Use Ornamental Shrubs to Accent Your Garden and Yard

Ornamental shrubs are valued by landscape designers and gardeners for many reasons, chiefly their ability to accent a home’s architecture, block eyesores or help define the shape of a garden. The term “ornamental shrubs’’ covers a huge assortment of bush-type plants that come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

Uses for ornamental shrubs

Ornamental shrubs are often used as plants that line up near a home’s foundation. These are sometimes called “foundation plantings.’’ Landscape designers often use these foundation plantings to help showcase the architecture of a home.

Ornamental shrubs are also used to help define the shape of a garden or walkway. By choosing different types of shrubs, designers give the garden a number of different height levels, which adds to its beauty. Ornamental shrubs are also a great way to make borders around patios or driveways. Boxwoods are among the most popular ornamental shrubs used for lining walkways.

Bigger ornamental shrubs are useful as living screens, covering eyesores and providing privacy. Many gardeners swear by pampas grass, fountain butterfly bush and japonicas to conceal weak spots in a garden or block the prying eyes of neighbors.

Roses, azaleas are popular ornamental shrubs

While some ornamental shrubs have pretty blooms, many others are valued more for their deep green foliage. Gardeners can find ornamental shrubs that are evergreen, or that lose their leaves each season. Roses, azaleas, gardenias and camellias are among the most popular flowering ornamental shrubs. An added bonus with some flowering shrubs is their ability to attract birds, butterflies and bees.

While they don’t typically require a lot of maintenance if planted in the correct climate, some ornamental shrubs do need a little TLC to thrive. Azaleas, camellias, japonicas and boxwoods, to name a few, grow healthier if they receive regular pruning. Pruning removes a lot of the older leaves and blooms and allows more light to enter the shrub’s interior, which speeds growth and produces a thicker, denser plant. Ornamental shrubs such as boxwood can also be pruned into various shapes and designs.

There are varieties of ornamental shrubs available to fit any gardener’s need, skill level and the amount of time they want to commitment to yard work. A landscape designer or the experts at a nursery can help you choose the right ones for your yard. Whatever the type you choose, odds are good that you’ll be very happy with the way ornamental shrubs add just the right touch to your yard.