PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Barberry trees form attractive thickets that are popular with birds.
Pungent barberry
Barberry branches are very prickly. They form pretty impenetrable groves and the birds appreciate them to build their nests there sheltered from predators. For years, landscapers have given themselves the word, it seems, to plant the purple variety “Rose Glow” which turns bright red in the fall (in the background in the photo). Outstanding. It has become ubiquitous. Beberis ‘Sunsation’, my favorite, is pale green if not yellowish and turns orange in the fall. It hardly exceeds 1 meter in height, half of “Rose Glow”. It is easy to size (but it stings) and we can give it a rounded shape. Does well in heavy soils and plant in full sun.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
A seductive yew reaches out to you.
A yew tree with vibrant shoots
The advantage of conifers is to be beautiful all year round. The choice is very large: dwarf conifers for the rock garden or varieties that metamorphose during the season. Taxus x media “Sunburst”, a bushy yew, still seduces me. It does not exceed 1 meter and extends its branches over 2 or 3 meters, as if it wanted to take you in its arms. In the spring, the new shoots are bright yellow, a stark contrast to the green of the old stems. The new color holds up well into the summer. Note that yews are not very demanding in terms of soil, they can grow in partial shade and produce foliage on old wood, a major advantage when pruning compared to cedar (Canada cedar).
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The laciniated staghorn differs from its cousin the staghorn sumac by its more indented foliage.
A love-hate relationship
For 20 years we have been living with “Tiger Eye”, a laciniated staghorn which differs in particular from its cousin the wild staghorn sumac by its more cut foliage. I never thought that one day I would recommend this shrub with which I still have a love-hate relationship. It should not produce suckers, they said. Deception, of course. It suckers less than its little cousin, it is true, so that by regularly eliminating the new shoots, I have come to terms with this nasty defect. Maybe I lost my sense of objectivity. Is that “Tiger Eye” is really beautiful. Yellowish foliage in summer, golden and flamboyant in fall. A splendor! It adapts to heavy soils and hardly exceeds 2 m even after two decades. Not to be placed in a flower bed.
PHOTO ARMAND TROTTIER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The “Josée” lilac produces pink flowers.
Dwarf lilacs
The fashion today is for small lilacs, around 2 m. It’s up to you to choose the color, the flowering period (some are earlier than others) and the maximum size that suits you. At the time, I really appreciated the magnificent bright pink flowers of “Miss Canada” before a nasty rodent came to end her life. Some dwarf lilacs bloom twice. This is the case of my favorite, “Josée”, with pink flowers, which does not exceed 1.5 meters in my garden. We are sometimes forgotten to be told that the second flowering is much less abundant. Josée often produces a flower or two in October.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Spireas offer several colors of foliage and flowers.
Spireas
Spireas offer a wide range of foliage and flower colors. The tallest varieties barely exceed 1 meter, but are easily pruned when needed. ‘Double Play Candy Corn’ features bright red leaves in spring that will quickly turn orange. Its flowers are red and its size, about 60 cm.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The exuberant and very colorful rhododendron “Olga Mezitt”
Interesting rhododendrons
If they form only one and the same family, the azaleas are considered as rhododendrons which lose their leaves in the fall. From an aesthetic point of view, rhodos are more interesting because they are green all year round, they have a more compact bushy shape and they usually flower very early, around mid-May. On the other hand, many spring or summer azaleas give off a divine fragrance. Opposite, the exuberant rhododendron “Olga Mezitt”.
PHOTO OPIOLA JERZY, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
A Weigela florida in bloom
Very long flowering
Many weigelas bloom twice a summer. Their abundant trumpet-shaped flowers and foliage vary in color depending on the variety. Easy to grow, they have a bushy behavior and their height varies from 60 cm to 1.5 m. There are several varieties of Weigela florida.
PHOTO ARMAND TROTTIER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The intensity of the blue of some hydrangeas depends on the degree of acidity of the soil. The higher the pH, the pinker the flower becomes.
Versatile hydrangeas
Bushy or shrubby, hydrangeas are popular because of their large flowers. They persist on branches late in the fall, even when they are dry. Whitish or in more or less bright shades of blue or pink, they have different shapes depending on the species and rarely exceed 1.5 meters. On the contrary, the Hydrangea paniculata are often sold on the stem or form large shrubs of 2 to 3 meters.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Boxwood is often pruned into a ball.
A slow plant
Extremely popular in Europe, often pruned into a ball, boxwood is an evergreen shrub that is increasingly popular with us in landscaping. Although some varieties grow very slowly, it must be pruned at least once a year, which makes the foliage denser and more resistant to the weight of snow.
Want to discover the many varieties of shrubs available to you? The Abbotsford nursery, a major wholesaler in Quebec, alone offers no less than 240 varieties in its catalog and some forty small conifers.