as a container plant. The upright growing shrub from the Weigela genus can reach 2-3 meters in height. A huge number of crosses, hybrids, are known. The weigela is a relatively robust and easy-care plant, most varieties of which are absolutely frost hardy. The abundant flowers of the “Bristol Ruby” variety are characterized by their ruby red color and bell-like shape and are therefore very sought after.
The plant's homeland is East Asia, where it grows on the edges of forests. Basically, the weigela is an upright, arching shrub. Depending on the variety, it grows 1 to 3 meters high and produces magnificent, bell-shaped flowers in white, pink, red or yellow in May to June. Some bloom again in late summer, but slightly weaker. Some varieties with yellow, red or variegated yellow-green and green-white leaves are even more splendid.
