Free Landscape Gardening Ideas

Functions of Landscaping Shrubs

Shrubs play an important part in landscaping. Landscaping shrubs are useful as privacy screens, they are decorative in both the autumn and the spring and they can even provide berries for bird feed. There are two major kinds of landscaping shrubs: flowering shrubs and evergreen shrubs. Flowering shrubs are typically more decorative and rarely bear fruit, while evergreen shrubs sometimes produce small berries, and they are effective privacy screens.

Flowering shrubs such as roses are beautiful and fragrant when in bloom, however they require lots of attention and the right climate. Moreover, most flowering shrubs only bloom for a few weeks or months over the course of the year. Some only flower for a few days. The fleeting nature of their beauty makes them more attractive and rare, but limits them in terms of the amount of time that they can be enjoyed each year.

Evergreen shrubs are more consistent and easier to maintain. They are significantly heartier and can survive the winter while still retaining their colour.

Most landscaping shrubs grow very quickly. Their rapid growth is great for filling space quickly and efficiently. However, it also means that they must be pruned frequently or else they can quickly become out of control. Since maintenance is so necessary, proper tools are required. Most trimming can be done with an electric or gas-powered hedge trimmer. Sometimes a smaller trimmer is more efficient for maintaining more control over the shape of the hedge. Manual hedge trimmers are useful for this, but they are significantly more exhausting to use.

While the type of landscaping shrubs that have been discussed so far have been larger in scale, there are also smaller shrubs that are equally useful in terms of aesthetics. Smaller landscaping shrubs can look great in a rock garden or as flourishes around the bottom of a house.