Living in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, you very well may have a yard that borders a forest line, oak savannah, grassy field or prairie, or a little mix of all. If you’ve found yourself wondering what you could grow to make the scene more pleasant, then we’re here to help you discover the options.
First, we know that a landscape that gives more joy than stress is one that is low maintenance. Ultimately, choosing the right plants for the area will help you accomplish an easy-care landscape.
Now, let’s dive into how choosing shrubs for these border areas can achieve a lush, enchanting and low maintenance landscape that will bring you joy for years to come.
Benefits of Growing Shrubs
Shrubs are defined by their woody stems branching out of the base of the plant from multiple trunks, stems or canes. Shrubs are found in various sizes, ranging from petite and compact to grand and sprawling, offering an array of captivating forms and textures to complement any garden or outdoor space.
Reasons to grow shrubs:
- Growth habits provide interesting structure and form in landscape.
- Foliage and branching create depth and dimension.
- Some plants grow up to 15 feet tall offering natural barriers and provide privacy.
- Dense growth can mitigate noise pollution acting as a buffer between your yard and a busy road.
- Promote biodiversity by attracting a diverse range of wildlife, including birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects.
- Offer a sustainable and low-maintenance landscaping solution as once they are established, they often require less water and upkeep compared to more demanding plant varieties.
Choose the Right Shrub for Your Site
Not every shrub will grow in every spot in the yard. There are groups of shrubs that do better than others in certain areas depending on the sun exposure, soil conditions, wind exposure, and overall purpose of the planting.
Inspired from the book The Random House Book of Shrubs by Roger Phillips & Martyn Rix, here are shrub suggestions for those unique areas and situations that our beautiful Willamette Valley has to offer.
Wood Edges
The edges of forests are the most natural habitats for shrubs where forming a transition zone between woodland and lawn, or grassland, can enhance the natural beauty.
Many shrubs even benefit from the shelter of trees, and can tolerate the partial shade.
Shrub picks for wood edges:
- Red-Twig Dogwood (Cornus) –Grows in full sun to partial shade. Varieties like, ‘Midwinter Fire’, or ‘Kelsey’ are great choice for fall color and adding winter bark interest.
- Rhododendron – Grows best in part sun to shade. Prefers acidic, well-draining soil. Offered in many different bloom colors; blooms appear in mid- to late spring.
- Philadelphus – Grows in full sun to part shade. Offers fragrant spring flower in late spring to early summer. PNW native and fire resistant.
- Viburnum – There is great variety in viburnums! Deciduous, fragrant, early spring bloomers to the evergreen variety ‘David’ that grows in shade. Low maintenance and fire resistant.
- Mahonia – A Pacific Northwest native species offering an early spring nectar source for pollinators, and birds grape-like fruit in late summer. Grows best in part sun to shade.
- Hydrangea – Mophead, lace-cap, panicle, and oak leaf types all have their unique features. Panicle and oak leaf varieties tolerate full sun.
- Daphne – The ‘Winter Daphne’ is most popular for highly fragrant winter blooms. Fire resistant; does well with supplemental water in summer.
- Magnolia – Varieties like ‘Ann’, ‘Betty’, ‘Genie’, ‘Jane’, ‘Randy’, ‘Star’, and ‘Royal Star’ all grow 15 feet or shorter offering fragrant spring blooms; prefers acidic soils.
Understory Beneath Large Trees
Particularly evergreen shrubs grow naturally in open deciduous or mixed forest, beneath a tall canopy of trees. Some deciduous shrubs (plants that drop their leaves in fall and winter) grow and flower well in partially shaded areas where the canopy isn’t too dense.
Many, such as witchhazel, flower early before the leaves have developed on the large trees.
Shrubs to grow underneath large trees:
- Rhododendron
- Camellia – A lovely glossy leaved shrub that is available in many varieties that provide a range of bloom times starting in late fall to mid-spring. Watch our video on camellias to learn more. Grow best in partial sun to shade in acidic, well-draining soil.
- Magnolia
- Mahonia
- Witchhazel (Hamamelis) – Adaptable to full sun to shaded exposure. A unique fragrant winter bloomer that also offers great fall color. Also adaptable to different soil types, and fire resistant.
- Hydrangea
- Deciduous Azaleas – Offers vibrant blooms in mid- to late spring that emerge before the leaves. Grows well in full sun to partial shade.
Wetland Edges
Sites that are constantly or seasonally wet provide a special challenge – and even more when they are very wet in winter and rather dry in summer. Wet prairies and seasonal wetlands have natural shrub components as well, providing great habitat for many creatures.
Provide some water to newly planted shrubs for the first couple of years (if dry in summer) until plants are more mature and durable.
Shrubs for wetlands:
- Spiraea – There is a beautiful variety of spiraea, some spring bloomers and others offer a summer-long bloom. The PNW native Western Spiraea is an ideal choice in wetland areas, and fire resistant.
- Itea – Fragrant spring blooms that pollinators love, and stunning fall color. Iteas grow well in full sun and full shade. It is an amazingly adaptable plant, tolerating both dry conditions and even some standing water; also known to be fire resistant.
- Inkberry Holly (Ilex glabra) – A small green shrub that offers dense foliage and winter berries that birds enjoy.
- Salix – There are a couple PNW native types. It is quite adaptable, preferring to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water; fire resistant.
- Red-Twig Dogwood (Cornus)
Shrub Border
Creating a shrub border with 5 or less types of shrubs (with seasonal interest in mind) along the property line, back fence or driveway, is a low maintenance way to add interest.
Plant shrubs close enough that their branches touch, but not so close that they interfere with one another’s growth. Taller and more robust shrubs should be planted in the back of the border. Smaller and more delicate shrubs should be planted near the front of the border.
Carefully plan your spacing, though it is quite inevitable that the border will be planted rather too closely and require thinning after a few years.
Early flowering bulbs which die down by mid-summer will do well beneath deciduous shrubs. Suitable bulbs may be: Galanthus, Hyacinth, Crocus, Scillas and Daffodils.
A few shrubs pick for borders:
- Lilac – A classic spring bloomer, loved for its fragrance. Best grown in full sun and in sites with well-draining soil; fire resistant.
- Deutzia – An excellent small shrub that is tough and adaptable. Best grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under typical garden conditions.
- Hibiscus ‘Rose of Sharon’ – Very adaptable plant, but prefers full sun; an elegant choice offering mid summer to early fall blooms.
- Philadelphus – PNW native.
- Weigela – Trumpet-shaped flowers attract hummingbirds in spring; very showy, ideal for the mixed garden border. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn’t be allowed to dry out; grows best in full sun.
- Ribes sanguineum – A favorite early spring bloom that is loved by people, and native pollinators. PNW native; fire resistant.
- Spiraea – Fire resistant.
Mixed Border
Trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and bulbs grow together in harmony, yet is the most difficult, labor intensive, but most rewarding landscape. Shrubs are the dominant feature, planted as to create the effect of small glades or clearings with herbaceous plants enclosed in semi-circles of shrubs.
Make good use of groundcovers and weed-smothering perennials that are tough.
Use special feature shrubs for scent (Daphne, Choisya, Osmanthus), rarity (Crinodendron, Sciadopitys, Feijoa/Acca) or interesting textures, colors, or growth habits (Salix, Podocarpus, Arctostaphylos).
Some suitable perennial companions:
- Spring: Hellebores, Primroses, Pulmonaries, Violas or Dicentra
- Summer: Cranebills, Hostas, Daylilies or Ferns
- Autumn: Asters and Japanese Anemones
Hedges
Many hedges – ilex, buxus and chamaecyparis for example – are evergreen and provide year-round screening.
Low defining hedges may also be created from lower deciduous or flowering shrubs, such as spiraea.
Shrubs that make nice hedges:
- Holly (Ilex) – Grows in full sun to part shade; variety like ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ is adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions.
- Portugal Laurel (Prunus lusitanica) – A large growing dense laurel, producing showy, fragrant, erect white spike flowers.
- Boxwood (Buxus) – The small glossy round leaves turn coppery-bronze in the fall, which persists throughout the winter. Grows in full sun to part shade. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for alkaline soils.
- False Cypress (Chamaecyparis) – There are many colors, growth habits and sizes to be discovered in this group of conifers. All do well in average to moist soil conditions, and shouldn’t be allowed to dry out.
- Philadelphus – make a good hedge, quick-growing, spectacular and scenting the whole garden in mid-summer as does lilacs in late spring; fire resistant.
- Cypress (Cupressus or Cupressocyparis) – Grows best in full sun. Great variety of colors and growth habits.
- Hornbeam (Carpinus) – More of a small tree, but known for excellent fall color and an impressive upright growing habit. A great shade tree for smaller areas growing in part shade to full shade; fire resistant.
- Waxleaf Privet (Ligustrum) – Grows best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape.
Walls & Climbers
The use of climbing, or vining, shrubs can soften hard lines of fences, arbors, and walls.
Walls can also provide a protected environment for shrubs which need more heat than they would receive in the open air, either in winter for those that are tender, or summer to produce flowers or ripen their summer growth.
Vining shrub choices:
- Clematis – Varieties that offer year round leaves are ‘Snowdrift‘ and ‘Apple Blossom‘. Read our blog on clematis varieties to learn more about the great variety we have in spring!
- Wisteria – Glorious purple blooms hang from this vigorous woody vine in mid- to late spring. Ensure that it has a strong and sturdy trellis or arbor to grow on! Grows best in full sun.
- Roses – Offer long-lasting summer blooms. Climbing roses grow best in full sun and like average to evenly moist soil conditions, but will not tolerate standing water.
- Lonicera – Ideal for a fragrant cover for a fence or wall. Known to be fire resistant.
- Jasmine – Highly fragrant white star flowers appear in late spring or early summer. Grows well in full sun to partial shade.
Ground Cover
Woody stemmed plants that are naturally creeping can be used in place of more herbaceous ground cover.
Also, consider using horizontal growing shrubs such as Hebe, Juniper, Azalea, or Distylium to fill in space and reduce weedy competition.
Shrub-like groundcover plant options:
- Cotoneasters – Grows well in full sun to part shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water; fire resistant.
- Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) – Is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under typical garden conditions.
- Ceanothus – Varieties like ‘Diamond Heights‘ or ‘Point Reyes‘ create very dense, low growing groundcover that depresses weeds. Grows well in full sun to part shade; prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil.
- Groundcover Raspberry (Rubus calycinoides) – A unique, densely branched, trailing groundcover which is hardy and can be grown in shady as well as sunny locations; drought tolerant once established, and fire resistant.
- Creeping mahonia (Mahonia repens) – PNW native; fire resistant.