Garden timesaversTrees and shrubs

Grow shrubs

Pieris japonica 'Grayswood'

Shrubs save you time as you only have to design and plant an area once and it can last up to 20 years with little more than the occasional bit of pruning. Choose a range of different sizes, shapes, leaf and flower colours and select plants that have their main display at different times of year, to ensure year-round interest.

All the shrubs we list are attractive over a long period, not fussy about their growing conditions, aren’t particularly susceptible to pests or diseases and require only simple pruning.

Evergreen foliage

Choisya
Escallonia
Fatsia
Hebe 'Red Edge', H. pinguifolia 'Pagei'
Ilex crenata 'Golden Gi'
Viburnum davidii

Colourful foliage

Aucuba
Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea'
Camellia
Eleagnus x ebbingei 'Gilt Edge', E. pungens 'Maculata'
Euonymus
Photinia
Pieris

Autumn and winter colour

Amelanchier
Cornus alba
Cotoneaster congestus, C. horizontalis, C. lacteus, C. microphyllus
Erica
Nandina (heavenly bamboo)
Pyracantha
Rosa rubrifolia
Skimmia
Viburnum tinus

Good flower display

Amelanchier
Brachyglottis
Camellia
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus
Ceratostigma
Chaenomeles
Cistus x argenteus 'Silver Pink'
Erica
Fuchsia magellanica
Genista hispanica, G. lydia
Hypericum 'Hidcote', H. 'Rowallane'
Olearia (daisy bush)
Perovskia
Potentilla fruticosa
Rosa rugosa
Spiraea japonica
Syringa microphylla
Viburnum plicatum

Scented flowers

Abelia x grandiflora
Lavandula
Mahonia
Osmanthus
Viburnum x bodnatense

Opt for easy-care trees

Magnolia liliflora

Trees are the lowest maintenance plants of all, and a single specimen such as an acer (Acer davidii, A. palmatum), Himalayan birch (Betula utilis), magnolia, crab apple (malus), sorbus or winter-flowering cherry (Prunus x subhirtella) can provide a year-round focal point.

Hedge your bets

Plan your hedgetrimming to minimise work. Trim very fast-growing hedges (Leyland cypress, lonicera and privet) monthly from May to August. This keeps the hedge looking great and the quantity of trimmings manageable.

Most other hedges (beech, euonymus, hawthorn or yew) need only one trim a year, once they’ve finished growing in August or September.