Have a Professional-Looking Landscape Design

Evergreen shrubs are often chosen because they do not lose their leaves and provide greenery in your landscape during the winter.

Evergreen shrubs are often chosen because they do not lose their leaves and provide greenery in your landscape during the winter. There are many to choose from, but selecting those perfect for your situation can be confusing.

Here are some tips to help you decide:

1. Decide how tall the plant should be, and then look for plants that will be this height at maturity.

2. Know your sun and shade situation. Once this is determined, select plants that fit the conditions of the area you will be landscaping.

3. Know what Zone you reside in. Individual plants have a Zone range that they will grow in. Select plants designated for your Zone. Local nurseries often carry plants appropriate for your area.

These above tips will help you select evergreen shrubs that look well and survive.

But what about the actual design? You might follow the suggestions above but don't know how to create a beautifully landscaped area.

Here are some essential design ideas:
Plant in masses. Do not plant one of this and one of that. There is a reason for this. Each plant has unique features, whether flowers, leaf color, or berries. By planting in groups of a variety, these features become showier.

When planting with evergreen shrubs, it is essential to use plants with different textures near each other. You might use Boxwood near Juniper, and the small leaves of the Boxwood contrast and become more attractive against the needle-like Juniper foliage.

Can you achieve color throughout the seasons with evergreen shrubs? Yes, you can! Many shrubs will flower in different seasons, and they also can provide beautiful red berries in the fall and winter that can be spectacular. Some have attractive colored leaves, such as Red Barberry.

Foliage fall color is not typically an attribute since they do not turn color and lose their leaves, which brings me to another area. Do not be afraid to add deciduous shrubs or perennials and mix them with the evergreens. The evergreen shrubs will provide the winter interest, while the other plants are not at their best.

Use height at your house corners to frame it. That might be a sizeable single shrub, a group of three shrubs, or even an ornamental tree. In addition, add a tall shrub here and there so that the planting height does not become monotonous.

If you have the space, create a bed that is deep enough so that you can plant in layers. The taller shrubs would be placed towards the rear, with lower ones in front. You might have two or three layers of shrubs. Here is where you might incorporate some perennials for extra color.