Gardening 101: The unsung shrub, hero for the foundation
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Shrubs are foundation of many landscape designs. They serve as the boundary markers, backgrounds, and foundations of a well laid out garden. They are supposed to be tough as well, needing little in general maintenance as they grow to full-size.
For many yards, "full-size" is a problem. Many of our best shrubs for this area can get rather large. They can easily outgrow a small space or be a problem if placed to close to a house. One of the obvious solutions is to plant smaller versions.
Perhaps one the most popular shrub in North Texas is the Gemwood. You see them everywhere – and I do mean everywhere. There are newer varieties that have a nice branching pattern to them, they point up like fingers from a hand. This structure can provide a little extra interest to a garden and are easily kept in shape with hand pruners.
You should abandon the idea of flat topping them to keep a "well-manicured" look. The plants don't particularly like it and the risk of shears is that they do a great job spreading disease around your yard.
When using ANY cutters or pruners in your yard, learn the habit or washing them with mild soap or wiping them down with rubbing alcohol after each use. If you ever run into poison ivy without knowing it, you'll thank me greatly for this suggestion (you can get blisters from the oil MONTHS after getting some of it on your tools).
Don't think shrubs have to be that dull, dark green. While that can serve a purpose when serving as a backdrop for your flowers, there are enough choices in shrubs to keep things interesting. There is a great variety of Osmanthus that is variegated. You can stairstep them in front or behind solid green shrubs to add extra visual interest.
There is a great purple shrub for this area as well, the Chinese Fringe Flower. Like the others mentioned above, these full-sun shrubs have many varieties to choose from. Make sure to check the label for the maximum size of the fringe flower you are buying. Only a few are on the "small" side, others can become giants.
Shrubs can hold your soil, use their evergreen foliage to hide or screen parts of your yard. They can serve as a wind break and as a backdrop to your fundamental color design. There is a reason they are called "foundation" plants.
Jeff Ray is the senior First Alert Meteorologist at CBS News Texas and avid gardener. When not covering weather, he is finding stories about Gardening in north Texas. If you would like Jeff to come talk to your group about how changing weather patterns are changing the way we garden in this area, please email him at jaray@viacomcbs.com .