Evergreen shrubs will keep your
This shrub contributes little more than a solid green backdrop to spring and summer plantings, but come late winter, it demands your attention because the scent from its wispy little white flowers will knock you sideways. Try and plant this shrub near your front door if you can, and give your visitors a treat.
- Easy to grow
- Intensely fragrant flowers in winter
- Thrives in shade
- Uninteresting foliage for much of the year
This is a slow-growing small tree with glossy leathery leaves and a ridiculously generous list of desirable attributes – bell-shaped pink/white flowers in autumn, ripening to yellow and red small fruits through the rest of the year, red stems when young, and beautiful peeling cinnamon-coloured bark on the older branches. Very classy.
- Wonderful for bees and other pollinators
- Flowers, fruits and bark give year-round interest
- Best in full sun
- Needs soil on the acidic side to grow best
The Mexican orange blossom bush lives up to its common name both when you brush up against its glossy green leaves, and when you sniff the starry white spring blossom – a delicious sharp orangey-tang hits you. Cut it back after flowering and you’ll get more flowers in autumn and winter.
- Very versatile hardy medium-sized shrub adding screening, texture and scent
- Holds an AGM proving its worth
- Excellent for hedges in sun
This lovely robust Australian evergreen is a lot hardier than we have been led to believe (down to -5), and is a good choice for mild UK coastal areas. The needle-like foliage on this medium-sized shrub is scattered with spunky little red tassly flowers from very early in the spring and sporadically throughout the rest of the year.
- Low-maintenance in sun or part-shade
- Very long-flowering season
- Thrives in poor sandy soils
- Can cause skin irritation and is toxic to cats and dogs if eaten
This shrub is originally from South America but is grown extensively in New Zealand. Its evergreen credentials are not quite as striking as others, with tough leaves of dull metallic green but it makes up for this with flowers that are unique and intriguing, with possibly even a third attribute in hot summers of edible fragrant fruits known as feijoas.
- Compact with an ultimate height of 2.5 m
- Best in alkaline or neutral soil in full sun
- Only light pruning necessary to manage the dense bushy growth
- Only hardy in coastal and mild UK areas (H3)
This pretty low-spreading shrub has papery flowers in late spring and early summer, and soft crinkly foliage which makes it a charming backdrop for winter pots and tubs. We love its pinky-purple blooms that sparkle in the sunshine, giving off the vibe of its Mediterranean heritage.
- Aromatic foliage
- Good in poorer soils - rich soil causes soft leafy growth at the expense of flowers
- Highly resistant to deer damage
- Borderline hardy in cold areas of the UK
This evergreen shrub is a smasher that brings a West Coast vibe from its native California. We love its most unusual long silky catkins in winter which are a real head-turner in the darker months. It can eventually reach 4 m but may take 20 years to do so.
- Attractive silvery-green foliage
- Not fussy about soil type as long as it's well-drained
- A real feature plant in winter
- Dislikes hard pruning because it doesn't shoot from old wood
This is a dense evergreen and very hardy shrub growing to about 4m with leathery dark green leaves. Its little white flowers are followed by small red berries which last for weeks and weeks through the winter, providing a marvellously cheery splash of colour.
- Very hardy in all parts of the UK
- Will grow in any aspect and almost any soil except waterlogged areas
- Fast-growing and needs regular pruning to keep it contained as a hedge
This photinia is a refreshing change from the ubiquitous red versions we generally see in spring. Its young foliage starts as an eye-catching bright pink, gradually maturing through shades of salmon until by midsummer it has taken on the pale green and cream pigmentation of its mature leaves. At each stage it can complement spring and early summer underplanting, bringing height and structure to beds and borders.
- Only grows to a maximum of 8 foot so very manageable
- Responds well to hard pruning so can be any shape you wish
- Gives a welcome burst of refreshing colour from early March onwards
- Needs regular pruning to encourage the highly coloured young stems to sprout in spring.
Here's a pretty thing to lighten a sombre winter scene! This elegant evergreen shrub or small tree (can reach 3-4 metres in ideal conditions) has charming wavy-edged greyish leaves with white margins and contrasting black stems. Its little flowers are also scented in spring - delightful!
- Lovely as a coastal hedge, screen or plant for a large container
- Its light, cream foliage provides contrast and structure in a border
- Low maintenance except for a light pruning to shape in spring
- Needs a sheltered position in full sun or light shade. Only hardy to H4 (-5 to -10)
'Golden Sun' is an appropriate name for this dense evergreen shrub! Its white flowers in summer are followed by simply masses of bright yellow berries which persist through the winter. Growing to an ultimate height of 2.5m , it will also spread to 4m over about 10 years. Birds such as blackbirds and thrushes love to eat the berries so it's a winner as far as wildlife is concerned too.
- Fast-growing and very hardy
- nectar/pollen rich flowers followed by berries that are loved by songbirds
- Dense growth provides habitat and shelter for wildlife
- Extremely sharp thorns so not a good choice for play areas
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