Enjoy a Lively Garden All Year Around by Landscaping With Evergreens

Looking to refresh your landscape? Evergreens are your best friend!

Evergreens are a very important component of any landscape design.

They provide the bone structure of a garden and have so many good qualities that make them some of the most well-rounded and reliable plant species.

Most evergreens are super resilient, low maintenance, and come in an astonishing variety to suit all garden needs.

In line with that fact, whether you're looking for visual interest, privacy screening, or year-round charm, evergreen planting is granted to meet your needs.

Get to Know Them

Evergreens are plants that retain their foliage throughout the year or for more than one growing season as opposed to deciduous plants which lose their leaves at maturity.

You are probably already familiar with some evergreen shrubs and trees are junipers, boxwood, holly, and live oaks.

The great thing about evergreen plants is that they're super easy to work with. So, whether you're a professional garden designer or a gardening beginner, you won't have a hard time planting and maintaining them.

Now, let's go over some of the cleverest ways you can incorporate evergreens into your landscape design as well as the best-suited options for each function.

Evergreen Trees for An Ever-Private Space

Natural privacy is more beautiful, environment-friendly, and resilient than typical fencing. And evergreen trees are the perfect tool for that.

Using evergreen trees, you can line up your property, create borders, and turn your yard into a private oasis.

And the best thing about them is that they'll still keep their lush greenery in dry seasons, so you'll enjoy year-round privacy.

Here are some of the best trees for the job.

Juniper

Junipers are ideal privacy trees as they grow narrow and tall.

They look very natural in a garden design and provide an attractive bluish color.

Juniper trees grow about 3 feet wide and 15 feet high and are suitable for zones 4 to 9.

American Arborvitae

One of the most popular perimeter privacy trees.

Their dense, durable nature makes them ideal for privacy screening.

Arborvitaes are available in multiple variations that all thrive in zones 2 to 7.

Japanese Holly

Japanese Holly trees are ideal for narrow spaces.

Like Junipers, they grow narrow at 2-3 feet in width and tall at 10-15 feet in height.

They bloom red berries in winter that give a rare pop of color and are ideal for zone 5 to 9.

Spruce Trees

Spruce trees are available in very visually interesting varieties, making them suitable for privacy and as landscape focal points.

1. Black hill spruce: Black hill spruce are slow-growing trees suitable for zones 2 to 6. They're best used in larger spaces as they grow dense and tall.

2. Norway spruce: Norway spruce trees are also on the larger side but have some smaller growing varieties.

They thrive in full sun and are great for zones 2-7.

Other spruce tree varieties are blue spruce and weeping white spruce.

Leyland Cypress

Leyland cypress also has a lot of varieties with yellow, silver, and dark green foliage.

Like most coniferous trees, they grow in a vertical pyramidic shape, making them great for privacy.

Leyland cypresses are hydration-loving full sun trees ideal for zones 6-9.

Yew

Yews are long-living evergreens often used in foundation plantings.

For granted healthy growth, these trees are best planted in full sun, well-draining locations.

They're most well-suited for zones 4 to 7.

Create Art with Evergreen Shrubs

Shearing plants to create unique structures and shapes is an ancient art known as topiary.

This practice ranges from shearing plants into simple geometric shapes, to creating more elaborate patterns.

Topiary is one of the most natural ways to create a focal point feature and to add a lot of effortless visual appeal to a front or a backyard.

The dense nature of evergreen plants makes them ideal for artsy shearing.

Many evergreen shrubs are naturally cone-shaped which makes them super easy to maintain for topiary beginners.

Here are a few evergreen shrubs to consider.

Boxwood

Boxwood shrubs are aromatic evergreens that are super versatile as they thrive in a broad spectrum of surrounding conditions.

Boxwoods are great for zones 5 to 9 and do well in both full sun and partial shade locations.

If you happen to have dogs or cats, be mindful of where you place boxwood shrubs as they're toxic to pets.

Holly Shrubs

Most holly shrubs grow in zones 5 to 9 and have dark green foliage and red berry blooms.

Hollies are ideal for vertically shaped topiaries and have a few variations with different hues and blooms such as blue princesses, winterberries, and sky pencils.

Osmanthus

Osmanthus is one of the fragrant broadleaf evergreens frequently used in evergreen landscaping.

They bloom small white fragrant flowers in spring and thrive in zones 7 to 9.

Invite a refreshing breeze

Evergreens with sweetly scented flowers and leaves will bless your garden with relaxing, pleasant aromas.

Here are some of the most popular aromatic evergreens.

Jasmine

Some variations of jasmine keep their foliage year-round.

Their softly scented white flowers are sure to give your garden a magical look.

Planting zones: Zones 7 to 9.

Gardenia

An evergreen shrub with strongly fragrant white blooms.

Planting zones: Zones 8 to 11.

Texture and Contrast with Evergreen Foliage

Many of our landscape designers love to use evergreens as a base or a backdrop to create texture and showcase the other seasonal plants.

Evergreen bushes like junipers have naturally luscious foliage that makes them perfect for texture display.

Variations like blue star juniper and blueberry delight juniper provide color interest with the different hues and dark blue berries bloom.

Design a Dreamy Formal Garden

It's relatively easy to maintain shape and create a formal evergreen structure with pruning and shaping.

You can use evergreen hedges to section out areas of your garden naturally, create borders and separation, and outline your plant beds for a formal look without using hardscape materials.

Evergreens in Decorative Pots

While typically used as a backdrop for other plants, when given the spotlight, evergreens complement any outdoor space.

use well-sheared evergreens in complementary big pots and watch your porch become effortlessly organized and visually pleasing.

Ready to Start on Your Own Evergreen Garden?

Starting a new landscape project can be overwhelming; any miscalculation or mistake can cost a fortune with the recent prices.

Shrub Hub provides you with all the planning you need to create your dream space without worrying about making the wrong choices.

Go to ShrubHub.com to learn more.

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