IN THIS GUIDE

I find that low - growing shrubs can be very useful to create flat coat covering fire in beds or borderline or to create low boundary hedges between different percentage of your garden .

When choose cautiously they can be very useful , tot up interest and invoke to your garden all year - round .

small low-growing shrub in a woodland area in the sunlight

To pin down down your choices moderately , the first thing to think of include :

You will also need to consider where and how exactly you would care to grow your crushed - growing shrubs .

I typically use low - produce and small shrubs in the garden for :

shrubs with low growing foliage in a woodland setting

“ When planting low - maturate shrubs in your garden , you have a swell opportunity to knit together the subsist planting by using a selection technique called ‘ something unlike , something the same ' ” share Horticultural Consultant Dan Ori .

“ For example , if you have aWeigela florida‘Nana Variegata ’ in your borderline , you could then plant the blue blossom variegated leafVinca major‘Variegata ’ near it .

“ After , flora something else blue or variegated to play off theVinca majorand something pink to meet theWeigela florida . ”

Ceanothus thyrsiflorus var. Repens with small blue flowers growing outdoors

Once you have decide how you would care to apply diminished shrubs and where you will be growing them , you could begin to intend about how the shrub might look throughout the year .

turn over when they have their chief season of interest , and also , what the shrub might offer for you , wildlife , and other plants turn in your garden .

Any list of low - growing and small shrubs must of course be highly selective , but here are fifteen of my favored picks for interest and usefulness throughout the year :

Cytisus × beanii plant with lots of yellow flowers growing in front of green grass

Shrubs For Spring Interest

Ceanothus can be a useful plantbecause it is not only beautiful , with sensational dispirited flowers , but it also fixes nitrogen.1Russell , S. , & Evans , H. ( 1967 , June).The Nitrogen - Fixing Capacity of Ceanothus velutinus . Oxford Academic : Forest Science . Retrieved March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://academic.oup.com/forestscience/article-abstract/12/2/164/4709415

This can potentially be good for other plants growing tight by .

It is also a great ground cover plant for sheltered and cheery view , as it grows well on slope and can reach up to around 90 centimeter in height .

Genista tinctoria with tall stems and small yellow flowers growing outdoors

I have a large Ceanothus at the metrical unit of my garden and it is perfectly swarming with bee when in flower ( unremarkably at the beginning of June ) .

While this usually only last a few weeks , it typically flowers again in late September – though I must intromit this blush is far less showy than its other summertime show .

In the Fabaceae flora family , Bean ’s ling is another atomic number 7 - fixing plant.2Wheeler , C. , Helgerson , O. , Perry , D. , & Gordon , J. ( 1987 , April).Nitrogen Fixation and Biomass Accumulation in Plant Communities Dominated by Cytisus scoparius L. in Oregon and Scotland . JSTOR . Retrieved March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/2403800

Skimmia japonica ‘Nymans’ with red berries growing outdoors with trees and a blue sky behind it

It is a semi - prostrate shrub which can be grown even in orbit with poor soils , in loose - draining conditions in full sun .

With its green , linear leaves and bright , cheerful yellow flowers that bloom in late spring or former summer , it can be useful for a range of mountains of crafty garden spots .

Another atomic number 7 - fixing shrub is commonly known as ‘ dyer greenweed ’ .

Vinca major ‘Variegata’ with purple flowers growing outdoors in the ground

As the name suggests , this industrial plant is also utile for a good calibre yellow dye obtained from its flowers and young shoots.3Dyeing with Dyer ’s Greenweed . ( n.d . ) . Wild Colours Natural Dyes . recall March 21 , 2023 , fromhttp://www.wildcolours.co.uk/html/greenweed.html

Placing the works around 45 cm apart can give good ground cover .

It is also not only ornamental but also gravid for wildlife in your garden .

Caryopteris × clandonensis ‘Heavenly Blue’ with small purple blooms growing in the sun

It spring up well in lighter and even pitiful soil in a sunny status and is H6 intrepid .

There are a turn of smaller Skimmias that can be great choices if you are see for a small and low - grow shrub .

‘ Nymans ’ is one swell option to regard .

a purple flowering Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ plant growing in a garden in front of a metal fence

It has narrow-minded , oval , dark green , evergreen leafage and bears clump of livid flowers in spring , as well as brilliant red berry in autumn .

It is cracking for attracting wildlife to your garden in moist but well - drained filth or grow medium in full or partial shade .

This evergreen sub - bush has beautiful , variegated foliation and purple blossom which open from spring to autumn .

Ruta graveolens ‘Jackman’s Blue’ with yellow flowers and small green leaves growing outside

It is H6 intrepid in the UK .

It is ideal for a vast cooking stove of situations , from full sun through to full shade and can go around to create an excellent soil cover .

For exercise , I would typically useVinca majoras a good choice forcreating blanket below deciduous trees .

Rosmarinus officinalis with little purply-blue flowers and pine shaped leaves outdoors

Shrubs For Summer Interest

This beautiful bush with small blue efflorescence that bloom in the tardy summertime and into autumn is a gravid choice for a sheltered and detached - draining situation in full sunlight .

It is H4 hardy and is a unspoilt picking for attracting pollinator and other good insects to your garden .

‘ Heavenly Blue ’ particularly will flourish in a lowly court garden , in a container , or in a placement near a sunny , tender wall .

Thymus vulgaris plant with small white flowers growing in a garden bed outdoors

Lavender is one of the considerably - known low shrub .

It can be perfect in full sun and complimentary - draining weather condition , for create bed abut or for arise alongside pathways .

Lavender is wonderful for wildlife and also has a wide scope of function inside your family .

a pink flowering Erica x darleyensis ‘Darley Dale’ growing outside

ruefulness can be an splendid companion plant for yield trees , fruiting shrubs , and roses , amongst others .

It will grow in any moderately prolific and well - drained grunge in full sun or partial shade , and is also H5 stalwart .

‘ Jackman ’s Blue ’ is one democratic cultivar to deal .

Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’ with variegated leaves and small white flowers

It has traditionally been think of as skilful for force back certain pest species which is why it is ordinarily used as a familiar plant.4Tirreell , R. ( 1973 , July 29).Rue and Tansy Protect Crops As Natural Insecticides . The New York Times . Retrieved March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025-02-17/archives/rue-and-tansy-protect-crops-as-natural-insecticides.html

Rosemaryis of course a well - get laid Mediterranean culinary herbaceous plant .

It can also be utile , like lavender , for making depleted hedgerow , and can be good as a companion works in sure situations .

Gaultheria procumbens with green leaves and red berries growing outdoors

It thrives in full sun , in free drain status , and is H4 sturdy .

Another low shrub which is alsoa culinary herbaceous plant is thyme .

There are many dissimilar cultivar and type to choose from .

close-up of the yellow flowers of the Mahonia aquifolium ‘Apollo’ plant

Thyme can often be a great selection for the front of beds or borders , and for creating ground masking in a cheery and free - draining dapple .

Shrubs For Autumn & Winter Interest

Winter heathersare other small shrubs which can be wonderful in a compass of setting , flowering at a time of the year when there are often few blooms uncommitted .

They add winter pastime to your garden and also fetch benefit for former pollinator .

Here are my five favourite :

Potentilla fruticosa plant with yellow small flowers growing outside

‘ Darley Dale ’ is one attractive cultivar to reckon .

It has pink and white tip leaf in leap , and pink flowers borne from previous winter into early spring .

produce it in full sun , in well - run out territory or rise intermediate .

A great bush and foliage plant for full sun or fond spectre , Euonymus fortuneioffers beautiful rounded folio with white margins , which are pink - tinged in the winter .

It is H5 hardy and can spread out to create an fantabulous ground top .

broad of lop , this shrub is one of my favorite as it can also make a great schematic low hedgerow .

This little evergreen shrub , also known as wintergreen , and by a range of other names , has leathery leaves , fragrant when smash , which take on a reddish blush in wintertime .

The plant has small Vanessa Stephen - shaped flowers in white or pink in summertime , followed by promising red berries .

This is an excellent plant for ground cover in moist but well - drained acid or inert soil in full or fond refinement , and it is H5 hardy .

This bush is also great for wildlife .

This is a compact cultivar of the bush known as ‘ oregon grape ’ .

It has leaves which take on a somewhat purple chromaticity in winter and stick out bright yellow flowers in previous wintertime and into early spring , which are followed by comestible berry .

A big selection for full or fond spook , this small bush work very well in a forest garden like mine or in a forest setting .

H7 hardy and capable to cope with a across-the-board range of conditions , shrubby cinquefoil can be a great pick for full Sunday or partial shade .

With flowers that are borne in early autumn , it can be smashing for pollinators and other wildlife .

This plant can work out well as an intimate low-toned hedge and some forms work well as ground cover .

Of naturally , these are just a few of the many , many options for low - maturate and belittled shrub that you could consider , but perhaps they may facilitate you obtain breathing in for your own garden .

References