Ornamental shrubs are an ideal option for those who want to improve their summer cottage. The abundance of varieties and varieties of such plants will delight the most discerning gardeners.
In this article we will try to answer the question of which ornamental shrubs are suitable for a summer residence, and what care they require.
Bush ornamental plants come in short, medium and tall varieties. Depending on the size, the tasks they perform change:
- Low-growing - a universal decoration for flower beds, ridges, alpine slides;
- Medium-sized - help define the boundaries of each aesthetic zone in the country, can be used as a hedge;
- Tall ones help to hide the unsightly sides of country buildings.
In addition, all plants of this type are divided into fruiting and flowering.
With proper care, ornamental shrubs will delight gardeners with ripe fruits and berries, or beautiful flowers throughout the entire summer season.
Variety of ornamental shrubs
Ornamental shrubs for the garden have different characteristics; when choosing a specific plant, you need to understand what task it should perform in a specific summer cottage and what conditions will be created for it.
Species characteristics
- Frost resistance: very frost-resistant, moderately frost-resistant and frost-resistant ornamental shrubs.
- Illumination: light-loving, shade-tolerant.
- According to fruitfulness: flowering, decorative-deciduous, fruit-bearing.
Based on the characteristics of bush plants, it is worth moving on to full description the most popular specimens, their photos and methods of care.
Fruit bushes
In addition to the purely aesthetic function, when proper care Such plants provide gardeners with fruits and berries.
Felt cherry - got its name for its unusual covering of leaves and shoots with a light fluff. It has high productivity, small dimensions, and does not require complex care.
Planting these ornamental shrubs carried out in highly organic soil. Requires space and high light.
Viburnum is unpretentious in care and placement in the garden. Flowers that bloom in late spring have a pleasant, honey-like aroma.
Rosehip - has medicinal properties. Often, for its beauty, it is called a wild rose. Does not require special attention when leaving. Can grow on both shady and sunny sides.
Gooseberry - grows easily, forming a hedge. Does not tolerate high humidity, plenty of shade and severe frosts. It bears fruit for about half a century, the fruits have high vitamin properties.
Shrubs that tolerate frost easily
Suitable for fairly cold climates, with lots of winds and frosts.
Shrub cinquefoil - able to tolerate significant frosts. It blooms with bright yellow flowers from mid to late summer and bears fruit in early fall. Suitable for making tea.
Weigels are a frost-resistant variety that can tolerate large temperature changes. Not selective in matters of soil and light. Flowering occurs from late spring to early summer, already from the second year after planting.
Snowberry is a shrub bearing fruit with inedible berries. Easily tolerates low temperatures. The name and photo of the frost-resistant garden ornamental shrub are reminiscent of the winter cold. White flowers bloom at the very beginning of summer and delight owners all season long.
Coniferous shrubs
Coniferous ornamental shrubs are an excellent option for any landscape design.
Juniper is unpretentious to planting, care, and ambient temperature. It goes well with many plants on the alpine hill.
Thanks to its variety, juniper can be used in any landscape composition.
Mountain pine Pomimlo is a rather selective shrub. Requires plenty of light and soil rich in minerals. Due to its small dimensions, it is widely used in design projects.
Cypress bushes are a generally unpretentious shrub that grows well in both shade and lightly shaded sun. There are varieties that grow well only in warm climates, or, conversely, can easily tolerate frosty weather.
Cryptomeria - loves plenty of sun. Divided into several subtypes depending on size.
Yew - despite its slow growth rate, is one of the favorite shrubs of landscape designers.
Due to its high species diversity, it can perform various functions, from purely decorative to forming a green fence.
Shrubs with evergreen foliage
This type of plant will delight gardeners with lush, green foliage from early spring until late autumn.
- Common heather - blooms in the second half of summer, the rest of the time it pleases with decorative foliage.
- Derain is an unpretentious, evergreen bush. Tolerates temperature changes, transplanting into new soil, shade, and humidity well.
- Holly is a poisonous shrub that delights with its glossy, dense leaves.
Rules for planting ornamental shrubs
Having decided on a specific variety of shrub, you should know a few rules that will help the plant bloom abundantly and grow well.
- When planning to plant a bush at the beginning of summer, you should significantly fertilize the future location for the plant in the fall.
- While still in the store or at the market, carefully select a bush with a minimum amount of dried wood and remove the dried roots.
- When planning planting, give the plant a 2-3 hour bath for better moisture absorption.
- It is possible to use organic additives and root growth accelerators.
- Give the shrub enough space to grow.
- Familiarize yourself with the pruning requirements for each specific shrub.
By following these simple rules, looking at photos and names of ornamental shrubs, you can choose the plant that is best suited for specific conditions and a specific summer cottage.
Photos of ornamental shrubs
Ornamental shrubs, photos and names of which will be presented below, are often elements that harmoniously complement the overall picture, emphasizing necessary nuances of a summer cottage so that it looks bright and attractive. These plants, like brushstrokes on a canvas, help to properly dilute the necessary details of the flower bed, placing emphasis on certain places.
Basic criteria for landing
Every summer resident, gardener or owner of a personal plot wants to do everything carefully and correctly so that fruit trees, vegetables, and beds of herbs are in their places. Depending on the size of the dacha plot, general preferences and imagination, ornamental shrubs can act as a background for other plantings, be an element of garden compositions, appear in the form of a hedge, or become the main nuance to which all attention will be focused.
Of course, it will be unrealistic to cover the entire spectrum of these representatives of the plant kingdom, but the most popular and decorative deciduous shrubs are worth paying attention to.
Speaking about how to properly plant ornamental shrubs, the first thing that needs to be done is to choose exactly the plant that will feel comfortable in certain climatic conditions of the region. Certain varieties are selected from the entire variety of ornamental shrubs for the city or suburban area. The second nuance that must be taken into account is the location of the plant.
If light-loving representatives are selected, then they should be planted in sunny places, where there will not be even a hint of shadow. Shade-loving shrubs, on the contrary, are placed in shady places, or even even in the shade of large trees or buildings. This point is considered very important, since the wrong choice of location can negatively affect not only the brightness of the foliage color or the splendor of flowers on the bush, but also its viability.
It is also recommended to take into account the overall picture of the garden when choosing a particular plant. In a small area, lush and tall specimens will look very inappropriate. And, for example, decorative, flowering, frost-resistant, low shrubs will look more beautiful in a small garden.
Such representatives of the flora include dwarf varieties of Cossack juniper Green Carpet and Tamariscifolia - creeping, low-growing, very frost-resistant plants. This option will be ideal when creating compact alpine slides, borders, lawn edgings and rockeries.
Features of choosing plants
For a hedge, shrubs must be selected among medium-sized or low-growing representatives with a dense crown, so that in the future, instead of an attractive fence, you do not end up with a column of tall thickets. Thorny, columnar, decorative-flowering shrubs, such as junipers, are optimal for this design. Suitable for planting together:
- Spirela.
- Buddleya.
- Oleander.
- Weigel.
They will go well with other green fellows growing in the neighborhood. To form an arch, as well as to decorate a gazebo or fence, it is necessary to select climbing species of shrubs.
Country landscape zones
The choice is very wide! For each personal plot of any size and shape, you can choose your own option. In addition to flowering plants, there are many various types shrubs with amazing foliage color, leaf shape, unusual crown and delicious fruits. Diversity is considered an important aspect in this matter. Basically, the country landscape is divided into three zones:
- Lower - flower beds and vegetable beds.
- Top - fruit trees.
- Medium - shrubs.
The combination of plants with each other and their correct choice are the main goal of a summer resident who strives for comfort, beauty and harmony in his area. Ornamental shrubs in landscape design, photos of which are presented below, are not only a pleasure to contemplate, but also functional cultures. For example, by planting plants near a fence, you can create a barrier from prying eyes or unwanted intrusions. With the help of shrubs, you can also divide the area into recreation areas and an area for growing any garden crops.
Paths, borders, hedges, decoration of some unpleasant fragments on the site can be decorated or hidden using a variety of shrubs. And if you additionally plant fruit crops on your plot, you can still get healthy and tasty berries.
Flowering shrubs for the garden
Flowering shrubs also bear fruit. Berries from some crops can even be eaten. You can plant it in your garden the following flowering bushes:
- Mock orange or jasmine. Mock orange or garden jasmine is liked by many gardeners due to its enchanting aroma. Currently, there are many hybrids and varieties, which are all very attractive in appearance. They differ from each other in shape, size, flower aroma and color. If we talk about the white flower representative, then it is frost-resistant and disease-resistant, very unpretentious in care. Jasmine will look equally stunning in both single and group plantings. It is only necessary to water the shrub on time, preventing moisture from stagnating in the area around the tree trunk. The flowering period will depend on the variety, but, as a rule, flowering begins in May and lasts the whole month. There are species that can bloom in summer and even in early autumn.
- Kalina. Viburnum should be attributed to fruit specimens, as well as decorative foliage plants. This plant, unique in every sense, blooms with beautiful large white spherical inflorescences, and the fruits of viburnum are useful and widely used as medicine. The foliage of the shrub also deserves special attention. The leaves change shade from rich green to orange or red. In total, viburnum has about 200 species, among which you can even find evergreens. This perennial plant can be found in almost every yard in the Urals and Siberia.
- Rose hip. Rosehip is considered to be exactly that shrub that needs no introduction or recommendations. It is visually attractive and also useful in many ways. Rose hips bloom in spring, decorating the area with red or pink flowers. This shrub also creates a thorny barrier if planted along a fence. Rosehip is unpretentious in care, has a dense crown, branches quickly, prefers to grow in partial shade or in the sun. The flowering period lasts from May to August. After flowering, dark red, sometimes almost black, fruits are formed.
- Lilac. Fragrant, with many shades and colors, lilac is simply irreplaceable in a summer cottage or local area. Lilac is a large shrub that can grow up to 3 meters or more in height. Even in a small area, even just one bush, it will be possible to plant it. There are many different varieties of lilacs. This plant is resistant to cold, easy to care for, and beautiful in itself. The culture feels best in sunny places, but it can also grow in partial shade without any problems. The flowering period begins in May, which extends until June. The inflorescences are presented in the form of balls of blue, white, pink and other shades.
Japanese quince, which is also a good honey plant, is especially popular as a fruit shrub.
Decorative hedge
A hedge is one of the most popular, favorite and interesting structures in the garden, which has building material a line of green spaces protrudes. Depending on the desired result, a hedge of plants can be designed in the form of a low border or, conversely, in the form of a high green wall. When selecting subshrubs and shrubs for this purpose, it is necessary to take into account the following parameters:
It is also worth noting that for a low hedge, low-growing ornamental shrubs for the garden are selected.
Crops for a green fence
Beginners are advised to give preference to shade-tolerant and non-capricious specimens that do not require daily soil moisture. If we consider coniferous shrubs for creating a hedge, then the dwarf forms of thuja, spruce or juniper will be ideal for this purpose.
A green fence can also be created from climbing plants, and this will take little time. Aubert's Highlander is suitable for creating such a hedge. This vine is one of the fastest growing, growing up to one and a half meters in length in one season. The liana is unpretentious to the soil, but often needs pruning; it blooms with dense white inflorescences. And it is also worth considering that the vine requires pre-installed strong support.
Hops acts as both a climbing vine and a shrub. This plant is frost-resistant, unpretentious, prefers moist soil, and does not need frequent pruning. The plant produces beautiful medium-sized cones that only add to the beauty of the bright green and dense foliage. Hops also need strong and reliable support and garter.
Ornamental bushes are most often planted in the fall, before the onset of frost. Ornamental shrubs for the Moscow region, photos with names of which were indicated above, can be planted in early spring, when just starting to wake up there are buds on the trees, but the snow has already melted. The holes for spring planting are prepared in the fall. At this time, fertilizers are applied, the depth and width of the recess for a certain type of shrub is calculated.
It is recommended to purchase seedlings from reliable suppliers, nurseries, as well as trusted online stores, where many different crops are presented in catalogs alphabetically. Before planting in the soil, the plants must be kept in water for several hours, to which growth stimulants are added in advance.
Bushy plants are distributed almost throughout the planet. There are wild plants, as well as cultivated plants grown by the person who cares for them.
The flowers of the shrub with this name are small, collected in beautiful spherical large inflorescences of the “panicle” type. They are usually white in color, but blue, pink, lilac and red are also found.
The color directly depends on the pH value in the soil. Hydrangea is a shade-loving plant; direct sunlight adversely affects its growth: it slows down, and the flowers become small and inconspicuous.
Flowering shrubs can delight you with their blooms and aroma all season long. They are ideal for decorating your backyard.
Flowering shrubs are among the most whimsical forms. In order for flowering to be abundant and long, it is important to provide the plants described with the correct nutrition, otherwise you may not get buds at all.
So, in spring, any plants, including bushes, require nitrogen. This will allow them to build up the necessary vegetative mass. But in subsequent feedings it is important to add a small amount of this element. Starting from the second half of summer, it is generally not recommended to apply nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
To get large, beautiful buds, you need to feed the shrubs with potassium and phosphorus. Can be used mineral supplements in the form of superphosphates and potassium sulfate, or prepare an ash solution. Additionally, we recommend watering flowering bushes with a solution of boric acid.
Fruit and berry bush plants
Many of these varieties are very common in our country. Their fruits and berries are very tasty and healthy; they are used to make compotes, jams, jellies and other preparations for the winter.
Examples of fruit and berry bushes:
Raspberries. A wonderful berry crop, popular among gardeners. In the wild on river banks and in forests. The stems can reach a height of 2.5 m.
Raspberries bear fruit until frost, the fruits have a rich red color. But there are some varieties that are yellow or even black in color. This plant requires regular feeding, watering and tying up.
It is unlikely that now there is a summer cottage where there is not a single bush. They are a universal garden decoration; they can form separate compositions, be a hedge or a border framing paths and flower beds. Before purchasing ornamental plants for your site, you need to familiarize yourself with the names of the shrubs, choose the most interesting specimens, taking into account the purpose and timing of planting each of them.
Beautiful flowering plants
Presence of beautiful flowering shrubs transforms any garden area. Names of cultivated shrubs with beautiful flowers that will improve any garden area:
- Lilac. This shrub has become widespread for its unusually beautiful flowering and pleasant aroma. A favorite crop for breeders, who have bred a huge number of varieties. A very unpretentious, winter-hardy crop, it grows even in the northern regions.
- Rhododendron. An unusually beautiful shrub that blooms for a long time. Rhododendron requires organically rich soil to grow properly. It can freeze in cold winters, so it is suitable for growing only in the southern regions.
- Jasmine (mock orange). Ornamental plant with white fragrant flowers collected in brushes. Mock orange is demanding of light; flowering stops in shade. It loves moisture; when the soil dries out, the leaves begin to wither sharply, but after watering they quickly recover.
- Spirea. Ornamental plant with clusters of lilac and white flowers. A wide variety of varieties - from tall to dwarf specimens. It grows strongly and is formed into low, lush bushes by periodic pruning. U different types Spiraea have different flowering periods; you can choose varieties for planting so that they bloom from spring to late autumn.
- Buddleya. The height of the bush can reach 3 meters. Elongated inflorescences resemble lilacs. The pleasant aroma of buddleia attracts many butterflies to the dacha. Inflorescences form on almost every shoot; the entire bush resembles a lilac cloud. It is easily propagated by seeds, grows quickly, and already in the second year the bush appears in all its glory. In cold winters, covering with spruce branches and insulating the roots (hilling) is required.
- Shrub rose. The hardiest variety in the Rosaceae family. Beautiful flowers with an exquisite aroma have made this shrub very popular among gardeners. The only drawback is that bush roses bloom only briefly once a season.
- Hydrangea. A distinctive feature of hydrangea is its ability to change color during the flowering period. The snow-white flowers first turn pink and then dark burgundy.
Evergreen species
Evergreens are an excellent option for decorating a garden plot and creating a cozy atmosphere at any time of the year. The most common types of evergreen shrub plants:
- Barberry. An unpretentious evergreen forest shrub is popular among gardeners. It can grow in any soil, in shade and in windy areas. The branches are spiny, and the purple-red fruits of the barberry are edible. Thunberg barberry has become widespread in gardening with extraordinary beautiful leaves(yellowish, bright red and purple-brown). It is used in the garden for zoning the territory and as a living fence.
- Heather. A small shrub with beautiful purple flowers. An unpretentious plant that can grow normally in poor soils. It grows strongly, so heather should be planted over a large area. In hot weather it needs watering.
- Boxwood. Popular among landscape designers for its special decorativeness and pliability in pruning. Picturesque hedges and borders are easily formed from boxwood.
Wild and fruit trees
In the wild there are both flowering and fruit bushes. Many forest plants are known to everyone; they have long been settled in summer cottages: barberry, viburnum, lilac, cotoneaster, euonymus, honeysuckle, raspberry, rose hip, magnolia.
List of popular types and brief description:
- Quince. An unpretentious shrub with thorny branches and very bright red flowers. The fruits have a pleasant aroma and contain a large amount of vitamins.
- Aronia chokeberry. A tall tree with white-cream flowers, aroma reminiscent of almonds. In autumn, when chokeberry leaves turn orange, clusters of black berries appear. Prefers to grow in sunny areas.
- Hawthorn. A thorny tree that grows up to 8 meters. It blooms at the end of May, the fruits appear in the fall, collected in clusters of 10-25 pieces. Hawthorn is propagated by seeds and grafting. The seeds take a very long time to germinate; grafted hawthorn grows faster and begins to bear fruit in the third year. The fruits have long been used in folk medicine and for the manufacture of medicines.
- Honeysuckle. Large beautiful flowers, edible purple berries. Looks very nice on garden plot. Honey plant.
- Kalina. A tall shrub with white, fragrant flowers and bitter fruits. Very healthy fruits become edible after frost. The shrub is unpretentious to the soil, winter-hardy, and shade-tolerant.
- Buckthorn. Elongated elliptical leaves, greenish-white flowers that are not immediately visible among the leaves. Buckthorn berries are poisonous; the bark of the tree is used for medicinal purposes.
- Rose hip. A low, thorny shrub with single pink flowers. Sweet and sour berries, which ripen in August, are significantly superior in vitamin content to the fruits of many other plants.
Shrubs for the Moscow region
Separately, it is worth highlighting the beautiful frost-resistant shrubs for the Moscow region and central Russia. The weather in the Moscow region is characterized by frequent vagaries.
In winter there can be severe frosts down to -30°C, and in summer the temperature rises to +35°C. Not all plants will withstand such conditions.
Shrubs that are not afraid of cold winters:
- sea buckthorn;
- heather;
- Japanese quince;
- hazel;
- viburnum;
- honeysuckle;
- Holly mahonia.
The main thing in caring for frost-resistant shrubs- annually carry out sanitary pruning, do not allow water to stagnate at the roots, and in the fall add mulch to the tree trunks, which will protect the roots from freezing.
To personal plot has pleased its owners for many years, it is necessary not only to correctly place shrubs on the territory, but also to learn how to combine them with other elements of garden design: architectural buildings, ponds, and other groups of plants.