It’s high time to change the attitude that gardening is stressful. You want the most beautiful place in your house to associate with relaxation, rather than work and exhaustion.
Ever-green low maintenance shrubs and perennial plants - as opposed to annuals – are the key here. Such an option is largely pest-free and will require only occasional watering.
Here is our list of ten shrubs and plants that will keep your garden colourful and charming without much effort.
1. Pieris Japonica (Mountain Fire)
This bushy evergreen shrub with its red young leaves can light up any garden. It blooms in spring with creamy-white flowers that contrast beautifully with the scarlet and deep green foliage.
Pieris japonica is compact in size. It will thrive in a partially shaded spot with well-drained, acidic soil.
2. Ferns
Some types of ferns grow well as shrubs and are a brilliant option for a shady garden. They can transform dark, damp corners and are extremely easy to maintain. Often overlooked as a shrub in their own right, in favour of using smaller varieties underneath other planting, larger ferns have a fantastic, unique shape and growing habit which can work extremely well in contemporary, woodland, cottage and geometric gardens.
Some species of fern are also evergreen and can lend structure and colour to your garden all year round.
3. Hardy fuchsias
These outstanding garden plants can brighten up any border with their spectacular two-tone flowers often blooming from spring to early frosts.
Available in a wide range of colours, sizes and styles it tends to thrive best in full or partial sun. You will need to water it regularly in the coming spring and summer after planting but once established they will need watering only on very hot days.
4. Forsythia
Forsythias are low maintenance shrubs with delicate, bright yellow flowers in early spring. They are a fantastic option for getting colour into your garden at a time of the year when larger plants can look quite bare and would be wonderfully complemented with some daffodil bulbs planted nearby to get a stunning show year after year.
After these yellow flowers appear, the light green leaves of the plant unfurl and will provide a lovely, unintrusive greenery to your garden until autumn.
Forsythias prefer sunny and well drained, but not dry soil.
5. Camelia
Blooming from late winter, these evergreen shrubs can bring an early spring mood to your garden. Once the blooming has ended, Camellias will provide a glossy dark green foliage, an attractive backdrop to other brighter perennials that bloom in summer and early autumn.
For the first two years after planting, Camellias do require some attention, particularly watering, but after being established they will look after themselves. One important thing is its position: as a woodland plant, they cannot tolerate full sun, so find a shady or dappled spot for them.
6. Hydrangea Macrophylla
With their immense flower heads, Hydrangeas are a staple of most British gardens. With little care, their vibrant blue, vivid pink or frosty white flowers can last through into autumn. Remember, do not deadhead them as winter frost and snow can turn them into dazzling decorations in winter months.
Hydrangeas are happy in partly shaded spots. Important to know is that flowers bloom only on stems that are at least one year old, so aggressive pruning will only cause damage. And yes, that is our main point: just relax and enjoy the beauty.
If the macrophylla isn’t for you, there are various different types of hydrangea to enjoy including climbers and small-flowered varieties. As their name suggests, hydrangeas appreciate being well watered, as long as they can freely drain off any excess.
7. Lavender
Some people choose their plants for outstanding beauty. Some are after their mind-blowing aroma. If you are one of the last groups, then Lavender is your go-to plant for the sunniest area of your garden.
This highly fragrant versatile shrub is easy to grow in the right conditions. It will thrive in a sunny spot, in well drained soil. If you like it to stay compact, then prune it once a year.
8. Hosta
These surprisingly low-maintenance plants come in many shapes, textures and colours. Their eye-catching foliage can impress even the most choosy gardeners.
To plant a Hosta, find a moist, shaded area in your garden. The rule of thumb here is the darker the foliage the darker the shade you will need, meaning that for variegated varieties that have golden or white stripes you should choose a slightly brighter place.
9. Sempervivums
In Latin, Sempervivums translates as ‘always alive’. These evergreen wild species with many varieties are mainly found in the Alps, where they survive dry summers and snowy cold winters. But they can be happy in your garden as well if you plant them in full sun in well-drained gritty soil to protect them from being waterlogged.
Mature sempervivums flower in the summertime. Once the flowering rosette has died, it will be replaced by the surrounding offsets. Try to mix and match different varieties as it will highlight each plant's individual colour that will be changing depending on the season.
10. Leucanthemum (Shasta daisy)
Yet another favourite of gardeners, Shasta Daisies can create a bold romantic mood in any garden with their large white petals and yellow central discs. These long-flowering summer plants are available in a range of heights and are suitable for that sunniest place of your garden where you want to show off most.
Shasta daisies will grow happily in a wide range of soils and conditions, including clay areas and coastal exposure. Additional benefit: they are some of the best cut flowers and can add summer vibes to your living room decoration.
Conclusion:
In the end, nature is nature, and it’s not supposed to be always perfect. Gardening is basically trying to make the best of nature in your own little space. It should be a place to enjoy, not a place of stress.
Something, where a lot of people get confused, is that they try to control nature. Things don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. While manicured gardens are great, they aren’t the best for biodiversity either. The plants and shrubs on this list do not need much fertiliser, just water and time to look incredible.
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