So many weird and wonderful elements come into play when planning a year-long garden display. One feature many strive for is an evergreen look, to keep guests interested throughout the year, and not just in the delightfully warm spring or summer seasons. Thankfully, there are plenty of plants, flowers, trees, and shrubs which can be planted and cared for to develop a healthy-looking display.
We simply love evergreen shrubs, as they are easy to care for, a breeze to maintain and alter, and make such as impact on your overall garden design.
There is a wealth of different varieties of evergreen shrubs out there just waiting to thrive and impress in your garden, here are a handful of our favourites.
Buxus Box Balls
Buxus Box Balls add a unique shape and a touch of structure to any garden. Ideal for placing at the side of gates, doors, porches, or paths, this modern solution is slow growing, so requires very little maintenance! In fact, to keep a good shape, these shrubs only need to be trimmed two or three times a year.
The box balls can be left out all year round and even look remarkably pretty when covered in snow – ready for whatever the great British weather throws at them!
Buxus Box Pyramids
The wonderful nature of Buxus Box plants is that they really do come in all shapes and sizes…
If you are not bowled over by the bulbous style of our previous suggestion, then perhaps this pyramid variety will pique your interest.
A fully winter hardy and evergreen variety, which only needs to be trimmed twice a year to keep it looking uniform, this shape of Buxus Box will really standout when used to frame a doorway.
Rhododendron ‘Bollywood’
This remarkable Rhododendron ‘Bollywood’ is just waiting to impress in any garden, with bright cream and green variegated foliage.
A flash of magenta blooms is the headline feature of this shrub, which will appear in the spring.
‘Bollywood’ is also a best friend of wildlife and will attract a host of butterflies.
As a ‘semi-evergreen’, this Rhododendron will retain its leaves throughout the year, only losing them in particularly cold conditions.
Do not threat if this does happen, as ‘Bollywood’ will burst back to life the following spring.
Azalea ‘Starstyle’
A sea of stylish pink blooms can be seen stealing the headlines on the Azalea ‘Starstyle’. This relatively new variety has star-shaped flowers, which bloom in abundance from May to August. Low maintenance and fully hardy, the evergreen ‘Starstyle’ thrives in pots, borders, conservatories, or even inside the house.
Leucothoe ‘Burning Love’
Leucothoe ‘Burning Love’ is an ornamental shrub with year-round colour, regardless of where it is planted. Get up close and personal with this shrub and study its intricacies to discover a journey of colour. Arching red branches boast narrow glossy leaves when young. These soon turn dark green to provide an ideal backdrop for your other blooming varieties.
In autumn, the leaves take on a fiery scarlet shade, before welcoming spring with clusters of white, bell-like flowers, remaining into mid-summer.
Ilex crenata ‘Green Hedge’
An alternative to box hedging. Dark green and slightly more vigorous, yet is small, compact, and a breeze to maintain.
Box hedging has been used in UK gardens for centuries, however this variety is relatively new and boasts small and rounded leaves, which are not prickly, ensuring it is easy to trim and retains a uniform look.
‘Green Hedge’ can be used in the same situations you would use box hedging. Create a low hedge to split areas of the garden or as a border to line a pathway.
Top tip – Evergreen shrubs are easily forgotten after planting, but do not allow them to dry out. Check your varieties regularly and water to keep the soil moist
Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’ Snowball Tree
Viburnum are known as very popular and highly sought-after flowering shrubs, that rarely fail to impress.
This plant grows into a bushy, deciduous shrub with head-turning blooms and maple-like leaves, which red and purple in autumn.
‘Roseum’ even secured the RHS Award of Garden Merit, owing to its proven garden performances and vigour.
