Using Shrubbery for Lawn Accents

When the word shrubbery is mentioned, one usually thinks of a green bush, such as evergreen or spruce. But shrubbery encompasses an entire area of cultivated shrubs, including clipped sculptures and landscape shrubs in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. When using shrubbery as lawn accents, you can add visual interest to your yard since landscape shrubs offer different types and textures of foliage, aroma, berries, and blooms. No matter the ambiance you are trying to achieve, you can achieve your result by landscaping with shrubbery. Follow these great tips to determine how to use shrubbery as yard accents:

• Take a look at your landscape and decide what areas need filler. It's a good idea to sketch with paper and pencil your present landscape, and then use colored pencils to draw where you'd like to plant new shrubs.
• Keep in mind that the shrubs you buy at the nursery are not mature, and will grow considerably in some cases. For instance, some varieties of hydrangea grow to as tall as eight feet at maturity, so it would be better to plant that species as a privacy hedge, rather than as a border for a sidewalk. When planning your landscape, take into consideration the height of the shrubs when they are mature, and then draw them into your design.
• If you know the size of shrubs you want, yet you are unsure as to how large or small they will grow, talk with the staff at your local nursery, or search online, at your library, or talk with your local agricultural extension office for some pointers on which shrubs grown best in your zone.
• Always follow the directions when planting your shrubs, and add compost to the soil before planting.

If you've a flower bed in need of filler, add a creeping shrub such as juniper. Low bushy shrubs, such as the butterfly bush, lend superb coverage for the bare base of a front porch. You can plant larger shrubs close together to form a privacy hedge. When your shrubbery needs pruning, be selective and don't hack at the branches.