Using Shrubs to the Best Advantage

Shrubs are a very important in the natural environment -- providing shelter and food for a variety of animals and birds. But they are often underutilized...

Fallugia paradoxa
Item # 51450 		Fallugia paradoxa
Apache Plume

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
New Mexico Privot
Item # 52550 		Forestiera neomexicana
New Mexico Privet

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Rhus trilobata 'Autumn Amber'
Item # 82561 		Rhus trilobata 'Autumn Amber'
Creeping Three-Leaf Sumac

Each $7.99
3 or more $7.79
  • Topic: Trees & Shrubs
  • Author: Mary Ann Walz
  • Keywords: shrubs, shelter, food, animals, birds, landscapes, design element, visual interest
  • Date: September 2006

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Shrubs are a very important in the natural environment—providing shelter and food for a variety of animals and birds. But they are often underutilized in many otherwise creatively designed landscapes. As a design element shrubs provide the medium height in a garden and help blend the differences between trees, herbaceous plants and grass lawns.
But the woody branches of shrubs also provide more fullness. This fullness is what often gives a garden that established look and also provides visual interest during the winter.

Attributes of Shrubs

  • Create the understory—In any landscape, it’s important to have variation in heights. Shrubs provide the intermediate height between the taller trees and the shorter plants. Shrubs also come in a wide range of sizes, from short and wide to narrow and tall. Select shrubs with their mature size in mind and allow plenty of space for them.
  • Provide food and shelter—Many shrubs have berries that are attractive to birds. They also provide shelter for birds. Many have nectar-rich flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. If you want to attract birds to your garden, shrubs are an important element.
  • Flowers and berries provide seasonal interest—What would spring be without the welcoming blooms of Forsythias and Lilacs? Just as these signal the arrival of warm weather, other shrubs provide fragrant and colorful blooms during spring and summer; some even have the added bonus of producing berries later in the season. Many berries remain on shrubs through the winter adding a bit of color to an otherwise brown landscape.
  • Woody structure creates interest—The benefit of shrubs’ woody structure shows after the leaves have fallen. Some shrubs such as dogwoods have colorful stems of red, yellow or purple. New Mexico Privet has interesting branching structure and a pretty creamy color bark which brightens any landscape. The contorted branches found in the Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick might be thought of as a curiosity, but they definitely lend intrigue. Keep any pruned branches to use in floral arrangements.

A Few Favorites

My favorite shrubs are those that are fairly low maintenance and easy to grow. Also, I tend to favor things that have a dual purpose of providing design interest at the same time they attract birds.

  • Fallugia paradoxa (Apache Plume) is one of the very best shrubs for a native landscape. It is extremely drought tolerant and has pretty white flowers throughout the summer. The seed heads, however, are its greatest glory with pink feather-like plumes covering the tips of branches.
  • Rhus trilobata (Three Leaf Sumac) has small yellow flowers followed by berries that attract birds but the gorgeous red and orange of its foliage in the fall is its greatest attribute. A shorter version, Rhus aromatica ‘Gro Low’ only grows to about three feet in height. Another small version is Rhus trilobata ‘Autumn Amber’ and is only 18 inches tall and has a pretty yellow color in the fall. Use this shrub is areas where a groundcover is needed.
  • Forestiera neomexicana (New Mexico Privet) is a tall shrub or prune it into a multi-trunked small tree. Its branching structure has great character and it looks good against a wall. The female plants have berries that birds love.
  • Cercocarpus ledifolius (Curl-Leaf or Evergreen Mahogany) can grow about twelve feet high but can also be pruned and used as a small multi-trunked tree. As its name implies, it keeps its leaves in the winter. This shrub requires some pruning if placed in a small area.

Fall is a great time to plant most shrubs. The cooler air and less intense sun helps get their roots established while the soil is still warm. Check your landscape for a few places where shrubs might be used to best advantage for fullness and a haven for birds.