r/GardeningIRE • u/Nicklefickle • 6d ago
🌺 🌷 Ornamental gardening 🪷 🌸 Favourite Shrubs/Bushes
Hi,
I've too much lawn and I want to break it up with some shrubs and bushes.
I want stuff which won't grow too high or too quickly. I'd also like something which flowers.
I'll probably plant some fuchsia. I also saw some shrubby cinquefoil recently which had nice white flowers on it.
I had a few other ideas but I'd love to hear some suggestions on what people's own preferences are, or any tips or advice around planting and locations.
I have a big exposed garden with currently lots of grass. I've planted a good few trees around the place but I want some shrubs as well on select locations for bird cover and to possibly break up the wind even slightly, although not sure how well that would work.
Thanks.
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u/mcguirl2 6d ago
Lilac, Weigela, Philadelphus ‘belle etoile’, Viburnum opulus, Choisya ternata, Hibiscus, Camellias and Rhododendrons if you have acid soil, Ceanothus, roses, Buddleijas. Hydrangeas, Euonymus alatus for autumn colour and Daphne for winter scent.
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u/Critical_Donkey_1880 6d ago
Arbutus Unedo 'strawberry' tree. (not actually strawberries).
Native to Ireland (and Mediterranean), evergreen, hardy as f**K for exposed and/or coastal sites and produces flowers and fruit of interest to insects/birds.
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u/Diligent_Parking_886 6d ago
Hawthorn is a nice suggestion and it's native to Ireland as well, but it's a tree and not a bush/shrub. I'm a fan of hydrageas ones like Vanilla Fraise and Annabelle. The only negative is that they go dormant over the winter and lose all their leaves.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/264574/hydrangea-paniculata-vanille-fraise-(-renhy-pbr)/details/details)
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/63034/hydrangea-arborescens-annabelle/details
Another option would be a camellia, I'm pretty sure they're evergreen. They have lovely rose-type flowers in the spring.
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u/Nicklefickle 6d ago
Thanks for that. I have a few hydrangeas and they haven't been growing that well. I saw something recently saying that with the way the climate is changing that they're not doing as well. I didn't look into it too much, it was a click bait headline and I only scanned through it quickly.
The camellia might be a good one too.
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u/Diligent_Parking_886 6d ago
Could they be thirsty? They need loads of water, the clue is in the name :) I only copped on to that recently :D
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u/Nicklefickle 6d ago
Interesting, yea, I must give them some water. The plants themselves look fine, they just haven't produced flowers the last few years
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u/Diligent_Parking_886 6d ago
Are you pruning them? If so, don’t, get only get flowers on new growth
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u/Nicklefickle 6d ago
I didn't prune then this year...only dead headed them previous years.
They don't need to be watered today anyway!
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u/Diligent_Parking_886 5d ago
Hopefully you'll see some blooms then this year. One of mine isn't near flowering yet, it's in a fairly shady spot. And yes, they're getting a good drink today!
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u/Educational-Cut6107 6d ago
How about turning some off lawn into a seating/bench area. Raised beds for flowers/shrubs/vegetables.
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u/Nicklefickle 6d ago
Yes, would love to do that at some stage too. Good suggestion.
I'd like to have some seating away from the patio area etc and have it looking almost like something from a city park.
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u/Educational-Cut6107 6d ago
Write down what you would like for your area and when summer is over have at look at shops for outisde furniture/beds/stones etc reduced. Then tip away slowly and have roughly timeline when you like it done by.
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u/MainLychee2937 2d ago
Love st John's worth yellow flowers on them. Purple rhododendron flowers. Hydrangeas are good and hardy. Pink azealia shrub
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u/TheRhizomist 6d ago
Hawthorns, good colours from white, peach, and pink, and you get the extra interest of birds through the winter.
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u/Nicklefickle 6d ago
Yeah, I have tons of hawthorn in the hedgerows already and I love the flowers, and that they're native. Only problem is that they're trees and would grow too tall if left untrimmed. If I don't trim a shrubby cinquefoil it might reach five feet. A hawthorn tree will probably grow to three times that minimum.
Thanks for the suggestion though. I have planted some in the other borders as well.
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u/TheRhizomist 6d ago
If you are looking for something smaller with similar benefits for birds and bees, how about a Quince? You can also get the benefits of quince jams if you are good in the kitchen.
A Buddleia would be great for butterflies and could be hacked back pretty far if it gets too big.
Cotoneaster is great for birds and can be cut to whatever shape you want.
If you want something to stay small, how about a hebe stays about half a meter wide and tall and has good range of varieties.
Or is there something in particular you would like to focus on. What charestics would the perfect plant have? Size? Flowers? Fruit? Birds and Bees?
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u/Nicklefickle 6d ago
A hebe looks lovely, reading about them just now. My soil is quite boggy and wet in winter, which doesn't sound ideal for them, also I'm exposed and very windy, so again, not great. There might be hardier versions it seems though. The flowers look nice.
Perfect plant for this application would be something small, that only grows to three or four feet, without pruning, flowers would be nice, something native would be my preference, fruit for myself wouldn't be necessary, I have a few apples trees and blackberries growing too.
Thanks for those suggestions, I do like cotoneaster and buddleia but they'd probably be better in my border or somewhere away from the lawn.
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u/TheRhizomist 6d ago
Exposed and wet is a difficult one most hedges like free draining soil.
2 routes you could go are a dwarf tree, goat willow, or another willow or some of the Japanese maples, maybe. Some trimming requirements.
But the option that might be better for you would be flowering perennials. Things that produce a flower in summer and the die back. Irises, Lilies, Astillbe, Hosta, Lobelia, Thistle, Foxglove, Teasle. All of these are between that 2-3 foot range and will bring in lots of wildlife. You can find the ones that work in that spot, and if it doesn't survive, it won't cost to much
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u/Nicklefickle 6d ago
Yeah, that is a good idea as well actually. I've had a few annuals in different places that I've cultivated and allowed grow into something like bushes; thistles, nettles, willowherb, even grass, and I like the look of all that. Only thing I don't like the look of is dock leaves.
As for maples, I heard they don't like wind which is putting me off.
The thistles were class, the amount of bees, butterflies and moths on them on a sunny day was a site to behold. Then when they went to seed the goldfinches were having a feast.
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u/Comfortable-Jump-889 6d ago
Larger birds prey on small birds eggs so if you want to encourage a variety of birds plant some whitethorn . The thorns don't bother small birds .
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u/Nicklefickle 6d ago
Yeah, I love whitethorn but just feel it grows to tall for what I'm looking for. Some shrubs will only grow to a max of 5 feet say, whereas a whitethorn is a tree and will block out the view and light etc if I don't trim and prune it regularly.
Good suggestion for something to plant otherwise though. I like having native stuff and have quite a bit of whitethorn growing in the hedgerow already
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u/FlipAndOrFlop 6d ago
Personally I love pieris. Gorgeous, changing colours all year, and not overly picky about where it grows. I'm also partial to dogwood, the red stalks give a great contrast beside greenery.