Improve Your Landscape Design with Shrubs

Fast-Growing Shrubs to Fill Out Your Landscape Design

Planting shrubs around your home can improve your overall landscape design by filling in negative space, adding texture and visual interest, adding color, increasing your privacy, and providing shade. If you don’t want to detract from your landscape design by building a fence, you can use fast-growing shrubs to mark your property line and prevent passersby and neighbors from seeing into your yard. Here are some great tips for choosing the right shrubs for your landscape design and hardiness zone, along with guidelines for caring for and maintaining your shrubs so they look beautiful year-round.

The Importance of Shrubs in Landscape Design

Shrubs are a key element of a balanced, interesting landscape design. They contribute to your garden’s ecosystem by providing shade and improving soil stability. They also attract wildlife, improve air quality, and enhance privacy. If you have gaps or blank spaces in your landscape design, planting shrubs can fill in empty spaces by adding color, texture, and visual interest. They are also beautiful, and choosing evergreen shrubs will ensure you have greenery in your landscape design year-round.

Finding the Right Shrubs for Your Hardiness Zone

It’s very important to choose the right shrubs for your hardiness zone. Your hardiness zone is determined by a map divided into zones based on each zone’s average annual extreme minimum winter temperature. Understanding your hardiness zone will help you choose plants that will thrive in your regional climate and that can withstand extreme temperatures and drought. By planting shrubs that you know will thrive in your hardiness zone, you can keep your landscape design fresher and more vibrant and reduce your landscaping maintenance and upkeep.

How to Choose Shrubs for Beauty and Privacy

Shrubbery can enhance the beauty of your landscaping as well as increase the privacy of your yard and home. When choosing shrubs, there are a few key factors you should consider:

Understanding the different types of shrubs and bushes that thrive in your regional climate.
Considering the shrub’s foliage colors and flowers.
Reviewing the shrub’s shapes and forms.
Looking into drought-tolerant shrub options for your hardiness zone.
Considering native shrubs that will attract and protect local insects and wildlife.
Considering the level of care, pruning, and maintenance the shrub will require to look good, stay healthy, and maintain its shape.
Assessing how wide or tall each shrub will grow so that you can maximize your privacy.
Finding shrubs that blend in well with your existing landscape design and that complement the overall beauty of your other plants and your home.

Comparing Shrubs vs Fences for Privacy

Both shrubs and fences can offer you privacy. However, fences have certain limitations which might not make them ideal for enhancing the privacy and beauty of your home. Your homeowner’s association or local zoning regulations may place limitations on the size, material, height, and color of your fence. Fencing may not block out noise or wind very effectively either. Planting privacy shrubs or hedges will beautify your property and offer privacy without the harsh lines of a fence. Shrubs and hedges offer a wide variety of color and texture options and can block out noise and act as wind screens. Shrubs and hedges also stabilize the soil, so they can be used on uneven or sloped land. They also deter soil erosion. Shrubs and hedges can also last for centuries with proper care and maintenance, while fences require frequent maintenance, repairs, and upkeep and will eventually need to be replaced.

Fastest Growing Privacy Shrubs to Choose From

Certain varieties of shrubs and hedges grow very quickly, so they can enhance your privacy and the beauty of your landscape design very quickly compared to other methods. The fastest-growing shrubs are:

Panicled hydrangea
Barberry
Viburnum
Izu Tree
Weigela
Chinese Fringe Flower
Chaste Tree
Beautyberry
Holly
Hybrid Spicebush

The most popular privacy shrubs and hedges are:

Arborvitae
Yew
Privet
Cherry Laurel
Red Twig Dogwood
Mock Orange
Common Lilac
Forsythia
Cotoneaster
Beautyberry
Common Ninebark
Pussy Willow
Loropetalum
Canadian Hemlock
Burning Bush
Leyland Cypress
Butterfly Bush
Boxwood
Holly
Hydrangea
Juniper

When to Plant Shrubs

It’s also important to know when the best time is to plant shrubs in order to maintain their health and longevity and ensure optimal growth. The best time to plant shrubs is the fall. The warm soil and cool air will stimulate root growth and make sure the shrub gets fully established before the ground freezes.

Planting Shrubs Properly

A healthy shrub can last for centuries, so it’s important to get your shrubs off to the right start. Be sure to plant trees, shrubs, and hedges with enough space around them to account for their full size. Planting them too close together will overcrowd their roots. Planting trees and shrubs too close to your home, a fence, or your neighbor’s property can cause damage. The hole you dig to plant your shrubs should be twice as wide as the container holding the shrub. It should be deep enough that the root ball of the shrub sits just above ground level. You should blend an organic, nutrient-rich potting soil into your native soil at a 50:50 ratio to ensure optimal growth. Choose a soil that is specially formulated for outdoor shrubs in your hardiness zone. Fill the hole half-full with the soil mixture and then water the shrub for 10-15 minutes. Finish filling the hole, pulling some soil away from the trunk of the shrub to create a moat. This will act as a basin to hold water so that the water gets to the roots. Then water your shrub again for 5-10 minutes.

Growing Container Shrubs

In some cases, you can grow shrubs in containers. Shrubs can be grown in containers temporarily if the permanent planting conditions in your area are not ideal. Growing them in a container will allow you to care for them in a sheltered area until they can be planted in your yard. You can also plant shrubs permanently in containers. Permanent container shrubs will only survive in mild climates or by being extremely hardy. You must choose a weatherproof container that is large enough to support the shrub’s full growth.

Find Beautiful Privacy Shrubs in Georgia

At Hahira Nursery, we have a wide selection of fast-growing privacy shrubs in our nursery in Hahira, GA. Our high-quality, beautiful evergreen shrubs can add visual interest to your landscape design while also increasing your privacy, improving your curb appeal, and adding value to your home. Our team can help you pick out the perfect shrubbery for your needs, goals, and budget. Take a look at our selection of evergreen shrubs online or stop by and visit our retail store for personalized recommendations and assistance. You can also contact us online with questions.