Set it off with shrubs

For many people, the cottage garden look is the fantasy.

One for the plant-lovers, it involves packing your outdoor space with a huge variety of summer-flowering perennials and annuals.

But while they look glorious in May, June and July, they can be a little lacking the rest of the year.
This is where shrubs can come to the rescue.

In our January edition we extolled the virtues of trees and hedging, and the next stage to developing the framework of your garden is with carefully placed evergreen shrubs.

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PIERIS
Also known as ‘Lily of the Valley Shrub’ thanks to the delightful fragrance of their bee-friendly spring flowers. Many have colourful leaves, especially in spring when striking red tips appear. Suitable for large planters as well as borders.

SKIMMIA
Skimmias are best known for their red buds, on display throughout winter. No one-trick ponies, they also have fragrant flowers in spring, and can produce berries too. And some actually have lime-white buds! Plant in full or part-shade in reliably moist soils.

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Evergreens are plants that keep their leaves all year round, making them a permanent feature in the garden.

They aren’t all green - some have leaves in shades of reds, purples, golds or silvers - so it is up to you if you want them simply as backdrops to enhance the plants around them or if you want your shrubs to be features in their own right.

They can help you achieve whatever look you want, from naturalistic to exotic to formal, depending on what you use. Pay attention to shapes and textures too - variety in the garden isn’t just about colours and flowers.

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VIBURNUM TINUS
The Viburnum family is wide and varied, providing flowers at most times of year. The ‘tinus’ types are the evergreens and are a superb choice if you are looking for something larger. Happy in sun or shade they flower and berry for a long period over the cooler months.

EUONYMUS
If you want a reliable plant that will get on with it without fuss or bother, you probably want a Euonymus. Most have gold or silver edging to their leaves but there is a lot of variation when  it comes to habit. Some carpet, some are vigorous uprights, while others form neat mounds.

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The evergreen shrubs are among the most low-maintenance plants you can have, perhaps wanting an annual prune after flowering, but rarely more.

Check the ultimate height of any shrub before you buy it - most can be pruned to size but your gardening life will be much easier if you just pick a plant that fits!


Low-growing and carpeting evergreen shrubs can help keep down the weeds, while taller types can make your garden feel more secluded from the outside world.

As with all plants choose shrubs that will thrive in the soil in your garden - for example clay, sandy or damp - and factor in light levels too.