Cait's Garden

As much as I love perennials, a garden would not be complete or successful to me without a strong base of shrubbery. Flowers are fickle and very seasonal. Shrubs and evergreens form the backbone that make my yard look complete and lush. While my patio is surrounded by flowers, the back and sides of my yard are anchored with shrubs. Our ugly chain link fence (inherited, not built by us) is camouflaged along the back of the yard by a line of Arborvitae. In front of those are Golden Vicary Privets because I love their bright lemon-lime foliage, a Dwarf Burning Bush for its fall color, and then Bridal Veil Spirea, Wine and Roses Weigela, and Limelight and Pinky Winky Hydrangeas for flowers all summer. Along the sides of the yard are Honeysuckles, Pussy Willows, Lilacs, Black Chokeberry bushes, even more Hydrangeas (Annabelles and Limelights), some Rose of Sharon, and a Ruby Spice Summersweet.  The new trend is to mix small shrubs directly into perennial beds. Many of the new dwarf hybrids are custom-made for this. So far, I have added Buddleia, Caryopteris (Blue Mist), Rose of Sharon, and Hydrangeas into the flower garden, as well as the new Orange Rocket Barberry. I have been pleased with the way they’ve filled out and grounded my flower beds. In fact, gardeners who don’t want to deal with perennials could do quite nicely designing with nothing but shrubs.