5 Great Shrubs to Fill up the Garden

I coach all kinds of homeowners in gardening and see two very common situations with the identical solution.  Beginners often have a blank slate, so where do they start?   Others have been gardening for a good while and seen improvements, but their gardens still don’t thrill them.  Something’s missing and it’s almost always shrubs, especially big, fast-growing ones that will soon create a nice Eastern fullness and presence in the garden.  They’ll provide the sense of enclosure that’s essential in an outdoor space the family can enjoy.  And they’ll be the perfect backdrop to perennials and annuals that the homeowners may also want to grow (and gardeners definitely will).   

Luckily, there are plenty of great shrubs that, in addition to doing all that, will put on quite a show when it’s their turn to bloom.  So without further ado, here are some of my favorite flowering shrubs that help make a yard look like a garden.  I’ve provided links to my web page for each one, for additional details.  Oh, and best time to plant any of them?  September-October.  The second-best time is spring, as early as possible.

The doublefile viburnum is perhaps the best-looking viburnum of all, of which there are dozens of great ones for the garden.  The doublefile is almost as tall as a dogwood and blooms at the same time.  It definitely needs supplemental watering in periods of drought but beyond that, just some renewal pruning after it’s a few years old.  My method is to remove a third of the stems to the ground after they’ve bloomed, and they respond well to it.

Next, two of the many weigelas filling up my garden.  Also easy-care, they have the added feature of growing really fast.  I’ve been happy to see more great varieties of weigela available lately – people need more plants like these that are as close to self-sustaining as you’ll find. 

Spireas are another group of shrubs that breeders are working with, and we’re seeing amazing new varieties these days - lots of shorter types, and an array of chartreuse-leaved beauties.  This is the old-fashioned bridal wreath type doing great work as a foundation plant in front of my house.  Even in the winter when the leaves are bare, it has a large woody presence. 

Another fast-grower is this oakleaf hydrangea.  In addition to the virtues you see here, its exfoliating bark makes it a focal point all winter.  Seriously. 

And I couldn’t resist showing off one more hydrangea – the later-blooming ‘Tardiva’ that gardeners just don’t use enough.  Garden writers are touting its virtues, so we may be seeing more of them soon.  They’re larger and more drought-tolerant than the familiar mophead hydrangeas that bloom in pink and blue.