12 brilliant shrubs for your garden chosen by experts

Shrubs offer flowers in spring and early summer, then fruit and amazing leaf colour in autumn, or evergreen winter interest. They're so easy to look after and need much less attention than most perennials and annuals. But have they been forgotten about in today's herbaceous borders? I've asked some experts, including ‪@niallgardens‬ ,for top shrub recommendations. Note that some shrubs can be invasive in some places, so I've noted that where the information is available, but you should always check for invasiveness where you are, as plants behave very differently in different areas.
00.00 Welcome
00.26 What is a shrub?
01:02 Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) 'Lady in Red'
01:59 Black elder (Sambucus nigra) 'Black Lace'
03:04 Place shrubs in the border first
03:12 Nandina domestica 'Obsession' also known as 'Obsessed'
04:00 Nandina domestica 'Lemon and Lime'
04:31 Burning bush (Euonymus alatus 'Compactus')
05:27 Niall Gardens KZbin channel: / niallgardens
05:40 Mahonia
08:19 Why shrubs make a border better
08:50 Viburnums, such as Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'
09:02 Japanese snowball bush (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Watanabe')
09:45 What shrubs add to the garden
10:20 Cornus 'Norman Haddon'
11:07 Mexican Orange blossom (Choisya ternata)
11:41 Weigela Florida variegata
12:52 Fatsia 'Spider's Web' from www.thompson-morgan.com
13:22 Jane Moore's books are available from Amazon: www.amazon.co....
13:40 Choosing shrubs to support birds
14:05 Mock orange (Philadelphus)
15:01 Rosa glauca
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[@niallgardens]

Thanks so much Alexandra for letting me join in this episode! Hopefully I've convinced a least a few people of the merits of Mahonia!!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I hope so, too, a wonderful plant! Thank you for contributing.

[@carole-f8x]

Niall, I just wrote that I cut mine down years ago because the leaves were so painful. Maybe there are new ones now that aren’t so sharp.

[@amyr.9939]

Thank you so much. I'm devouring your vids at the moment because I am planting an 'English country garden" for a client up here in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Your hardiness numbers are invaluable.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@marie-claudereynaud4626]

Merci Alexandra! I love watching your videos, so pleasant, instructive and straight to the point. Brilliant! You are a great gardener!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you so much.

[@elsagrace3893]

Yes, yes, I agree completely. Alexander’s videos make my day.

[@wildberrygarden]

Fantastic video Alexandra! Shrubs are often overlooked by newbie gardeners as we are all wowed by showy flowers. But every good garden has a backbone of shrubs (and trees) in my opinion. So good for wildlife too.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@ritamarch1371]

I really appreciate your channel. Thank you for this video on shrubs. So good of you to introduce us to like minded gardeners that you support. ☺️

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@ClausDalbyEnglish]

I totally agree! I love having shrubs in my borders and would not be without the structure that they add.

[@lauradissinger5404]

I subscribe to Niall and his channel is very nice. Thank you for the video! Another informative collaboration.

[@susancruz729]

The best of advise on pruning Weigela. True for so many other species as well. A rejuvenating cut rather than a heading back, keeps a natural shape intact. Just a bit of this, and every year.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I went into try to prune mine yesterday and there was a bird's nest in it. So I will have to wait!

[@katrinhjorth]

Winter flowering shrubs, like Viburnum, Winter-flowering Cherry and Hamamelis own my heart. I also am a fan of the snowberry and the common yew.

[@amelia_wild]

Winter flowering cherry is a fantastic plant: I love the idea of growing as a multistem shrub rather than a tree

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Both lovely plants

[@christownsend9550]

Just watched this and thank you and the other gardeners and presenters for all the useful tips about shrubs, I am reassured buy their choices as I have several in my garden already, but now have a shopping list for some more.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lesliekendall5668]

Yes, but it's the pruning that makes shrubs so difficult. I'm old and only 5'2" and I'll tell you, if I'm any older next year 😁, my viburnum is going to be pruned into a tree and let the top do what it will. I already "treed" my lilacs and other syringas a couple years ago. My favorite shrub is the Philadelphus Lewisii. A mock orange syringa and Idaho's state flower that smells so sweet that it reminds me of all the intoxicating fragrances of when I lived in Hawaii.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I know what you mean, the philadelphus in my garden now is just beautiful and the scent drifts across the garden so unexpectedly.

[@hollyhold562]

You, like myself, need a kind, youthful gardening friend for those occasional chores. Let's hope we each quietly work on that. I'm 70 + 5'1", and sometimes can't open stubborn grocery pkgs of assorted things.

[@Rougebasque]

I love evergreen shrubs because I hate the bare structure in winter having a small garden. Choisya ternata, nandina lemon and lime and star Jasmin are my 3 choices. Thank you Alexandra

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Love Star Jasmine

[@dreamagood8321]

I do need more shrubs in my gardens ..♥️♥️♥️

[@suereinwald1186]

Winterberries, I have several and pollinators, they make great fillers and then look stunning going into winter and during winter; nothing like looking out & seeing berries, especially bright red berries against the white snow. Another favorite that looks good summer & winter and requires minimal work are globe spruces.

[@jilladcock5648]

Lovely video. I love viburnum , hydrangea, lilacs and just got my first ninebark. As I get older I value the ease of shrubs and the space they fill in the garden. Thank you for another wonderful video.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@sharonfernandez2739]

It made me very happy to see many of the shrubs I have paraded in your video. 😃👍🥰💥 I'm also making a shopping list for ones I'm missing. 😲🤔🤗 The colour of your jumper looks lovely on you. Excellent video.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you! Glad to have picked your favourites too.

[@robertmcdougall3166]

Some superb shrubs mentioned in this top 12. May I recommend a newer form of Viburnum. The variety (Viburnum Plicatum Kilimanjaro) forms a pyramid of branches which here in Scotland in late May become covered in small beautiful white flowers, almost like it was covered in snow. An absolute beauty which won best best in Show at Chelsea in 2015.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

An excellent choice, in fact, 'Kilimanjaro' was in the 'uncut' version of the interview with Sarah, but we couldn't get a nice shot of it and I thought I shouldn't include a plant people couldn't really see in the video. Its flowers were just over but I could see that it must have been lovely.

[@robertmcdougall3166]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden sorry if I may have come across as negative, I just thought others would enjoy the pleasure I have had seeing it in flower this year. I love watching your videos, they are so informative and your presentation skills make them a delight to watch. Look forward to seeing many more.

[@allenlivera1611]

I jotted down a few shrubs to check out. My favorite shrub - Cotinus - got a mention, even if it wasn't front and center. I also like Viburnum rhytidophyllum: deer leave it alone; it's cold hardy but - to my eye - tropical in appearance; and it's a strong grower here in US zone 7a.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I must look it up.

[@carefreedelight2355]

Thanks a million, Alexandra. I love shrubs, but my garden is too small to fit in all the wonderful ones suggested in your video and in all the helpful comments. I want them all…. I know I have to sit down and think , but I simply get paralysed as to which ones to chose: how much space to leave between, the colours, the heights, evergreens, deciduous, leave shapes, flowers, autumn colouring and even more head spinning where, oh where can I put them all!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I know what you mean!

[@stevebrucken1944]

Well done !🦋🦋 I have double mock orange , don Juan climbing rose..and for a companion for the rose is white morning glory...stunning contrast

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Sounds great!

[@helenaprat5426]

I love your videos and look forward to them every week. They are full of very useful information for my zone 9 in Coastal California. Thank you

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@kjmax1068]

I love Nialls shirt!!

[@annebeck2208]

I don't know about all Mahonia, but our native mahonia called "Oregon grape" has berries that are edible and make a stunning sweet sour jam. Oregon state USA Everything that does well for you does well for me, so I love your channel!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you - the jam sounds delicious.

[@michelledawson485]

Thankyou Alexandra, lovely explanation to us novices, a shrub I like is pyracantha once established it takes off and viburnum “eve price “, that’s a lovely no maintenance shrub I’d recommend.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Both really lovely - I had to get rid of our pyracantha because it was in too much shade to flower but a neighbour has one that is just beautiful.

[@carole-f8x]

Love all these shrubs and have some. We had a Mahonia once. I had to remove it…the most painful thing in the garden with its sharp leaves and it was spreading. I do think shrubs are so important in a garden.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

They are!

[@katinsu7700]

Yes, they are pretty invasive in my garden as well (Bavaria/Germany).

[@amelia_wild]

Can I put a word in for Portuguese laurel, prunus lusitanica - a beautiful evergreen that responds well to all manner of clipping and shaping, gorgeous rhubarb pink stems, dark green leaves and panicles of white flowers around now in June. Can be topiarised or grown as a single or multistem tree. Just a handsome plant that I’m surprised isn’t used more often!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Yes, absolutely agree - we had a Portuguese laurel hedge when I was a child and it was magnificent.

[@susancruz729]

Hydrangea quercifolia Snowflake, Abelia Canyon Creek, Jasminum mesnyi Gold Tip, Osmanthus fragrans, Fothergilla Blue Shadow, Encore azalea Sangria Sorry, but could not stop with one !

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Love hydrangea quercifolia (and the others). Interestingly quite a few people have mentioned Fothergilla, it's obviously very well loved.

[@lisamiller7143]

Lovely gardens

[@jo-annpotter9389]

Fantastic info 🙏🏻

[@Loris8768]

Si fuera traducido sería genial 👍

[@SMElder-iy6fl]

Why is a shrub that doesn't flower/berry invasive?

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

There are two varieties of this shrub, one is 'sterile' and I'd assume that wasn't invasive (I have the sterile variety, which has white pom pom flowers but no berries). However, the other variety, which looks identical as far as I can see, does have berries and is presumably the invasive one. I've asked quite a few people about this and have had rather vague replies, and I do find the labelling of this confusing, at least here in the UK.

[@robynemme2458]

The berries on Nandina are poisonous for birds.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

About 20% of all garden plants are poisonous to humans, pets and wildlife. The most toxic plant is oleander, yet both wildlife and pets happily co-exist with it all around the Mediterranean. The berries of mistletoe, yew, holly and elder are also poisonous to birds, but wild birds are able to detoxify some poisons, and they also (sensibly?) eat them in small amounts without problem. I think wildlife are more savvy than we are about what is edible and what isn't.

[@rhus36]

Shrubs are such an important element, they create structure and provide great habitat for birds. I so appreciate that you included information about where the shrubs are native and where they may be invasive, this is often overlooked.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you - we don't have a huge awareness of this issue here in the UK, perhaps because such a large percentage of our land is managed, but I know from all your comments that it's a major issue in North America and Australia.

[@lookforward2life]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden I just went through my yard (basically left to go for twenty years without landscaping or gardening) and so much and to be pulled and dig up because it’s invasive in south western Canada 😭😭 It’s not fun and it’s really got me second guessing planting anything at all…. Ugh. Thanks for listening to me whinging. Happy gardening all!

[@cecemeyer5902]

I am taking a garden design class and right now we are learning about shrubs. Perfect timing for this video. Thank you for such lovely choices.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you, I'm glad it was helpful.

[@ThreeRunHomer]

Ninebark is native here in Tennessee, so thank you for reminding me to get one! My favorite shrubs are more natives: azaleas, rhododendron, hydrangeas and winterberry. Easily as beautiful as any perennial.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Lovely list, I like all those although I'm not sure azaleas and rhodies would like my soil, which is why I don't have any at the moment.

[@libbysingscontrezzo8419]

When I moved to my current home it was a blank canvas, so decided to really focus on shrubs. They are cost effective, easy to care for, and come in a vast array of colors and sizes. Chosen carefully, you can have flowers in late winter, spring, summer, or fall, fragrance, fruit, berries or seed heads, amazing foliage color (not just in autumn), and winter interest. Even those that drop their leaves look beautiful as silhouettes or with snow on the branches. As they get settled in and near mature size, I am adding perennials and bulbs to fill in the gaps. Difficult to pick a favorite, but the one that impressed me the most this spring was the Enkianthus, and more to look forward to as it has glorious fall color. (so nice to see Jane from Bakeoff, she was my favorite!)

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Enkianthus looks beautiful and it's also got an RHS Award of Garden Merit, great choice!

[@mauracurran3270]

Well done again, must include Hydrangeas, Paniculata varieties especially good and of course querqu

[@mauracurran3270]

Sorry hit wrong button I meant quercifolia(oak leaf) v good in shade.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Absolutely, I totally agree, in fact I had meant to say something about hydrangeas, and forgot!

[@yacoobnabeebaccus827]

Good morn, I have a Fatsia Japonica in my garden. I have had it for over 20 years. While I was on holiday once in Tuscany, I noticed that the Italians prune their Fatsia Japonicas. They remove the leaves at strategic places creating a ‘cloud Pruning effect’. I have done the same with mine. It looks stunning with the leaves so green and luxuriant and fresh. Mine is in three layers and once the pruning is done the leaves tend to turn upwards giving the effect of an upturned umbrella. The tree will again grow more leaves by the end of the year and into winter and will bear flowers when the pollinators will be having a feast. Thought I will share this titbits with you and the other viewers. I will send you a picture of my tree (not a spider one) in due course. Thank you again for pointing us in the right direction. Best wishes from Yacoob from Edgware,Middlesex.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That sounds fascinating, thank you for sharing it.

[@bjrockensock]

Personally I'd prefer to let the ninebark complete its cycle to fruit, for it has the most interesting and persistent seed capsules. They are shiny and even more brightly colored than the foliage. Prune it sharply but let a woody trunk develop--its bark is special.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I'll do that, thank you. I didn't get seed capsules last year, so I'll be interested to see what happens.

[@emmalavenham]

Nearly all of these are considered old friends in the US, particularly in if you live in warmer climes (like Zone 7). But do consider instead of the burning bush, Fothergilla Blue Shadow because its early flowering, glaucous foliage and it's 4 season interest. And, if you can find it, variegated Disanthus cercidifolius, which is also lovely, and like fothergilla has stunning fall color..

[@libbysingscontrezzo8419]

Ooh, liking the look of the Disanthus. On my list for fall.

[@melissamybubbles6139]

Burning bush is also invasive in some parts of the US. Always check with your extension agency for lists of "Plant this, not that."

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It's so interesting that several people have suggested Fothergilla, so I must look out for it, thank you. I don't know the Disanthus, I will check it.

[@aistestremaityte6997]

It is unbelievable how much useful information I get every time from your videos! Thank you so much!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You are so welcome!

[@lissapowell967]

My favorite shrubs change all the time but presently a favorite of mine is itea virginica, or Virginia Sweetspire. It has white flowers in the spring and the most brilliant fall color which lights up the border. It is also thrives in a location where I have lost other plants! I'm in US zone 6b. Thanks for your videos. I look forward to them on the weekends.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That sounds beautiful, I will look it up.

[@libbysingscontrezzo8419]

Agree. I have one and it's just coming into flower now. (also 6b)

[@anitaswart.]

Thank you for this video about shrubs. I am South African and have been here for 17 years. I had three eights of an acre in SA and now have a post stamp, but still enjoy the difference in gardening, except missing my shrubs. I send my daughter in SA fotos of my colourful perennial garden and she can't believe that in a few months most of it is gone. I am adding to my shrubs and a few of the shrubs mentioned are old friends. In Cambridge I have a plumbago close to the house and overwintered. In my old garden, I had a hybrid hibiscus deep red with a darker eye and the large yellow stamen and when I sold the house it was 30 years old. I had hedges of Nandina growing out of cracks in the paving around the pool. Here I have a Nandina in a pot also doing well and always have flowers and berries. Going to get the Weigela mentioned, my mother always had them. Just had a look at Brunsvelsia and you do seem to get them here, one of the best in my old garden and tough as boots even with frost. Thank you for reminding me about shrubs.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

thank you - I'll look up Brunsvelsia. I love hibiscus, I have one here too.

[@anitaswart.]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden We used to call Brunsvelsia yesterday today and tomorrow, because the flowers changed colour from purple to white and a sent like star jasmine.

[@carolhenderson2466]

Another great video! They are so informative. I love abelias. A new favorite for me is Abelia "Funshine". It is the most floriferous of my abelias producing masses of small light lavender blossoms.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Sounds lovely!

[@drawyrral]

Most of the shrubs talked about here would not grow in my zone 3 garden, but I planted 2 Nine Barks last summer and they came through the winter beautifully. The leaves alone make it a favorite.

[@helenachase5627]

I love your content so much ! Your second shrub is divine ! And the chef is such an amazing gardener , wow ! On another note, I wondered if you might like to make a video about what advice experts have in regard to disappointments and knowing one's limits.... I am trying to spring plant and it seems the pests , rodents and plant deaths, plants not growing, and my own physical exhaustion are taking me to my limit ! Monty Don says we are not in charge of the garden but with these experts I dare say they are !

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That's a good idea, I will see what I can do. And I find that just as I am beginning to despair in the garden, something unexpectedly works well (usually a happy accident!) and that makes it all worthwhile, so I hope you get one of those to cheer you on soon.

[@p.h.c.1113]

Love using shrubs in our garden! Like you, I really appreciate the beauty of Ninebark. We added one 2 years ago and it has grown really well for us in zone 5b. I also have several different Viburnums and most recently planted a Dogwood called Neon Burst. Any shrub I add from now on, has to be very cold hardy, you just never know with our winters...

[@anneas8532]

Always a delight Alexandra, when your latest video appears. The information is always concise. They always make me want to jump to it and get out into the garden. One of the best tips was to spend 15 minutes everyday in the garden. It really helps to keep the weeds down. Sometimes it’s not always ever day, but if you stick to it it’s amazing what you can do, only problem is you realise just how much needs to done.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

15 minutes really does make a difference, I find. Thank you.

[@Chimchimenys]

Agreed, little and often. Sometimes my 15 minutes is just admiring what's there.

[@alexandros1973]

Thank you for this video Alexandra! My favorite shrub; Elderberry! Plain old elderberry! I use it in my back garden, as a frontline tree where the garden ends and the adjacent forest starts. It is among the bigger trees, sometimes partly or mostly hidden behind them. It looks great here, outside Malmö, south Sweden.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Elder is lovely, I agree and the plain elder is just as good as the Black Lace one.

[@melissamybubbles6139]

I would love to have elderberry. I think I'd have to plant two varieties in one pot and prune them heavily to keep them small.

[@gardengatesopen]

Right now I'm infatuated with Actaea, aka Bugbane. The ones with super dark foliage, almost black leaves. They are just sublime behind the green plants I want to showcase! And the flowers are a nice bonus!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It's beautiful!

[@plantsoverpills1643]

I think shrubs really round out the garden with so many more choices. I have grown and enjoyed most of the shrubs featured here. In addition, I enjoy my forsythia, lilacs and magnolia in spring, rhodos, azaleas, lavender, hydrangea, dogwoods, Japanese willow and of course the various types of spirea especially the little Princess which I have contrasting my Japanese maple, hibiscus, sand cherry butterfly bush and my holly, boxwood, mountain laurel, variegated euonymus and cedars especially as foundation plantings to maintain a lovely green throughout the winter. Almost forgot the potentilla!!😉

[@MoonLightOnWater1]

Thank you so much for this video! I’m located in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, but grew up in the Midwest, and I have lived on the East Coast and recently took up gardening in the past 10 years, and have ruined quite a few gardens being uneducated about the science of planting. I’ve learned from my previous lessons and educating myself first before I continue to waste, thousands of dollars!

[@francineh.7825]

I love mock orange!! Such a beautiful shrub and the scent is wonderful.

[@MadCityBells]

Wow! A fabulous episode package full of great suggestions. Thank you, Alexandra!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lindas.martin2806]

This is just the best channel!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@karenschwartz5209]

That was very cool getting so many gardeners talking about their favorite shrubs. Thank you! 👩‍🌾

[@emkn1479]

Here in the US I’d suggest newer cultivars of nandina or euonymus that are purported to be sterile. That said, if you have deer nearby, they’ll never get a chance to set seed and spread. I really enjoy button bush (cephalanthus). It’s just a green shrub but in summer it is covered in white firework-like blooms that are much loved by all pollinators. And I need to get my hands on a mahonia! They aren’t too easy to find.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you, that's very useful to know. There are such differences in the way plants behave in different places. It's amazing to us in the UK that anyone could have a problem finding mahonia, they are literally everywhere! Though much under-rated!

[@emkn1479]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden I can imagine. I suppose it’s much like how sumac grows wild here and is considered a roadside weed 🙃 I wish mahonia were offered more readily, especially because I doubt the deer would be interested and I live in an area with high deer pressure. The other good thing about button bush is that it will grow in very wet areas, even in standing water.

[@emmalavenham]

Obsession Nandina is to my understanding - sterile, and can even be planted in Florida...

[@sweetpeasandyarrowaranchdi8327]

I'm going to look for the last rose, beautiful. I have sambuca black lace and black beauty and ninebarks Diablo and Ginger wine. So far black beauty is my favorite. I also have native mahonia, it's hardy to at least -25F and takes extreme drought or wet conditions. I just don't like it, because of the pokey, holly like leaves and wherever it establishes, I can't get rid of it. It definitely is not as pretty as the one shown, though.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

There is a new mahonia called 'Soft Caress' with much softer leaves, that might be worth looking out for, although it flowers earlier, and one of the things I like about mahonia is that it flowers in mid-winter when hardly anything else does.

[@tmy1065]

I have two types of shrub dogwood (Cornus)for winter interest - one with red branches and the other with lime green ones. I love the way they look in the golden light of a winter sunset. To keep the color, they need hard pruning to the ground every few years or removal of a third of the older branches every year.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Cornus are fabulous, I agree.

[@kristinastoltzfus6032]

Thank you for another great informative video! Nandina is invasive where I live and the berries kill some birds so many are deciding not to grow them. I just cut the berries and use them in arrangements. This also keeps the seeds from spreading. Thanks again!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

thank you!

[@maryannrule2305]

Camellia, Pieris Japonica and Red twig Dogwood are three of my favorite shrubs

[@maryannrule2305]

All three are beautiful year round!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Beautiful! I used to have a camellia in London and squirrels used to nip off the flowers but they looked very funny running away with a flower in their mouths.

[@amyjones2490]

One of my favorite shrubs are Nanking cherries. They have a vase shape, lovely early flowers, and if conditions are right tasty cherries.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It sounds beautiful.

[@busarafirestone1180]

I love love love deciduous shrubs! I think they are underused in California where we can grow broadleaf evergreens and I think people why away from all deciduous shrubs accept for roses. I have the black lace elderberry in my garden and I love it!!! Thank you for having a great video all about shrubs!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@juliabinford6500]

I have Fatsia spider web in a container near my house. I love it. I have been adding shrubs rather than perennials this year.

[@yacoobnabeebaccus827]

Hi there, this my favourite horticultural You Tube videos. I watch them over and over. Thank you for the inspiration. Yacoob.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you so much!

[@helenachase5627]

I garden in zone 3 . Always heartbreaking to see these wonderful plants I can't have ! For very cold climates I would direct gardeners to Morden Nurseries in Morden Manitoba, Canada. They have developed an amazing array of - 40 c shrubs and trees. Most recently Yew and boxwood, granted the boxwood didn't survive for me and the Yew looks a bit sickly. It's still in the pot though !

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

A good tip! And I'm sorry about the hardiness, I do try to keep an eye on it. I think there was one you could grow...

[@helenachase5627]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden yes ninebark. Very hardy !

[@nicolewedemeyermiller7016]

My favorite is syringa vulgaris, the plain old common lilac. It withstands the extreme gardening conditions we have here in Illinois, and is drought tolerant. It gives us 3-4 weeks of extravagant flowering in the spring with delicious perfume. When it is out of flower it has pretty medium green heart shaped leaves. There are many cultivars, but I don't think that any of them have significantly improved upon the original.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I quite agree, it was lilac in bloom around my neighbourhood that gave me the idea for doing this, but in the end, none of the people I asked nominated it and I don't have one in the garden...but maybe by next time I do 'shrubs'

[@joannemurphy7407]

Thanks for another great video! What is the plant near the Physocarpus that has the whorled leaves?

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

There are some common poppies with quite frilly leaves, a rose and a crinum - I think probably the poppies

[@joannemurphy7407]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden I see the poppies. Maybe it's a lily. No worries. Thanks!

[@DanielaJones-lr3ev]

Thank you, Alexandra, for your most enjoyable and informative postings. I loved watching this episode on shrubs as it validated my kind of gardening. I have almost all the shrubs you mention because they do give all year interest, which is my main gardening aim. There is plenty of space between them to plant perennials and let self-seeded annuals shine. One of my favourite shrubs is Indigofera, oh, and Garrya Ellipptica, and I also love Callicarpa…..

[@davidthescottishvegan]

A fantastic video with beautiful shrubs. The experts gave a great selection too.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you so much.

[@lorimiller623]

I've found birds nests in rugosa rose bushes that are next to the sidewalk. Rosa glauca was a great shrub at my house in Denver--it's a beautiful xeriscape plant. But I've had three mockorange bushes and none of them ever did much of anything.

[@jinxy-g]

One shrub that wasn't mentioned but I would most definitely recommend to anyone wanting a versatile, easy maintence shrub with lovely foliage Spring through Autumn is the Nishiki Willow! I just planted it in the front of my house and the foliage started out bright limey green with an almost acid splash varigation and the newer foliage is turning more of a blush pink colour.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Interesting, thank you!

[@lulajohns1883]

Thank you Alexandra. Great ideas you have provided. Lovely video as usual.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you so much!

[@margaretmichelsen766]

What a great video. I am looking at replacing a lot of perennial beds with shrubs as I have a large garden and am finding the perennials need a lot of attention as they can get very scruffy several times a year. I have two different coloured physocarpus in my garden now but am really wanting that red one you have, it is stunning.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It is really beautiful, a friend gave it to me as I hadn't thought about it.

[@belwynne1386]

I am giving a nod to amsonia and fothergilla, both are deer, pest, and disease resistant in my US zone 7a garden and have multi season interest.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I looked them both up as I wasn't familiar with them, they look lovely. Amsonia is a perennial, though, not a shrub according to the RHS, not that that matters!

[@belwynne1386]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden good point, they aren’t woody. But they fill up a 1 sq m round space like a shrub might in the border so I have gotten into the habit of designing with them as if they were shrubs. Great vlog this week. You really do provide content for gardeners…the people of the dirty hands!

[@sunnygardner1246]

Would you know the name of the shrub with the very pale leaves @minute 9:37? Thanks.

[@johnmorrissey5012]

Bravo, brilliant video, I'm a professional gardener in Beara, West Cork. Our options are limited due to salty winds. As such eleagnus ebegenii, olearia macradonta, berberis darwinii, any fuschia, any hebe, a few more, not too many, are the ones that live.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@3daysdarkness938]

Thank you for the variety in growing zones!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Our pleasure!

[@carolmaclean1356]

My 9 bark doesn't bloom, its been there for 3 years. What should I do?

[@eaulaosolidaritea363]

Thank you so much for this, with the very useful list of plants at the end so we can make a list and go off and search suppliers. I have inherited a dark laurel border and am gradually replacing the gloom with lighter plants. The Fatsia Spider's web looks just the thing.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful! I love the Spiders web too.

[@EbtesamAl-bahar]

Thank you Alexandra

[@JillBretherton]

The mahonia berries are edible which I found out the hardest way possible when i found my toddler daughter stuffing her face with them. I was sick with worry and horror but was soon reassured to find they are safe, the birds love them and some people even make jams with them. Phew!!!! She's quite grown up now so all's well that ends well. My favourite is buddleija. I know people think it's a weed and a bit common but I use the flowers in bouquets and of course the bees and butterflies love them.

[@anitahadley2871]

Wow, the rose at the end with those hips is amazing. It’s new to me. Lots of great choices.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thanks so much 😊

[@moustafamortada]

Brilliant episode!

[@hattiedraper1061]

I vote for roses!

[@coloradotulips]

Lovely video! Thank you.

[@melissamybubbles6139]

I'd love to have elderberries, blueberries, Jewel gooseberry, haskaps, more raspberries, beaked hazel, white and black currants, and gambel oak. In my tiny garden, it'll be a trick figuring out how to fit some of them in.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Lovely list of shrubs, and it will be a trick to fit them all in, but it's worth trying.

[@melissamybubbles6139]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Thank you. I'll give it a go.

[@julesdavis1845]

We’re in Connecticut, in the US. The Euonymus featured is wildly invasive and damaging to waterway eco-cultures. They spread prolifically. Stunning fall color, but rampant and uncontrollable.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Yes, you're right that it's important that people find out which plants are invasive where they are - there's a warning sign on the picture of it in this video.

[@bethb9248]

As cheap as chips 😅❤

[@d.r.7943]

I had a Virburnum dentatum "Blue Muffin" in my garden and after 3 years had to remove it. As it got older it smelled like a sewer pit in Autumn. It was so bad that one gagged when going near it. One could start smelling it from 50 feet away.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That sounds awful.

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

I will put in a plug for two West Coast natives that also have their own UK cultivars, red flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) and California lilac (Ceanothus spp). The first has stunning fuschia flowers in very early spring and is one of the first plants to leaf out in late winter -- leaves get lovely fall color; is drought tolerant once established. The other has a stunning blue display in late spring, beloved by bumble bees, and is extremely drought tolerant once established (just needs a sunny well drained location, at the top of a slope or in a rock garden) -- may not even need summer water for you guys. Bc of its xeric habit very minimal pruning because they grow slowly, and they're evergreen.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Beautiful suggestions!

[@carefreedelight2355]

Posy is standing next to a lovely shrub which appears to be neither the ones she recommended. Can you let us know the name of the shrub she is standing next to which has those lovely yellow flowers 🙏 please. Thanks

[@kalayne6713]

I think the sign said it's a cornus...dogwood of some kind. Flowers and branch structure look like cornus.I often watch the video twice, so I get all the info.

[@sharongeorge4096]

I had a physocarpus Diablo for 10 years, it grew beautifully and was so healthy and then in year 11, it just dropped dead over the winter 😢

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Sad! Apparently they usually live for around 30 years, but unusual weather can get any plant.

[@mandyboyd64]

I find it annoying when someone giving advice says that they have a small garden and they really don’t! I have a very small garden, what shrubs could I have and still be able to put in pretty perennials too!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

The reason why I called this The Middlesized Garden is that 'small garden' has a very different meaning to different people, depending on where you live. 60ft x 20ft would be 'large' for a city garden but 'small' for a country garden (especially in countries where land is more available than Britain), and four acres is considered 'small' in terms of professional gardens that are open to the public. You haven't said what the dimensions of your garden are, but I've seen all these shrubs in gardens that are no wider than 15ft and of varying lengths (50ft/70ft/90ft) If you want to pack in more plants than you have soil for, then pots are a good way of getting an intensive planting, and both the rented garden kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3PYmYaAYploY9U and Dan Cooper's container garden use pots to create an effect of borders: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5fRq4Operyof6c And don't get hooked on thinking that because you have a small garden, you can only have small plants - you'll often get a better effect from one or two bigger shrubs and trees than keeping everything small, which can look cluttered.

[@milosurin3411]

Great evergreen shrub that will provide scent in early autumn is Eleagnus Limelight or Gilt Edge. Also like all Viburnums. Especially davidii for shade, tinus for structure and plicatum is just gorgeous.

[@rosiegold8562]

Great content and so helpful! Thank you so much again for your terrific videos!!!

[@melissamybubbles6139]

The dark ninebark shows pollinators that it's toxic. It gets out of control easily. It's coming out of my garden. If you have room, snowberries can look pretty. They could also get out of control easily.

[@nicolasbertin8552]

In England you are lucky to have mild climates so that you can also grow great Australian natives such as callistemons, grevilleas and leptospermums. Maybe even banksias, coz they grow well in Brittany and Normandy.

[@nickthegardener.1120]

I rather enjoyed this.👍

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@threeriversforge1997]

I think I like shrubs more than flowers, honestly. I like continuity and solidity, and the predictable nature of the shrub never seems to disappoint. Right now, I'm considering adding a formal hedge of Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) that I can pleach in the old style and make a genuine hedge out of. I'm not sold on the idea, but I do think it would be fun. Aside from that, the Viburnum obovatum 'Raulston Hardy' has caught my eye. It's a long-bloomer, I'm told, and has a very natural look. Like the Yaupon, it's evergreen and could be good as a hedge in the area I'm thinking. One problem that I don't often see addressed, and which is worrisome, is how the non-native plants impact the local food web. We all like seeing the birds come around, but seeds are only good for adult birds. For babies in the nest, they desperately need insects of every kind.... and planting all these non-native species really cuts down on the number of insects available. We see a few birds and think the ecosystem is functioning well, but we forget that we're not seeing millions of other birds that have been removed from the area because there isn't enough food for them. No one garden will make a difference, but think about what it means when you have thousands of gardens in just one city, and 80% of the landscape is non-native plants that don't interact with the food web.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It's a complex issue and the answer varies according to where you live. The definition of native plants also varies - in the UK it's a plant that has been here since before the last Ice Age (which ended 10,000 years ago). In the Americas and Australia native plants are those which were there before the European colonisation (roughly 500 years). Also the UK is linked to Europe, Asia and Africa by land mass and easily crossed sea, while the Americas and Australia are more isolated. This means much UK wildlife has adapted to a wide range of plants, not just natives, because there's been a continuous stream of trade and migration since the end of the Ice Age. The RHS recently conducted a study which showed that it is very beneficial to plant native plants in any garden, but that non-native plants also offered benefits, especially if they flower earlier or are more resilient in protecting wildlife food sources from unusual weather, so they do interact with the food web in a very positive way. There's a lot of debate about this at the moment and there's no 'one size fits all' solution, but the scientific research is clear - yes, more native plants would be good, but there's no benefit to wildlife if you stripped out the non-native plants that also offer food or shelter. And it may even be harmful if they've come to rely on those 'new' food sources.

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden I agree that there's no 'one size fits all' to it, but I would challenge the veracity of a study that claims there are benefits to adding non-native plants if they bloom early, etc. After all, the pollinators in any given area would have evolved with the same life-cycle as the plants. While some generalist pollinators could potentially benefit from early-blooming non-native plants, most insects are specialist feeders. I guess it all comes down to us understanding the complex situation. It reminds me of the recent re-introduction of the beaver to parts of England. Gone from the landscape for 400 years, nobody in the sciences understood just how big and positive their impact would be. Something seemingly trivial can make a tremendous difference, for good or bad, and we should be cautious. Every "invasive" plant currently plaguing the British countryside was brought in by those who thought they knew better.