Simplify Your Garden with Shrubs
Whether you like to follow the fads and fashions of gardening or not, those of us who are creaking and groaning as we garden should be thankful for the popularity of the mixed border. Because that means there are lots of good shrubs and very large plants to use in our gardens that will be easy to care for but still look great.
Simplifying the garden simplifies your life - or at least the amount of bending and kneeling and stooping that you need to do to keep your garden healthy. And that means cutting down on the number of things that demand your attention in the yard. You can accomplish this one of two ways, The first is to cut down on the number of varieties of plants that you grow - but grow enough of each variety to fill your allotted space. So instead of three daylilies you grow 15. Instead of one kind of heuchera you grow five different kinds. You concentrate only on those plants you really enjoy growing - and grow them in multiples. You will have less to keep track of, as similar varieties will have similar cultural needs. Next week I'll be looking at very easy-to-care-for perennials. But this week I'm looking at the second option that you have for simplification -and that is using shrubs in your borders.
Shrubs take up a nice amount of space. They flower in different times of spring, summer and fall, so that you can have an extended blooming season. They come in in infinite array of foliage shapes and textures. And many of them are very easy to maintain - almost no-hassle gardening.
The trick is to avoid shrubs that require constant pruning or cutting back, such as buddleias. Also avoid those that drop messy fruit, and those that send their seeds out so prodigiously that you are forever weeding their progeny out of the lawn and garden.
Dwarf conifers
Perhaps the easiest shrubs to care for are evergreens. Not that they are always green - many lovely dwarf conifers come in shades of bronze, gold, silver and blue. They also come in a myriad of shapes, from neat little rounded nubs to stately triangles, as well as groundhugging fan-shapes. Best of all, they add color to the garden all year long, and if you choose carefully, they will never need trimming.
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