Early spring is the best time to plant a new shrub in the garden. Shrubs give structure to a flower border and as many are evergreen, they provide some interest during the winter months. Not only are you able to see clearly where you have room in your border at this time of year, but the soil is beginning to warm up and the conditions are just right to give a healthy young plant a head start for the growing season. For this task you will need a garden or border fork, some general purpose compost, a spade and of course, your chosen shrub.
Dig over the chosen site for your shrub with a garden fork and dig in plenty of compost. Once you have done this, dig a large hole for your shrub. The hole should be deep enough to take the whole root ball with a couple of inches to spare. Place your shrub into the hole. If you are planting a bare rooted shrub, spread the roots around in the hole so that they are well spaced out. If your plant is already potted, tease out a few of the major roots before placing it into the hole. Back fill the hole with the soil and compost mix and firm with the heel of your boot. To complete the task, make sure your water the plant in well and continue to water it especially if the weather is dry. You might also consider mulching around your shrub with bark chippings. This will help retain moisture and also looks attractive.
Spring flowering shrubs
Here are a few of my favourite spring flowering shrubs for the garden. Cercis chinensis ‘Avondale’, a form of the Chinese redbud, which has lovely cerise pink blooms on bare branches in early spring. Chaenomeles x superba ‘Jet Trail’s’ has semi-double white flowers that appear through March and April. Who can resist the stunning white show made by Exochorda x macrant ‘The Bride’, or the spiky white blooms of Acradenia frankliniaea. Ribes odoratum or buffalo currant’s leaves, is similar to a gooseberry. Its leaves turn a lovely dark red and purple in autumn. Stachyurus praecox, has droplets of pale yellow flowers and likes a moist, humus-rich neutral or acid soil, and partial shade.Fothergilla gardenii’Mount Airy’ has white flowers in spring that have the appearance of little bottle brushes, hence its common name of bottle brush or pineapple bush.Fothergilla ochroleuca’Mountainsweet’ has pink flowers in summer that are almost bottle-brush like in appearance. It is a somewhat slow grower and is sensitive to frosts. Prunus incisa ‘Contorta’, a member of the yew family, has white flowers in spring that are very distorted with petals forming on outside edges, hence its common name of bendsy willow. It is a slow grower and also has a very distorted and wavy looking flower. The late spring and early summer are the best times for planting prickly plants and you should ideally have them in place by the end of May. If you are buying plants, choose to buy plants that have a few buds growing.
Not everyone has a garden or even a patio and a lot of people don’t even have a door to a garden. If you are lucky to have this kind of space, you have the possibility to install a weak but thriving wisteria (Hydrangea pratensis), a popular flowering shrub, in the spring time. Miniature cousins such as ‘Kasegae’ are perfect to achieve a soft and pastel coloured effect. Unfortunately this plant requires a lot of attention and must be adequately watered, fed and trained to grow straight.
The winter months are the perfect time toplant Evergreens. Look out for the first signs of the showy yet fragile Euonymusadamia sp. This displays its fiery orange flowers in January and February. Once kept in check, it is amazingly sustaining and can last up to ten years. Praying mantis, vipers and ladybugs are also an essential piece of gardening equipment.
Try out those winter bulbs to add a bit of sparkling beauty to your garden. Check out some of my favourite colors to grow in your garden throughout the year.
Why nothead a few winter treesis there anything better than seeing a Japanese maple leaf?
Bright red cedars, maybe snow-ball shaped, are a blaze of green in the winter.
The blooms of Identiflora, winter honeysuckle or winter jasmine are a thunderous riot of colour and invade your garden in a sea of red, pink or white.
