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You may choose flowering or evergreen shrubs. Both kinds are worthwhile in different ways. Just bear in mind that flowering shrubs tend to have a fairly brief period of glory, and then you’re left with only foliage, so pick a shrub whose foliage you like. Good fall color and attractive or exfoliating bark, leaves, and/or berries may also be a factor in your decision. On the other hand, evergreen shrubs, whether broadleaf or needled, are valuable for long-term, consistent green color, sometimes offer attractive flowers, and, in many cases, a denser-growing profile.

Favorite shrubs for home landscapes include

 Flowering: Althea, deciduous azalea, broom, butterfly bush, daphne, deutzia, elderberry, flowering quince, forsythia, fothergilla, hibiscus, hydrangea, itea, lilac, mock orange, ninebark, privet, red buckeye, red twig dogwood, smoke bush, spirea, sweetshrub, sweetspire, various viburnums, weigela, winterberry, and witch hazel

 Broadleaf evergreen (with spring flowers and more-or-less evergreen foliage): Andromeda, aucuba, boxwood, camellia, cotoneaster, evergreen abelia, gardenia, holly, laurel, leucothoe, mahonia, manzanita, mountain laurel, nandina, oleander, rhododendron, and rock rose

 Evergreen: Arborvitae, boxwood, euonymus, some cedars, some false cypresses, hemlock, holly, juniper, laurel, some pines, some spruces, and yew

Take a look at some of the roles shrubs can play:

 Foundation planting (around the base of your house to add architectural interest, insulation, and security)

 Boundary and hedge plantings (possibly in addition to, or in lieu of, fencing — thorny ones, including shrubby roses, are popular as living fences)

 Individual, solo spots of color (specimen plants)

 Mixed-border citizens for more architectural interest (have a mixture of shrubs, or have a mixture of one type of shrub and roses or perennials or vines or all of these)

 Backdrops for a flower border

 Entryway, poolside, deck side, or privacy plantings

 As food and shelter for songbirds

For much more on shrubs, please turn to Chapter 13.

Some shrubs can be extremely invasive and, in fact, are even against the law to plant in some cities or states. Some that you should avoid are Amur honeysuckle, autumn olive, barberries, burning bush, bush honeysuckle, common gorse, buckthorn, and multiflora rose. For a more complete list check out www.invasiveplantatlas.org/shrubs.cfm.