Bush craft: Hardy shrubs you can leave alone

21 June 2015 - 02:00 By Laurian Brown

Evergreen shrubs are not, on the whole, the showiest of creatures. But now, clothed among the twiggy bareness of winter, they shine. Every garden needs a framework that is about two-thirds evergreen to one-third deciduous - and these shrubs provide structure, privacy and wind protection year round. They also add a calm restfulness to the scene.story_article_left1Now is a really good time to study your garden and enhance the framework or close the odd gap with a few well-chosen shrubs. Some of the best are sombre greens that make an excellent backdrop for brighter planting, but there's a wide variety of texture and colour to choose from that will also produce decorative flowers and fruit for the birds.Established shrubs must be treasured. They may have become leggy, due to crowding or too much shade, but judicious cutting back works wonders to restore them to new growth and dense fullness.We've picked out a selection of eight tough evergreens that make superb framework or feature plants. Given enough light and space they will grow into fat, shapely beauties, needing minimal pruning - or none.THREE OLD FAITHFULS• Abelia x grandiflora (2mx1.5m): small sparkly leaves and honey-scented flowers for most of the year make this shrub a gem. Its various forms - dark green with pink flowers, gold-leaved, or variegated - are all equally attractive.• Rhaphiolepis delacourii (2mx2.5m): one of the toughest of all shrubs, with a handsome spreading form, dark waxy leaves and clusters of soft pink or white flowers from autumn, followed by black berries.• Viburnum tinus (3mx2m): another tough and graceful shrub, with dark green leaves and heads of white rosy-budded flowers from late winter, followed by small black berries.FIVE INDIGENOUS FAVOURITESstory_article_right2• Aloe arborescens (3mx3m): a strong addition to any boundary planting for its sculptural qualities and flowers, produced from autumn well into winter.• Buddleja auriculata (3mx3m): a graceful weeping habit with dark green, shiny leaves with a white reverse and scented creamy flowers in spring.• Carissa macrocarpa (3mx4m): a spreading bush with dark, leathery leaves and fragrant white flowers. Big thorns make it an excellent boundary plant.• Grewia robusta (3mx2m): compact and hardy, with pink-mauve flowers in summer and small berries that birds love.• Searsia (Rhus) crenata (3mx4m): small, bright green leaves with reddish tints on the new growth; an extra-dense and extra-tough coastal plant.TIP: Never trim your shrubs into mushroom shapes. Retain the lower branches to give the plant a good broad base and allow it to sweep the ground. This keeps the roots cool - and contributes enormously to creating a calm atmosphere...

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.