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shrubs
Large shrubs for full sun, winter and spring
Large shrubs for full sun, summer and autumn
Large shrubs for partial sun, all year
Large shrubs for shade, all year
Large shrubs for full sun, winter and spring
Magnolia stellata
Star Magnolia Hardy shrub or small tree
A densely twiggy shrub whose bare stems carry a heavy crop of velvet-sheathed buds which each spring break into starry blooms with narrow white petals. Simple oblong, oval leaves emerge as the flowers fade. Fully lime-tolerant, unlike a number of magnolias, but the early blooms are susceptible to night frost.
Soil preference: Any, free-draining
Aspect: Sun or part shade
Season of interest: Early spring
Height and spread: 3m × 3m (10ft × 10ft)
Companion plants: A feature shrub for early spring, handsome among such evergreens as Osmanthus delavayi or with hollies whose dark leaves contrast with the whiteness of the blooms.
Ribes sanguineum
Flowering Currant Hardy deciduous shrub
An aromatic, suckering shrub from North America with hanging racemes of pink or red flowers which emerge simultaneously with the bright green, three or five-lobed leaves. Small, blue-grey fruits follow. Worthwhile cultivars include gold leaved ‘Brocklebankii’, whose flowers are carmine, red flowered ‘Pulborough Scarlet’ and a clean-coloured ‘Tydeman’s White’.
Soil preference: Any
Aspect: Sun, part shade
Season of interest: Spring
Height and spread: 2.5m × 2m (8ft × 6ft 6in)
Companion plants: Useful as a barrier, especially if blended with other hedging plants. Traditionally used to contrast with yellow forsythias but also lovely for gracing a woodland edge, among such taller trees as alders, birches or sorbus.
Syringa vulgaris
Common Lilac Hardy deciduous shrub
Vigorous, sometimes suckering shrubs with diamond-shaped leaves and, in late spring, bold panicles of fragrant blossoms. Typical hues are lilac, blue or white, but breeding has extended this range through purples to wine red. Excellent white varieties are the single flowered ‘Vestale’ and double ‘Madame Lemoine’. Dark colours include deeper purple ‘Charles Joly’, the reddish ‘Monge’ and ‘Sensation’, whose purple flowers have white petal edges.
Soil preference: Any, well-drained
Aspect: Sun or part shade
Season of interest: Late spring
Height and spread: Variable to 5m × 4m (16ft × 12ft)
Companion plants: Lovely grouped to create big screens at the back of a planting scheme or to form a backdrop, especially if big shrub roses such as R. moyesii or R. ‘Nevada’ are there to follow.
Philadelphus ‘Beauclerk’
Mock Orange Hardy deciduous shrub
Large shrub with fast-growing, arching canes whose second-year side shoots bear trusses of intensely fragrant, large, single, white flowers whose centres are lightly flushed with purple pink markings. Best of a large range of fragrant varieties but other good hybrids include the more upright, double-flowered ‘Virginal’ and the gracefully arching ‘Belle Etoile’.
Soil preference: Any
Aspect: Sun or part shade
Season of interest: Spring, early summer
Height and spread: 2.5m × 3.5m (8ft × 11ft)
Companion plants: Big sprawlers for a mature shrubbery, delightful in the company of early roses, such as ‘Maigold’ or ‘Highdownensis’ or to precede later flowering buddlejas. The blended scents of mock orange and wild honeysuckle make a very heady cocktail.
Viburnum farreri (syn. V. fragrans)
Winter Viburnum Hardy semi-evergreen shrub
An upright, deciduous, suckering shrub with simple, toothed leaves which turn reddish before falling. From autumn onwards small clusters of sweetly fragrant pink or white ...
