Top 10 Evergreen Shrubs

What if I told you; cultivating the most-inviting evergreen shrubs is way much easier than it seems? Let’s face it, any British home-owner would love to have a year-round, colourful yard or garden.

Whilst there are hundreds of shrubs on the market, not all can thrive in your garden.  It all comes down to choosing the right type.

In today’s piece, we will provide a compact analysis of 10 supreme evergreen shrubs that could completely transform your home.

It goes beyond knowing the Types

At the end of this, you should understand how factors such as environment, climate change, and privacy affect your choice of shrubs:

The sooner you take this in, the better for your gardening venture. Ultimately, you should be in a position to grow the plants you need, rather than the ones you want.

Read through our top 10 list:

Lavender

Lavender shrubs are among the best for purifying the air all year-long; thanks to their aromatic foliage. Being a herbal medicine and massage therapy relaxant, it would pay off to have these shrubs around your home.

It has over 45 types, with the English and French Lavender being the most popular. With their rich profusion of purple flowers, they are ideal for creating a neat close-packed hedge.  

The versatility of Lavender shrubs goes above and beyond. They have lilac-pinkish flowers that can be used in flower vases indoors, or even sprinkled on cakes as toppings.

They can survive with low water consumption but thrive best during dry summers and wet winters. Nonetheless, they attract bees, butterflies and wild birds, hence might be a disturbance to some.

Euonymus

If you have walls around your house, the Euonymus Fortunei would be an ideal option for reinforcing a shade. These low-maintenance shrubs can be set to climb a wall or even fence a perimeter in different shapes. In addition, they tolerate a myriad of soils; from coastal sand to poor loam soil, proving to be convenient for many. 

The outstanding bit about them is that they have a soft modest shade of green that blends in with the environment naturally. You wouldn’t have to worry about the interspersion of colours in your surroundings.

Whether manicured or wild, the Euonymus can grow up to 10 feet tall, forming a good hedge of protection against strong winds.

Mahonia

Similar to sunflowers, the Mahonia are admired for their striking glow and radiance when planted in large quantity. With over 70 species, the Mahonia cultivars are the most popular. It is characterized by spiny prickly leaves, elongated floral design, and a sweet smell. It could act as a great shrub to keep off intruders.

Other types include the Soft caress which is less edgy than the Cultivars and the Hollyleaved Barberry Mahonia which has bright bluish-purple seeds. This is just to show you how diverse this type of shrub is. They can all grow in clay soils, but cope well in coastal conditions.

Sprouting fully during spring and late winter, they are mostly used to light up any dormant environment or act as an addition to other shrubs. 

Cedar

Perhaps one of the most popular shrubs in the world, these evergreen plants are well known for beautifying, fencing, and even building. Though most people classify them as evergreens, they are trees which can grow up to 30 feet tall.

When planted in rows they make great border hedges, with the aim of enforcing privacy and offering protection from ice and snow. Not only are they easy to grow, but also need maintenance at least once or twice a year. If you are planning to grow these, note that they are highly susceptible to salty areas; hence not preferable in coastal areas.

Various plant propagation for this shrubs includes planting seeds, cuttings, or buying from a nursery.

Spruce

With a peg-like base and needle-like leaves, this coniferous shrub is similar to the cedar and fir evergreens. It has the tendency to grow slowly but ends up going up to 60 meters high. Because of its growth rate, you would have to wait for a number of years before you get the final result.

Nevertheless, the conical shape of the fully-grown spruce is effective in protection against strong winds and noise. Also, the fresh shoots of the spruce can be ingested, since they are rich in vitamin C. They would definitely spruce up your home.

Fir

According to studies, Fir is one of the most diverse evergreen shrubs. It has more than 10 popular types, but the most common in the UK is the Douglas fir. It is associated with soft pointed leaves and great lengths. Though similar to the spruce, it has a few notable differences.

Unlike spruce, fir trees have dense branches and soft leaves. This implies that they shed leaves more often, hence calling for more maintenance. Regardless, they are a great option because of the fresh air they bring, as well as their year-round evergreen nature.

Arborvitae

Originating from the Cypress family, the Arborvitae ranges from 10-30 feet and has numerous cultivars you can choose from. Whilst it is adaptable to almost all soil conditions, it thrives best in mild winters, cool summers, and coastal climates.

They are green throughout the year but are sensitive in the sense that, lack of water can lead to stunted growth. At the same time, they don’t need to be drained, rather a moist atmosphere.

The round design is among its best adaptations since it is tough and neatly-packed even in cold weather. Think of them as giant meatballs.

Azalea

Not all evergreen shrubs are green. The Azalea is one of the few shrubs that give a variety of lovely shades in and out of season, but mostly during Spring. They have few green leaves, accompanied by coral, white, peach, pink or purple flowers.

They make a perfect combination when planted together as a low hedge under taller species. Nonetheless, the Azalea leaves have been cited to be toxic in nature, hence dangerous for consumption.

Boxwood

Also known as the ‘box’, this plant highly responds to the slightest level of pruning, thus easy to nurture. Its deep-green colour serves as a great aspect of camouflage and spices up your landscape.

Like other shrubs, it has different types such as the Green mountain (conical) and Winter gem (round), all of which have the same features.

It generally needs a lot of pruning at first to give it the desired shape, but it is definitely worth cultivating.

Juniper

We could not finish our round-up without mentioning the ground-hugging, fast-growing Juniper shrubs. If you have rocky areas around your home, then this would be your best cover-up.  

Simply pop a few seeds and watch them take off, acting as an amazing ground cover. They can also be foundational or substitute edges when curbing holes in your perimeter fence. Above all, they are good for soil retention and come in different colours.

Other honourable mentions that didn’t make the cut include:

• Yew
• Cherry Laurel
• Daphne
• Aucuba
• Hemlock

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