A Wise Man in China asked his Gardener to plant a Shrub

The gardener objected that it only flowered once in a hundred years. “In that case”, said the wise man, “plant it immediately” John Charles Polanyi.

Well most flowering shrubs flower a lot more frequently than every 100 years, but the sentiment is the same. Plant shrubs immediately!

Shrubs are the most underrated plant in our gardens. It may be because our gardens are small and we need the best performers for our space, so flowering shrubs don’t get a look in. Even though a lot of them flower for a relatively long period.

But, shrubs tend to grow quite big and will likely need pruning and we don’t know how to prune, we don’t know when to prune, we don’t know if we should prune. For the most part, there is one standard rule, prune after flowering. This is not true, however, for plants that are grown for their berries.

A lot of flowering shrubs are scented, if you are walking through a park on a chilly spring day and get a whiff of a floral scent it is often a shrub, subtly sitting as a backdrop to some beautiful planting, letting its presence be known buy this amazing aroma. The number of times I have been stopped in my tracks and had to retrace my steps to get a closer sniff is many. Especially in early spring. There may be little to see, but plenty to smell.

There are some shrubs that are stand out beauties and really earn their keep in spring. Some are doing their bit in summer or autumn and a few that are winter must haves. There are large shrubs, medium shrubs, small shrubs, flowering shrubs, evergreen shrubs, deciduous shrubs, light green, medium green, dark green shrubs, black leaf shrubs, shrubs that turn bright red, some yellow. Stand out shrubs and back drop shrubs. Shrubs for dry shade, full sun, boggy ground. There are trees that are shrubs and shrubs that are trees. Shrubs that are showy in spring, summer, autumn or winter. You name it there is a good shrub for every situation.

Here are a few of my favourite shrubs.