Evergreen shrubs provide the garden with year-round color and interest. Variegated varieties are perfect for brightening up a shady landscape. Some of the most popular varieties include Euonymus, Holly, and Arborvitae.
Wintercreeper Euonymus (Euonymus fortunei ‘Gracillimus’) is a creeping evergreen shrub with colorful white, green, and purple leaves. Clusters of insignificant, green flowers appear in May and June among small, lustrous, green leaves with yellow margins. This variegated evergreen shrub makes excellent groundcover and is a often planted as specimens or used in rock gardens and low-maintenance gardens. Its tough and will thrive in any well-drained border in sun or partial shade.
Golden Rain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata) produces golden blossoms which hang elegantly from its branches. Long colorful seed pods form in the fall. The unique look of the golden rain tree makes it ideal to plant as a specimen tree in the landscapes.
Evergreen shrubs have a place almost any garden. As hedges they add structure to a formal garden. Those with unique form are wonderful accent plants and add to the garden off season interest. Evergreens are also quite practical as they can be used to create privacy as a screen or to protect more fragile plants as a windbreak. In winter evergreens add color to garden and in some instances, berries.
Hedges are incorporated into garden designs for a variety of reason. They can create outdoor walls which define the space of garden rooms. Hedges are quite practical as they can be used to create privacy screens, wind breaks and sound barriers. They’re also useful for marking property lines. The following is a list of 9 shrubs and 1 ornamental grass which make wonderful hedges.