Today, homeowners are faced with more landscape options than ever before. While selection is a good thing, it can make landscaping a challenge if you don’t have the right tools and knowledge. We’re here to assist you with your Delaware and Columbus landscaping questions.
The process becomes a lot easier if you begin by asking what your shrubs’ main job is in your landscape scheme. There are hundreds of small trees and shrubs to choose from. Most of the time, we buy them for three basic reasons: to create shade, to offer privacy, or to add something aesthetically pleasing. These reasons aren’t mutually exclusive, but knowing your main priority goes a long way in choosing the right shrubs for you.
Shade for your landscape
If you’re looking for more shade in your yard, chances are that you’ll need to go on the larger end of the shrub scale or move up to a full tree. There are exceptions to this, however: If you’re shading a porch or patio, sometimes a shrub that grows only 10-13 feet tall can do a great job. That’s important because you don’t want large trees or their roots near your foundation. The rule of thumb is 8 feet from the house if a tree grows to 20 feet, and double that if it grows to 30 feet or more. Remember, you can do a lot with a little. As far as shade goes: A few large shrubs on the south and west sides of the house can actually reduce your air conditioning costs. Note that deciduous shrubs (shrubs that lose their leaves in the fall) have the reverse effect in winter, allowing more sun to reach the home.
Privacy for your lawn or landscape
When you want a natural privacy line, we recommend conifers. Conifers are easy to plant relatively close together, look great in clusters and produce a dense visual screen that lasts year round. But that doesn’t mean you have to use pine trees: for a less rugged look, consider evergreens like cedar and juniper.
Making your landscape beautiful
The sky’s the limit when it comes to beautiful shrubs. Whether you want the elegant shape of a dogwood or the perfume of a magnolia, your choice of shrubs will largely come down to personal preference. There are some universals: Mix and match your flowering shrubs so that you have flowers across the whole season, instead of just for a few weeks, and offset a single taller shrub with a pair of shorter ones around it.
Of course, there’s a lot more to be said about shrubs than this. What shrubs do you have in your yard? What are you favorite species?
Choosing the Right Shrubs for your landscape project