plants come in all shapes, sizes, and types, from annuals and perennials, to trees and bushes, to vines that creep along the ground or climb to impressive heights when given the right support. Chapter 15 gives you the information you need to get started on growing your own vegetables. Chapter 16 is devoted to herbs and how you can grow them to enhance the dishes that come out of your kitchen.
Working with Woody (or Viny) Plants
When planning which plants to grow in your garden, check out native plants. In general, they’re easy to grow because they have been long adapted to your area, are frequently drought tolerant, and are usually low maintenance. Check out which plants are native to your area at http://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/plants.
Woody plants consist of shrubs, some vines, and trees. This group of plants is probably a more important garden element than annuals and perennials simply because of the space that woody plants take up over the long term. They serve as kind of the bones of your garden. You may have inherited some trees and shrubs when you moved into your present home, or you may be considering replacing what you have or installing some new ones. Whatever you’re thinking, choose and act wisely. Allow these bigger plants the elbow room, the deeper prepared soil, and the light they may need.
The reason trees, shrubs, and some vines are called woody plants is that the bulk of their stems, and branches, are, well, woody — not herbaceous. This growth doesn’t wither or die back in the wintertime, as it does with herbaceous plants. Yes, the leaves, flowers, fruits, berries, and seeds may fade and fall off, but the rest of the plant abides. And with each passing year, the main stem or trunk grows another layer thicker, and the plant may add additional branches or woody stems. No wonder woody plants are considered more-or-less permanent, and certainly substantial, parts of a home landscape.
Shrubs
You may choose flowering or evergreen shrubs. Both kinds are worthwhile in different ways. Just bear in mind that flowering shrubs tend to have a fairly brief period of glory, and then you’re left with only foliage, so pick a shrub whose foliage you like. Good fall color and attractive or exfoliating bark, leaves, and/or berries may also be a factor in your decision. On the other hand, evergreen shrubs, whether broadleaf or needled, are valuable for long-term, consistent green color, sometimes offer attractive flowers, and, in many cases, a denser-growing profile.
Favorite shrubs for home landscapes include
Flowering: Althea, deciduous azalea, broom, butterfly bush, daphne, deutzia, elderberry, flowering quince, forsythia, fothergilla, hibiscus, hydrangea, itea, lilac, mock orange, ninebark, privet, red buckeye, red twig dogwood, smoke bush, spirea, sweetshrub, sweetspire, various viburnums, weigela, winterberry, and witch hazel
Broadleaf evergreen (with spring flowers and more-or-less evergreen foliage): Andromeda, aucuba, boxwood, camellia, cotoneaster, evergreen abelia, gardenia, holly, laurel, leucothoe, mahonia, manzanita, mountain laurel, nandina, oleander, rhododendron, and rock rose
Evergreen: Arborvitae, boxwood, euonymus, some cedars, some false cypresses, hemlock, holly, juniper, laurel, some pines, some spruces, and yew
Take a look at some of the roles shrubs can play:
Foundation planting (around the base of your house to add architectural interest, insulation, and security)
Boundary and hedge plantings (possibly in addition to, or in lieu of, fencing — thorny ones, including shrubby roses, are popular as living fences)
Individual, solo spots of color (specimen plants)
Mixed-border citizens for more architectural interest (have a mixture of shrubs, or have a mixture of one type of shrub and roses or perennials or vines or all of these)
Backdrops for a flower border
Entryway, poolside, deck side, or privacy plantings
As food and shelter for songbirds
For much more on shrubs, please turn to Chapter 13.
www.invasiveplantatlas.org/shrubs.cfm.
Trees
Trees can raise your property value, improve air quality, prevent erosion, lower your air conditioning costs with welcome shade, and provide a handy support for your hammock. Not too shabby, eh?
For most home gardeners, trees in the landscape are often already present but need care and pruning to look good and remain healthy. Or you may be shopping for one or more ornamental or fruiting trees to add. As with shrubs, your options include deciduous (ones that drop their leaves each fall; they may flower and fruit or have berries or seedpods) and evergreen (with leaves or needles that remain year-round).
Favorite trees for home landscapes include
Flowering and deciduous: Catalpa, dogwood, dove tree, golden chain tree, horse chestnut, magnolia, redbud, serviceberry, silk tree, snowbell, and stewartia
Shade trees: Ash, basswood, beech, catalpa, elm, ginkgo, honey locust, Kentucky coffee tree, linden, locust, various maples, various oaks, sourwood, sweet gum, and tupelo
Evergreen: Arborvitae, cedar, cypress, false cypress, fir, hemlock, juniper, Norfolk Island pine, pine, spruce, and yew
Fruit and nut trees: Almond, apple, apricot, avocado, cherry, chestnut, citrus, crabapple, fig, filbert (hazelnut), juneberry, loquat, mulberry, nectarine, olive, pawpaw, peach, pear, pecan, plum, quince, and walnut
Roles trees can play involve things like
Shade
Privacy (including noise reduction)
Grandeur and substance in the landscape
Food (fruits, berries, and nuts — for you and your family as well as for wildlife)
Decorative beauty due to foliage (including fall color!)
Shelter and food for birds and other wild creatures
