Picking The Perfect Garden Shrubs

Choosing the right shrubs for your yard can be a rather frustrating experience. There are so many plants to choose from at your local garden center; how do you know that you are picking the right one for your situation?

The key is to find out as much information about the site where you plan to plant your shrubs as you can before you go shopping. That means you need to observe the spot and record how much sun the area gets and at what time of day, how dry the soil is, what other plants are around and perhaps even the pH or nutrient levels in the soil (these can be determined with the help of an inexpensive test kit available at any garden supply store).

You should also take time to evaluate your needs and desires in the shrubs you plant. Are you looking for something that will provide you with greenery all year long? Do you want a shrub that produces flowers or berries, that changes color in the fall, or that keeps a compact shape? All of these issues can be taken into consideration when choosing the right shrubs for your yard.

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When you have thought about all of these factors you might come up with a list that describes your perfect plant: it thrives in full sun, has flowers, can tolerate dry conditions and looks natural in the landscape. Or, it needs to live in shade under an large tree and be evergreen.

Armed with your list of requirements, head to the Internet or your nearest garden center. Searching for your listed terms in a search engine will give you some ideas. For example, typing in full sun, drought tolerant flowering shrub you'll find choices like abelia, acacia, bougainvillea, butterfly bush, lavender, oleander and many more.

A search for a shade evergreen shrub will get you results such as the holly fern, dwarf bamboo, boxwood, holly and others.

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The trouble with going to the Internet for your information about planting is that you will mostly find only general information like that provided on this site. General information is fine as long as you are fully aware of both the USDA plant hardiness zone in your area and that of the shrubs you are thinking about planting.

If you don't know this information (which is also pretty easily found on the Internet), a visit to the local garden store can be a big help. Garden centers only stock plants that grow where they are. It makes no sense to sell people plants that won't survive the local conditions. Take your list of requirements to your favorite local garden shop and find the section of plants most like what you need in terms of sun or shade.

Then you can narrow down your selection based on which plants flower, are evergreen, like drought or whatever else you needed. If you don't see what you need, ask. The folks at garden supply shops and nurseries mostly love what they do and enjoy sharing their expertise with others. They don't want to see you pick out the wrong plant any more than you do.

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