Enjoying your Garden

Enjoying the outdoor life in your garden can be great, but if your not to keen on high maintaince gardens, then long blooming shrubs are for you!

Abelia – lovely fragrant flowers that will continue blooming till frost.

Bluebeard Spirea - or ‘blue-mist shrub’ is a compact, mounding shrub with fragrant powder blue flowers. It has a long blooming season.

Butterfly-bush (Buddleja, Buddleia) this flowers throughout the summer into autumn. This is a great shrub to use near patios or deckings with its sweet fragrance and the butterflies that this shrub attracts.

Chastetree (Vitex agnus-castus) this shrub flowers from June or July through September with fragrant attractive pale violet blooms.

Crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia) handsome shrubs or small trees, these flower June - September. This is a beautiful shrub which blooms all summer, covered in pink, red, white or lavender blooms.

Encore Azaleas dispite the name, these differ from other Azaleas. This plant certainly does give an encore as its brightly colored plants do. They flower in spring, form new growth and repeat the blooming in late summer into autumn when the added color is so appreciated.

Gardenia (G. jasminoides) or Cape Jasmine is a small shrub only growing up to 5 inches and flowers in May, June and July with strongly fragrant flowers.

Hibiscus the more tropical types tend to be grown as indoor plants or potted plants on decking in the summer. Most will flower summer into autumn with large, vibrant blooms.

Hydrangea there are several types but especially the Bigleaf Hydrangeas (H. macrophylla), flower from early summer into autumn.

Roses flowers spring through frost and can be low maintenance, there are so many varieties to choose from including many different colours and sizes.

Sweetspire, Virginia Sweetspire or Virginia-willow (Itea virginica), with a new dwarf variety e.g. 'Henry's Garnet' and 'Little Henry' bloom about 4 weeks in the summer when few shrubs or trees are in bloom. It is a deep fragrance and beautiful autumn colors, they continue to give even when not in flower.

With all the focus on out door living and smaller gardens using a variety of shrubs on patios, decking, landscape or in raised containers can have a tremendous effect. It only takes a few minutes of time and minimal effort to gain incredible color all season. Make your garden inevitable and enjoyable all year round.