Beautiful, decorative, flowering, frost-resistant, low shrubs for summer cottages - consider everything. We will analyze in detail which unpretentious ornamental shrubs are best planted on suburban area Middle strip, Moscow region, North-West, Siberia and the Urals. And which one to choose is up to you.

Types of ornamental shrubs

All decorative bushes can be divided into deciduous and coniferous. Both are used in design. With the help of them, various tasks of landscape design are solved - space zoning, the creation of hedges, beautiful borders. In some cases, even single plantings of a flowering shrub look advantageous. Recently, the topiary haircut has been popular, so designers turn a shrub (of a certain type) into a sculpture in the literal sense.

Ornamental bushes of various shapes, types and sizes adorn gardens completely different style. Often the main factor is the placement of plants that are easy to cut.
For hedges, free-form or sheared shrubs are planted. To design the boundaries of the site - groups of tall specimens. And for zoning within a group of undersized and medium-sized plants. Via ornamental shrubs you can accent the passages and designate the gate.

Frost-resistant ornamental shrubs in the country

All the shrubs described here easily tolerate cold and often snowy winters, that is, they grow and bloom well in most regions and regions of Russia. A photo and a small description are given for each species, so that it is clear in in general terms what is a plant. Each of the shrubs is described in more detail on other pages of the site.

Deciduous shrubs in landscape design

Some of them are decorative throughout the season due to their beautiful foliage, and some are pleasing to the eye mainly during flowering.

Decorative deciduous shrubs for summer cottages

Unlike flowering counterparts, deciduous species remain attractive throughout the warm season. Many of them are extremely easy to grow, as they are frost-resistant, unpretentious and perfectly tolerate formative pruning.
Low-growing species - Fortune's euonymus, Thunberg's barberry. Sredneroslye - snowberry, privet. Tall - hawthorn, vesicle, derain, common barberry, rowanberry, red Japanese maple.

Barberry Thunberg

Unpretentious in care, not afraid of summer heat and drought, tolerates winter well, grows even on poor soils. It can serve as a decorative thorny hedge from uninvited guests. It has a high decorative effect due to the beauty of the leaves, tolerates forming pruning well. It has several varieties that differ in the shape and size of the crown and the color of the foliage:

• Atropurpurea Nana is the most popular purple-leaved dwarf variety;
• Red Pilar - has a columnar crown shape, and its reddish-purple foliage becomes scarlet by the end of the growing season;
• Golden Ring - the leaf plate of this variety has a coral color with a golden border around the edges, and the height reaches 3 meters;
• Aurea - reaches 1.5 m, leaves are golden or yellow;
• Kobold is a dwarf green-leaved variety with a ball-shaped crown. Can replace boxwood. Requires shelter for the winter;
• Green Carpet - the height of the bush reaches 50 cm, and the leaves are green in summer and red in autumn;
• Kornik - this variety of 1.5 meters in height goes well with roses and conifers. The leaves are green in summer with white spots, and in autumn green color turns red.

Deren

This shrub is always attractive, even without foliage, as its branches have a bright red color. Derain is unpretentious, shade-tolerant, frost-resistant, grows on almost any soil. Suitable for large areas, as the shrub is quite tall.
There are many varieties of sod:

• Elegantissima - with white-green leaves;
• Siberica Variegata - with reddish-green foliage with pink edging along the edges;
• Kesselring - with chameleon leaves of a brownish-pink hue with the addition of yellow and green colors.

Red Japanese Maple

Ornamental shrub with red leaves. Its foliage is bright green at first, turning reddish-orange and then red in autumn. This shrub looks great anywhere on the site, as it combines wonderfully with both conifers and ferns and, for example, hostas. Feels good in the shade.

The Japanese maple has many varieties, and each of them has an attractive foliage color in its own way:

• Aconitifolium - orange-red leaves;
• Vitifolium - carmine-red leaves;
• Atropurpureum - dark red, almost black-red foliage.

Fieldfare rowanberry

An unpretentious, fast-growing ornamental shrub with openwork leaves. The foliage has interesting feature A gradient is a transition from one shade to another. Orange, red, yellow, pinkish, green - all these colors blend smoothly with each other on one single leaf.
The highest decorative effect is observed closer to autumn. You can plant a bush both in a sunny place and in partial shade. Fertile soil is preferred. The plant does not like drought.

vesicle

It lends itself well to a haircut, so it is widely used in landscape design.
Depending on the variety, the vesicle has a completely different color of foliage:

• Diabolo - dark red, almost black leaves. In spring, its foliage has a lighter shade - carmine red, but then gradually darkens;
• Darts Gold - yellow-fiery leaves;
• Nugget - at first the foliage is yellow, and closer to autumn it turns green;
• Red-leaved - the leaves are scarlet in spring, and with the advent of cold weather they are maroon.

Variegated shrubs for the garden

Shrubs with variegated leaves with photos, names, descriptions.

Fortune's Euonymus

It's low evergreen shrub, originally from China. Its height does not exceed 60 cm. The foliage is very decorative - dark green with a white or yellow border, as seen in the photo. The plant forms fruits, but only in the southern regions, in the North the bush rarely blooms and bears fruit. This hardy plant, unpretentious, looks great both as a single element in the landscape of the site and as the main accent among a company that matches the color.

Flowering ornamental shrubs

All these plants have the highest decorative effect during flowering, the rest of the time they are, as a rule, ordinary garden bushes with green foliage. different shapes. However, they are attractive when well cared for.

forsythia

This shrub pleases the eye not only in early spring, when numerous yellow flowers bloom on its branches, but also in autumn, when the leaves turn golden, and sometimes purple-violet.

Spirea

An unpretentious and very beautiful shrub, blooming profusely and luxuriantly, with branches leaning to the ground. Some varieties of spirea have beautiful foliage, for example, Vangutta, Pink Ice. Spirea blooms in spring and summer, depending on the species.

Chubushnik

In the common people - jasmine. The most famous ornamental shrub. And they love him not only for the beauty during flowering, but also for the pleasant smell emanating from the flowers. The plant is frost-resistant, unpretentious, resistant to diseases.
Depending on the species, the bushes differ in size, crown shape, color and aroma of flowers. The flowering time of the mock orange depends on its variety, but it usually begins in May and lasts about a month. There are those that bloom both in summer and in early autumn.

Snowberry

The most decorative time for it is autumn, at which time its leaves turn yellow, red, orange, burgundy or purple, and in place of small flowers, snow-white, pale pink, red or dark purple bursting berries appear, which remain on the shoots. after leaf fall.

Skumpia

Lush inflorescences of this shrub look like puffs of smoke, and bright leaves that change color during the season adorn the bush from spring to autumn.
This ornamental shrub will fit into the design of the site of any style.

decorative almond

Its time is spring, when all branches are densely strewn with delicate pink flowers. In autumn, almonds are also beautiful when their leaves turn orange-red or pink.
The most decorative almonds are three-lobed (luiseania) and steppe (bean).

Mahonia holly

Very beautiful in the second half of spring, when it blooms. Its bright yellow panicle inflorescences are organically combined with shiny, serrated green leaves.
At the end of summer, mahonia is decorative due to the dark blue fruits that appear on the shrub.

viburnum

The time of the highest decorative effect is autumn, when it has red berries and burgundy leaves. Kalina, even on poor soil and with a lack of sun, blooms with lush inflorescences.

Hydrangea - a shade-loving shrub for a summer residence

It can bloom where other shrubs cannot show their decorative effect. Hydrangea prefers shade and moist soil. It is frost-resistant, unpretentious, and blooms in large snow-white, pink, lilac, blue or purple “balls” or “panicles”.

Hydrangea is different long flowering, which begins around July and continues until the beginning of autumn. Pairs well with rhododendrons, clematis, lilies, roses and ferns.

Weigela

This shrub can be classified as decorative and deciduous, as it is beautiful both during flowering, and before and after it.
Weigela blooms in May, especially luxuriantly at the very beginning. Weigela Middendorf can bloom twice per season.

Rose hip

Decorative and at the same time medicinal shrub. Attractive in appearance both during flowering and during fruit ripening.
Rosehip is unpretentious, grows rapidly, has a very dense crown, prefers the sun or partial shade. The bush blooms from May to August.
Can be used as a hedge as the branches are thorny.

Lilac - a beautiful shrub in the garden

Grows and blooms in sunny areas and in partial shade. A universal plant for suburban areas of the middle lane. Frost-resistant and unpretentious. It can often be seen in the front gardens of private houses and the adjoining territory of high-rise buildings.
The flowering time of lilacs is May, in some species this period stretches until June.

Coniferous shrubs for giving: photo, description

Here are the most unpretentious conifers that require minimal care. All these plants will fit into the design of small garden and summer cottages. It's not hard at all to take care of them.

The main requirements for them are: they must winter without shelter, grow well on all types of soil; should not freeze in winter, get wet, dry out, burn in the sun.

Juniper

The shrub grows well on not heavy soils, both in the sun and in partial shade. Some creeping forms of junipers can suffer from excess moisture, so it is better to plant them in rockeries and on slopes.
They look beautiful in combination with ferns.

The main types that are used in the design of sites in middle lane: Chinese juniper "Old Gold", horizontal juniper "Andorra Compact" and "Blue Chip", "Wilton" and "Prince of Wales", scaly juniper "Blue Spider", Cossack juniper.

cypress

Among the species there are a lot of those whose height is only 50-80 cm.
This shrub has bluish-green or yellow-green needles, which are in the form of needles at a young age, and scaly when mature.
Decorative cypress trees are different types, differing in the shape of the crown, shades of needles, growth rate.

This is an evergreen shrub. In young plants, the leaves are soft, needle-like, in adults - scaly. Thuja is undemanding to growing conditions, has high frost resistance.

boxwood

In almost every garden you can find ornamental flowering shrubs. They have many advantages. Firstly, they are very beautiful, secondly, many of them are quite frost-resistant, and thirdly, they are high and low (which expands the possibilities of using them for different types of landscapes). But the main thing is that with their correct selection, it is possible to achieve constant flowering of shrubs from the first spring days until late autumn. They are valued not only for their beautiful, often fragrant flowers, but also for decorative leaves, the shape of the crown and a variety of fruits. There is a great variety of ornamental shrubs.

Most shrubs do not lose their decorative effect throughout the warm season, and some remain attractive even in winter.

There are shrubs that attract with their bright and abundant flowering, they can be called beautifully flowering. And there are those who can not boast beautiful flowers, but they have leaves of an unusual color or shape. Such bushes can be called decorative leafy.

The first group includes rhododendrons, lilac, hydrangea, bulldenezh, spirea, hawthorn, buddley, euonymus and some types of barberry. And from the second group, one can name Thunberg's barberry, holly, privet, tannery and others.

It is possible to divide flowering ornamental shrubs into groups according to the time of flowering. In April, we are pleased with forsythia, wolfberry, daphne. A little later they are joined by chaenomeles, low almond, cotoneaster, spirea, barberry. In May, viburnum, wild rose, lilac, and mock orange take over. Summer gives us the flowering of roses, cinquefoil, some varieties of spirea. In July, hydrangeas conquer with their beauty, which adorn the gardens until the very cold. In early autumn bloom: heather, kalmiya. Well, in winter, the decoration of the garden will be holly and its coniferous counterparts.

Autumn gardens look unusually colorful and elegant, thanks to some deciduous types of shrubs. When nothing else is in bloom, barberry, euonymus, chokeberry, spirea, wild rose, skumpia and hybrid azaleas add bright colors of various shades of autumn with their foliage. Most shrubs have fruits that are also very decorative.

Shrubs differ in growth, you can pick up both dwarf - undersized, and high varieties. The shape of the crown is domed, upright (pyramidal), fountain-shaped, creeping.

In addition to beauty and decorativeness, the practical properties of shrubs should also be emphasized. They grow fast enough and are long-lived (up to 5-8 years without a transplant). Most of them are unpretentious in terms of illumination, soil composition, and are quite frost-resistant. Do not require constant care. Thanks to the superficial root system, they can grow on slopes, fixing loose soil.

Barberry (Berberis)- deciduous or evergreen thorny shrubs, the barberry family. The color of barberry leaves is very diverse, in addition to the usual green, it can be variegated - with spots or a border, as well as purple or yellow. The height of the bush is also different, it depends on the variety. The range is from low - up to 30 cm, to high - more than 3 m. Barberry flowers are small yellow bells. Blooms in mid-May. Excellent honey plant.

It will not cause much trouble, because it is a very unpretentious shrub. Loves the light, but grows well in the shade. It is completely undemanding to soils, it does not tolerate only soaking. Not afraid of wind and drought. It is frost-resistant, especially the variety - Thunberg's barberry (Berberis thunbergii), however, in the first three years, a little shelter is needed for the winter. If the variety of barberry is unknown to you, then you need to make a frame of arcs and cover nonwoven fabric in two layers (as some variegated varieties may be less frost-resistant).

Undersized species of barberry look great on rocky hills and in rock gardens. And tall ones - like tapeworms and in group plantings. This shrub is a leader in use in hedges and borders, both clipped and loose.

Common privet (Ligustrum vulgare)- deciduous or evergreen shrub, olive family, 2-3 meters high. In June-August, pretty paniculate inflorescences appear with a pleasant aroma, white or cream. They are replaced by shiny black fruits. The leaves are leathery, most varieties are dark green, but there are also decorative forms with yellow, bluish-silver leaves.

Privet - unpretentious plant. Can grow in full sun and partial shade. Any soil is suitable (except clayey with an acidic reaction). It is drought-resistant, in very hot weather rare but plentiful watering is recommended. Winter-hardy, easily restored, only some varieties need to be covered.

A feature of privet is that it responds very well to a haircut and can retain its shape for a long time. Therefore, it is great for dense borders. It makes wonderful molded hedges. You can even create unusual living walls. Topiary figures cut from privet are a wonderful landscape decoration.

Spirea (Spiraea)- Deciduous shrub with beautifully curving branches, Rosaceae family. This is a large genus of shrubs, which is divided into spring-flowering and summer-flowering. Flowers are varied in the form of inflorescences and color (from white to deep crimson). Its height does not exceed 2 m.

The plant is very unpretentious. Well adapted to urban conditions. Grows well in partial shade, but prefers full sun. Any soil is suitable, but slightly acidic is better. Watering is moderate. It grows quickly, blooms in the third year. Frost-resistant.

Has gained well-deserved love from gardeners and landscape designers. The vast variety of its varieties provides many opportunities for creativity. The shape of the bush can be pyramidal, spherical, flowing. The color of the leaves varies from green to yellow, orange or purple-red. Numerous small flowers are collected in inflorescences of various shapes. All these features of the crown, leaves and flowers allow you to create wonderful compositions. And if you choose the right varieties, you can admire continuous flowering spirea throughout the warm season. It is used in rockeries, hedges, as a frame for green-leaved groups of trees.

Bobovnik (Laburnum)- the legume family, has 6 types of shrubs, valued for their beautiful flowering. The most common are anagyroleaf bean or Golden Rain (Laburnum anagyroides) and Alpine bean (Laburnum alpinum). 'Golden Rain' is a shrub with smooth green and later light brown bark. It can have both pyramidal and dome-shaped drooping crown shape. The leaves are trifoliate, consist of oval leaves, the underside of which is pubescent. At the end of summer they become light yellow. Blooms in May. Inflorescences in the form of a large hanging brush (up to 30 cm), consisting of yellow flowers with moth corollas. They have a weak aroma. The fruits are first pubescent, then become smooth. Alpine beaver is very similar to Golden Rain, although it is more frost-resistant. Its branches and leaves are smaller, the fruits are not pubescent.

The plant is poisonous! The fruits contain alkaloids - laburnine and cytisine. Children should not be allowed near it.

The beaver is light-loving. The soil is undemanding, but good drainage is required. Bobovnik requires constant pruning to avoid turning the shrub into a large (up to 7 m) tree. While the trees are young, they need support. The first three years, young plants should be mulched and covered with agrofibre. After a slight freezing, the crown is quickly restored.

Both in a group and in a single planting, it looks very bright and beautiful, thanks to the large number of huge flower brushes. From the beaver, delightful canopies and pergolas are obtained.

Rhododendron (Rhododendron)- deciduous or evergreen shrub, heather family. Grows naturally in Western Siberia, Far East, Mongolia and China. There are many varieties with a variety of foliage: spear-shaped, round, oval. Inflorescence corymbose. The shape of the flowers and their color are also very diverse, in their beauty they can even compete with roses. They bloom from the end of April and almost all summer. They began to grow little by little in gardens, but you need to carefully select frost-resistant varieties that can overwinter in our climate.

The site for planting rhododendrons should be protected from the wind and be in partial shade. The soil is acidic or neutral. Needs regular watering.

In our area they don't reach large sizes. By choosing different varieties of rhododendrons, you can ensure their constant flowering throughout the season. Looks great next to coniferous plants. Their undersized varieties are great for rock gardens. Rhododendrons are used to create hedges near water bodies.

Irga (Amelanchier)- deciduous shrub or small tree, Rosaceae family. In the spring, often ahead of the leaves, beautiful white flowers bloom on the irga. Flowering is short, after which small black-purple fruits of a rounded shape appear (similar to tiny apples).

The fruits are tasty, juicy, rich in vitamins (especially P). The green leaves of the shadberry in autumn flash with bright colors: yellow, scarlet.

Irga is a very unpretentious plant. Light-loving, but tolerates shading. Doesn't like waterlogging. Very winter hardy. Not afraid of cold winds or spring frosts. Some species of this ornamental shrub are even suitable for decorating a garden in Siberia and the Far North.

This is far from full list frost-resistant ornamental shrubs.

shadow lovers

Many ornamental shrubs can grow and develop normally in moderately shaded areas. True, this may affect the abundance of flowering. Some also tolerate shading well, moreover, direct sunlight is contraindicated for them.

Dogwood (Cornus)- deciduous strongly branched shrub, dogwood family. In spring, dogwood decorates the garden with its flowering. Small white, purple or yellow flowers dogwoods are collected in a head or an umbrella (depending on the species). There are varieties in which small flowers in inflorescences are unsightly, but are surrounded by large bright petal-like leaves (bractei).

In autumn, dogwood foliage also pleases the eye with bright yellow, orange and crimson colors. The fruits also ripen in autumn. Most often dark red, sometimes light yellow or pink, oblong in shape. They not only add decorativeness to the bush, but are also tasty and healthy.

Dogwood leaves burn easily in the open sun, so shaded areas are suitable for it. Prefers moist soil and air. The composition of the soil is undemanding. Most varieties are hardy, but some require little shelter for the winter. Differs dogwood and durability. In landscape design, dogwood bushes are used as a tapeworm or in mixborders.

Hydrangea (Hydrangea)- hydrangea family, deciduous ornamental shrub. The flowers are collected in large domed or paniculate inflorescences. Most often they are white, but there are blue, red and pink. The color of some plants may vary from chemical composition soil. IN
Depending on the variety, the height of the bushes ranges from 1 to 3 meters. There are also dwarf varieties.
The plant is moisture-loving, it is better to plant in partial shade. Many varieties of paniculate and tree hydrangeas are frost-resistant. However, protection is needed in the winter: pinning branches to the ground, followed by spruce branches and agrofibre. Frozen branches are pruned in spring and the plant grows quickly.

In landscape design it is used both singly and in compositions with coniferous or other ornamental shrubs, as well as bulbous flowers. The bushes look amazing due to the splendor of the inflorescences and their large number.

Holly (Ilex aquifolium) or Holly- evergreen or deciduous shrub, holly family. In the wild, it grows almost everywhere. This beautiful plant with dark green or bicolor leathery leaves. Flowering lasts only two weeks from May to July (depending on the variety). The flowers are small, white and fragrant. Especially decorative with the onset of winter, when modest flowers are replaced by bright seedlings of bead-berries. Holly is an indispensable component of Western Christmas wreaths.

Many varieties of holly have been bred. Some with a white or yellow border around the edges of the leaves, or with a hint of blue. The purely male variety Blue Prince is an excellent pollinator. It should be noted that the holly plant is dioecious and female varieties delight us with red berries only if a male specimen grows nearby.

Holly areas exposed to the sun are contraindicated, as it can suffer from sunburn. You need to plant it in a shady place with forest soil. Does not tolerate drought, requires regular moisture. Most varieties are cold hardy.

Thanks to the dense and prickly foliage, the holly is well used as a hedge. It is a slow growing shrub that responds well to shearing, which is why it makes wonderful topiaries. The beautiful holly leaves make a great backdrop for bulbous or other perennial flowers in summer. Evergreen foliage and red berries make holly a bright accent in a deserted garden in winter.

coniferous shrubs

There is also a type of ornamental shrubs that have neither beautiful leaves nor flowers, but this makes them no less attractive. These are coniferous shrubs.

Juniper (Juniperus) is an evergreen shrub of the cypress family. The needles are needle-shaped or scaly. The fruits are blue-black cones (sometimes red-brown). The plant is dioecious. Exists
many types of juniper. There are among them tall bushes(more than two meters), there are quite dwarf ones (up to 30 cm). They are also represented by a variety of forms: creeping, pyramidal, domed. Many frost-resistant varieties.

Junipers grow well in bright sunny areas. Undemanding to soils. Drought-resistant. In dry summers, it is required to water them well several times. Even frost-resistant varieties require winter shelter in the first year after planting. Junipers with a pyramidal crown for the winter must be tied up so that branches do not break under the weight of snow.

Low-growing and creeping varieties of juniper are used in alpine slides and to secure slopes and slopes. You can also create very original borders from them. high grades used in single and small group plantings.

Thuja- evergreen trees and shrubs, cypress family. Leaves are scaly. The fruits are oblong or oval cones with several pairs of scales. Seeds are flat with two wings. This plant is monoecious. It has many decorative artificially derived forms.

Grows in sunny areas and partial shade. The soil is suitable for any, but well permeable. Need regular watering and mulching of the root zone. Tui are frost-resistant, but young plants in the first two or three years require shelter for the winter. Like junipers, high pyramidal varieties of thuja for the winter must be tied to avoid damage to the branches under the weight of snow.

Due to its durability, winter hardiness and adaptability to urban conditions, thuja is very widely used in ornamental gardening in many climatic zones.

In landscape design, it is used to create picturesque alleys. From densely planted groups, depending on the height of the bush, living walls or hedges are formed. Thuja looks just as good as a tapeworm.

Ornamental shrubs, for the most part, are unpretentious in care, tolerate winter frosts and at the same time incredibly beautiful. Everyone can choose the varieties and species that are suitable for his or her garden. Their diversity allows you to make the garden bright, blooming and delightful almost all year round!

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Barberry Thunberg "Crimson Pygmy"

A beautiful garden or just a plot is the dream of many. And no matter how extraordinary the beauty of the flowers fills it, this dream cannot come true until decorative shrubs appear in the garden that can simply transform the whole space and delight the eye all year round.

Low growing ornamental shrubs for the garden

Low-growing shrubs are good because they can both create compositions on their own and serve as an excellent backdrop for other members of the garden. Usually unpretentious in terms of conditions and care, low-growing shrubs are able to reduce the number of growing weeds or simply decorate with themselves some undesirable area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe territory.

Usually these include plants whose height does not exceed 1 meter and among them you can find flowering, decorative and deciduous, fruit and.

Quince Japanese low (Chaenomeles japonica) is an excellent choice for hedges. It has thorns, and arched sloping branches from the end of May are covered with bright orange-red flowers, which are replaced by golden fruits. It is not afraid of winters and tolerates them well under snow.

Japanese quince "Rubra"

heather (Calluna vulgaris) is a low-growing evergreen shrub that is valued for its long flowering throughout the second half of summer. Its height does not exceed 60 cm, and the shoots are always directed strictly upwards, due to which a profusely flowering crown is formed. beautiful shape. Heather is able to grow on any soil, provided there is sufficient light.

Heather ordinary "Annemarie

wolf ( Daphne) - the only drawback of this shrub is that all its parts, including the fruits, are highly poisonous. Although in appearance, this is a rather pretty plant, with white fragrant flowers, which are replaced by bright red berries. The soil prefers fertile, well-lit places and does not tolerate drought.

Daphne (wolf, wolfberry) hybrid "Lawrence Crocker"

The action is graceful ( Deutzia gracilis) is a flowering shrub, up to 80 cm high. Its flowers are collected in white inflorescences of 30-40 pieces, and the leaves can be not only green, but also variegated and even golden. It is also noteworthy that the action is practically not affected by garden pests.

Deutsia graceful "Chardonnay Pearls"

Cotoneaster horizontal (Cotoneaster horizontalis) is a slowly growing shrub, which, however, is more than offset by its decorative effect. Green shiny leaves by autumn are replaced by purple-orange, which in turn are replaced by coral-colored berries that can please for a long time, even under snow.

Cotoneaster horizontal

Potentilla shrub (Potentilla fruticosa) is a versatile shrub that can decorate both a hedge and a border. Its bright yellow lights last up to 100 days. Quite unpretentious to growing conditions.

Potentilla shrub

Snowberry ( Symphoricarpos) - a distinctive feature of this deciduous shrub is the spectacular fruits of white or pale pink color, which persist throughout the winter. A rather unpretentious plant that prefers limestone soils and tolerates a haircut. The Chenot snowberry is especially interesting for carpet plantings ( Symphoricarpos x chenaultii), resulting from hybridization with. rounded, but it requires shelter for the winter.

Snowberry Chenot

Norway spruce (Picea abies) - contrary to popular belief, it can also be undersized and not exceed 30 - 50 cm in height. It is to such low-growing varieties that can be attributed "Little Gem", having a hemispherical dense crown, with dark green needles and "Echiniformis", which, with its outlines, can sometimes create rather bizarre images. Both varieties are hardy and easy to grow.

Norway spruce "Little Gem

The next two species are herbaceous perennials, although they are sometimes referred to as subshrubs.

Pachysandra apical (Pachysandra terminalis) - evergreen undersized shrub, which grows quickly and is ideal for shady places in the garden. It can plant areas under fruit trees, thereby creating carpet landings. Its small white flowers are collected in spikes and appear for a short time - in April.

Pachysandra apical

St. John's wort(Hypericum ascyron) - a plant that does not impose special requirements on the place on which it grows, therefore it can be placed in any part of the garden. Its bright yellow flowers decorative look pleasing to the eye for a long time. And harsh winters do not frighten him at all, since, even if he freezes, he is able to quickly recover.

St. John's wort

Creeping forms of ornamental shrubs

Creeping shrubs include those species whose crowns develop and grow in a horizontal plane. Many of them have a rather openwork crown, which must be taken into account when mulching. In addition, although they give the impression of green carpets, especially when planted in large groups, it is not desirable to walk on them, as they cannot stand it.

Blackberry cut (Rubus laciniatus) - capable of spreading up to 4 m in diameter, while its height does not exceed 80 cm. Split, dark green leaves turn bright purple in autumn, and shoots produce edible fruits.

Blackberry cut

buckthorn willow (Salix rhamnifolia) - no more than 250 cm in height, but in width it can grow to unlimited distances. The fact is that its creeping shoots are able to take root immediately, which allows it to look like a solid green carpet. It grows quite quickly, tolerates darkening and waterlogging of the soil, therefore it is ideal for planting near fountains, ponds and streams. However, there are a great many creeping willow species, interest in them is due to the search for interesting dwarf plants for alpine slides and rockeries. Read more about arctic dwarf willows at the ESDR project.

buckthorn willow

Microbiota cross-pair (Microbiota decussata) is an evergreen plant that prefers darkening and when it hits direct sun rays its needles turn yellow and fall off. It tolerates harsh winters well, but does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil at all. Grows slowly.

Microbiota cross

juniper lying (Juniperus procumbens) - a shrub no higher than 60 cm in height, but in diameter it can grow up to 2 m. It has bluish, dense needles and grows rather slowly, but it is unpretentious in care.

Juniper lying "" Nana

Stephanandra incised leaf (stephanandra incisa) - grows quite quickly and is able to create green surfaces of almost any area. It is unpretentious in care, tolerates winters well, and even if it freezes, it recovers very quickly.

Stephanandra cut-leaved "Crispa

In addition to the above shrubs, other types of junipers can also be noted (m. Cossack, m. horizontal, m. medium), many varieties of mountain pine (however, it still needs formative pruning), undersized varieties of Weymouth pine (say, "radiata"), cedar elfin ( Pinus pumila). This is with regards to conifers. From deciduous, you can add Thunberg's barberry to this list ("" green carpet""), creeping broom, Fortune's euonymus, Dummer's cotoneaster, Japanese spirea (" Crispa"", ""little princess"", ""Goldmound"", ""Japanese Dwarf"", ""Albiflora""), offspring derain (" Kelseyi"") and d. Canadian, in the southern regions - boxwood and shiny honeysuckle.

When choosing decorative low-growing and creeping shrubs for your garden, it is necessary to take into account not only climate conditions, soil and access to moisture, but the characteristics of the species. After all, it is not without reason that all ornamental shrubs are also divided into spring, summer, winter and year-round, choosing the right ones can really make your dream of a beautiful garden come true.

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Today, many summer residents plant trees and shrubs in the garden, not only for future harvests, but also just for beauty. And nature has endowed so many of its creations with beauty. And they not only delight our eyes and help to relax, but also fill the garden with a wonderful aroma during flowering, and also attract bees and others. beneficial insects to our site.

For example, - it is not for nothing that it is called "God's gift" (translated from Persian). It is both beautiful and fragrant, and besides, it is useful. All over the world, people brew jasmine tea, and jasmine oil is used for stress relief and as an aphrodisiac.

Louisiana appeared in the gardens of our summer residents relatively recently, but is already gaining popularity. The plant strewn with pale pink flowers is called the “northern sakura”, because it blooms no less beautifully than the Japanese relative, but it gets along well in our Central Russian climate. We wrote in detail about this plant

Forsythia and Kerria - two early flowering shrubs strewn with yellow flowers. After a long and gloomy winter - their blooming is a real color therapy. Shrubs often use landscape designers to create interesting garden arrangements.

Calmia- an unusual and bright shrub with pink, raspberry or white flowers (depending on the variety) begins to delight its owners in late spring. In Russia, the shrub appeared not so long ago, but in Canada, no less cold than our country, it has been grown by many connoisseurs of ornamental shrubs for many years.

Closer to summer, the favorite of many summer residents blooms -. Let's not waste words, not only articles have been written about her, but also poems and even songs!

Daphne will delight not only with spring flowering, but also with an abundance of bright red berries that draw attention to the shrub. Be careful, the berries are not edible! And not just not edible, but also very dangerous, because. contain deadly poisons. We do not recommend planting a plant in the garden if there are small children in the family.

And here euonymus will manifest itself closer to autumn. In spring and until mid-summer, it is a fairly standard lush shrub with bright green foliage. The plant blooms with small, rather inconspicuous flowers. But closer to the end of summer, when the fruits ripen on it, Euonymus suddenly becomes a "blooming" miracle. Painfully unusual fruits (bright colors depending on the species) look like flowers. In autumn, it turns into a gorgeous bright red bonfire in the garden and attracts absolutely all the attention! They wrote about him

Gorgeous in the garden and autumn heather. In Russian gardens, it is not very common, but at home, in Scotland, the plant is revered. And not for nothing, because there it is used both for cleaning the house (brooms and brooms are made from the plant), and for dyeing fabrics (including the famous "tartan") and in brewing (Scottish heather ale is made from heather).

We have collected even more beautiful shrubs for your garden in our video:

Before summer residents who decided to decorate their site beautiful bushes, the question immediately arises - which shrub is better to plant?

Ideally, such a plant should meet the following requirements:

1. Be beautiful throughout the summer season.
2. Unpretentious in care.
3. Frost-resistant, able to endure our difficult winters.

Winter-hardy, flowering shrubs

Below are the names and characteristics of just such ornamental shrubs: frost-resistant, unpretentious and beautifully flowering.

Winter-hardy, undemanding and at the same time very decorative in our climate, many shrubs have shown themselves. I’ll tell you about the most popular ones that can be planted in almost all regions of our country.

Derain white

It is famous for its brightly colored red bark. There is a form with large green leaves, which become multi-colored by autumn, and a more compact turf with white-edged leaves. So that the bark of the derain is always bright, the bushes are cut short every year, leaving hemp from the shoots - a few centimeters above the soil level. With this formation, the bush forms expanding thickets.

• Shrub height from one and a half to two meters.
• Blooms in early summer.
• Derain is exceptionally hardy, decorative and unpretentious in all respects.
• Grows on any soil, tolerates both heat and shade.
• Suitable for planting in the back of the site or along the fence, as well as hedges.

This turf is especially beautiful in autumn.

This is a variety of derain with green leaves that turn burgundy by autumn.

And this is a variegated deren.

The leaves of this plant remain painted with a white pattern all summer.

This shrub is quite suitable for creating hedges.

Deren grows quickly and in order for the hedge to be always neat, it will have to be carefully looked after.

This is how deren blooms.

The plant can be formed as a lush bush, and a small tree.

Derain does not lose its decorative effect even in winter.

Well, where else can you find a shrub with such original, red shoots.

Deciduous barberries

They are distinguished by enviable winter hardiness, easy to care for. The color of the leaves is yellow, green, purple, red. Any fertile soil, open space or partial shade is suitable for barberries. They are easy to cut, but you can not cut them, limiting yourself to the spring removal of damaged and extra branches.

• The height of different species and varieties varies from 60 cm to 2 m.
• Extremely unpretentious, hardy shrub. Grows in shade, full sun and almost any soil. The color of the leaves is striking in its diversity.
• Application universal, from landing undersized varieties on the slides to the creation of hedges. It can serve as both a background and an edge, it looks beautiful on a green lawn.

Barberry Thunberg.

Such an elegant bush will decorate any hill.

Barberry goes well with conifers.

Here the barberry bush acts as the edge of the spruce.

Barberry on the lawn.

On a green lawn, a variegated shrub looks very colorful.

Barberry hedge

Picturesque and practical hedges are obtained from the barberry, but we must remember that this shrub is terribly prickly and it is not particularly pleasant to work with it. Read more about using barberry in garden design

Spirea

Almost all spireas are fast growing, frost-resistant shrubs, unpretentious and profusely flowering. There are two groups of spireas - spring-flowering and summer-flowering. In spring-flowering species, such as ashen spirea, drooping branches are completely decorated with tiny white flowers. These spireas bloom once. In spring-flowering spireas, old and weak branches are cut out after flowering.

Summer flowering spireas are distinguished by long flowering. Pink (different shades) flowers, as a rule, are collected in flat spherical or spike-shaped inflorescences. Of the summer-flowering spireas, Bumald's spirea (height 60 cm) is interesting, blooming with elegant, carmine-pink flat inflorescences. In the Goldflame variety, young leaves are yellow and orange, so the bush looks very elegant in spring.

Varieties of Japanese spirea (height 60 cm) are also very interesting. For example, the Crispa variety is distinguished by very decorative bright flowers.

• The height of the bushes, depending on the variety, is from 0.5 m to 2 m.
• If you choose spring-flowering and summer-flowering varieties, then flowering can last almost all spring and summer.
• Spireas do not require fertile soil. Grows quickly in both sun and partial shade. Most spireas are winter succulents and do not need shelter even in frosty winters.
• These shrubs are not only decorative, but also have a wide variety of sizes, shapes of bushes, leaf colors and different time flowering. Thanks to these qualities, you can decorate the garden with only spireas.

Spirea Vangutta.

Such tall shrubs are suitable for single plantings or for growing in hedges.

You can create such a picturesque corner by planting spirea with hostas and juniper.

Japanese spirea

Elegant borders are obtained from undersized Japanese spirea. It also looks appropriate in rockeries.

Hydrangea

Hydrangea arborescens, a shrub of North American origin, proved to be the most winter-hardy. Other species (originally from China and Japan) are less hardy, more capricious in care.

Tree hydrangea is common in our gardens, but for some reason everyone wants to see plants with blue, pink or even reddish inflorescences on their plots. Such hydrangeas, of course, are spectacular, but more capricious, although among them there are varieties that some flower growers successfully grow in the northern regions.

But if you haven't grown hydrangeas in the garden yet, start with Hydrangea arborescens - an easy-to-care, showy shrub with huge caps of white flowers.

Panicle hydrangea grows well in the harsh regions of Russia, a very beautiful wintering shrub up to three meters high (it does not reach such a height in our country) with a dense spherical crown. The inflorescence is a broad-pyramidal panicle 15-30 cm long and 30 cm wide. The flowers are white, turning red by autumn.

• The height of the bushes up to two meters.
• Blooms from mid-summer.
• Hydrangeas are extremely moisture-loving, tolerate shading well, love well-drained fertile soil acid reaction. Therefore, when planting, peat is added. The soil can be acidified with iron sulphate.
• Hydrangeas are planted in single bushes or in groups. The plant goes well with other coniferous and deciduous ornamental shrubs.

Such a picturesque shrub is sure to attract attention.

Potentilla shrub

Deciduous shrubs, prostrate or compact. Bushy forms of cinquefoil have three names at once: Kuril tea, cinquefoil shrub and five-leafed. Potentilla makes an attractive abundance of medium-sized flowers. The most common form is considered to be with yellow flowers.

Flowers solitary or in a few racemose or umbellate inflorescences, medium-sized. Decorative in the plant and bright green small carved foliage. Potentillas do not tolerate dry air.

• Bushes one to one and a half meters high.
• The shrub blooms for a very long time - almost from the beginning of summer to the beginning of autumn.
• Potentillas are photophilous, although they tolerate a slight penumbra, they are quite drought-resistant, demanding on the richness of soils, which should be moderately moist.
• Winter-hardy: specific forms withstand forty-degree frosts, varieties are less tolerant of low temperatures.
• Potentilla is suitable for creating borders and low hedges, looks elegant in single and group plantings, and blends harmoniously with coniferous plants.

Here is such a neat bush of Potentilla shrub.

Potentilla tolerates shearing well and makes colorful hedges and borders.

Vesicle viburnum

Large, hardy shrub. Both of its forms - with golden and purple leaves - are always decorative: in spring, when the leaves bloom, during flowering (it blooms with white corymbose inflorescences) and after it, when clusters of red fruits form.

• The height of the bushes, depending on the variety, is from one to three meters.
• Flowering in early summer, within 20 days.
• The vesicle is unpretentious, drought-resistant and shade-resistant, but it is better to plant in the open sun so that the leaves retain their brightness of color.
• Suitable for tall hedges and single plantings.

Bubble Diabolo.

Here are such different vesicles. There are shrubs with different leaf colors.

Vesicle Luteus.

Snowberry

Snow berries are white and pink. If you are interested in the most cold-resistant shrubs, then plant a white snowberry, it calmly endures even the most frosty winters.

Over time, it grows strongly and can grow in any conditions, both in the open sun and in the dense shade of trees. Shrubs are valued for many large, decorative, as if made of white marble, fruits that form in autumn.

It lends itself well to shearing, the bushes are thinned out in early spring, cut in summer.

• It grows up to 2.5 meters wide, up to 1.5 meters high.
• The snowberry grows on any soil, prefers a sunny place. Minimal care: the plant is drought-resistant, does not require top dressing, easily tolerates heat, and is not susceptible to diseases and pests.
• With its white fruits, it looks good on dark greenery: on the lawn, against the backdrop of conifers.

Snowberry hedges look smart and require very little maintenance.

Snowberry fruits.

Ornamental shrubs for summer cottages of medium winter hardiness

The plants described below, although they are not particularly frost-resistant, do not require special shelter for the winter. In most cases, simply covering the bushes with snow is sufficient.

Action

If the action is given space, in June it will dress with small flowers. The color of the flowers (and they are both double and non-double) varies from white to intense pink.

In our climate, the rough action is considered the most unpretentious. It blooms with white and pink flowers. It is not very demanding on the soil, it grows well wherever water does not stagnate. Adapts to both sun and partial shade. Faded branches are pruned after flowering. Old branches are cut to the ground.

• Most varieties of action do not exceed 120-170 cm in height.
• Flowering in spring and summer (depending on variety)
• The shrub is easy to care for; drought-resistant not susceptible to diseases and pests. For the winter, it is advisable to press the branches to the ground (at -25º, the buds freeze slightly)
• From the action, picturesque, unformed hedges are obtained. You can plant a mixborder in the background or cover the base of tall shrubs.

Beauty action.

Planting hedges from action in the northern regions is not recommended. All the same, this shrub for such purposes is not winter-hardy enough.

In the southern regions, action is quite suitable for creating hedges.

Keriya japonica

An unpretentious shrub that blooms annually in April-May with yellow flowers. May bloom again.

Very graceful non-terry form: slender, slightly drooping branches, reaching a length of one and a half meters, yellow flowers, similar to large buttercup flowers. And after flowering, the bush looks charming, thanks to very beautiful bright green leaves, similar to young birch.

• The height of the bushes up to two meters.
• Blooms in spring. Flowering is long, almost two months.
• Prefers a place in the sun. It can grow in partial shade, but its decorative qualities are noticeably lost. Requires regular watering and occasional top dressing.
• Used for single and group landings. It goes well with conifers, looks beautiful on a green lawn.

Keria is characterized by early and bright flowering.

This plant can also be grown in pots. Of course, the size of the bush in this case will be much more modest.

Keria can also be grown on the balcony.

Weigela

In flowering, it is more beautiful than all the above listed shrubs. But to show her drooping branches in all its glory, she needs a lot of space. Loves fertile soil and annual pruning, but generally unpretentious. Immediately after flowering, branches with wilted flowers are shortened.

Weigela Variegata is more compact and restrained in growth - a bush up to 120 cm high with pale pink flowers and yellow-edged leaves.

Weigels do not like to grow in the wind. When planting, it is necessary to maintain a distance between seedlings of at least two meters.

• On average, the height of the weigela is 1.5 - 2 meters.
• It blooms in May-June with pink, white or ruby-red tubular flowers. Prone to re-bloom.
• Weigela grows on any soil, in direct sun and in partial shade.
• The most frost-resistant varieties that winter well both in Siberia and in the Moscow region: Alba, Striatum, Styriaka, Bristol ruby.
• Given the high decorativeness of this shrub, they usually plant it in the foreground: at the entrance to the house, by the paths or on the lawn.

Weigela pink hybrid.

Weigela will harmoniously fit into any corner of the garden.

Weigela Red Prince

Chaenomeles (Japanese quince)

A very common shrub, as it can grow on any soil, both in the sun and in the shade. Blooms brightly in spring and turns golden in autumn. fragrant fruits. Bushes do not need pruning: they are occasionally thinned out.

The diameter of the flowers of chaenomeles is 3 - 5 cm.

It should be noted that in weigela, deutsia, kerria, branches can freeze severely in severe winters. But nothing terrible will happen: the bushes grow rapidly.

Of all the listed assortment, I most of all like summer spireas, weigels, vesicles and barberries for their beautiful and long flowering, high decorativeness throughout the season

Shrubs should be placed in accordance with their growth and ability to grow in breadth.

About the rules for trimming ornamental shrubs

All of the listed plants are not rare, they are quite easy to acquire.