Most Common Shrub
Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus) is a flowering shrub native to the Mediterranean region. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant and it often adorns winter gardens. When little else is growing during cold days of winter, Laurustinus produces numerous clusters of tiny white flowers.
Nerium oleander, colloquially known as Oleander, is a shrub or a small tree, known for its majestic pink five-lobed flowers and deep green lanceolate leaves. Oleander is one of the most poisonous popular decorative garden plants, so it is advised to keep small children and pets away from it.
Chinese hibiscus is a small flowering tree. Its fragrant flowers are well known the world over, leading to many cultivated variants. Chinese hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia and is featured on Malaysian coins. Although the Latin name, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, means “the rose of China,” it is not related to true roses.
Evergreen spindle(Euonymus japonicus) is a popular ornamental evergreen shrub with numerous cultivars. Due to its superb adaptability and decorative looks, evergreen spindle can be found in parks and gardens all over the world. Its flowers produce a lot of nectar, which makes this plant very attractive to bees.
Philadelphus coronarius, commonly known as Sweet mock-orange, is a popular ornamental plant known for the lavish, sweet smell of its gentle flowers. Sweet mock-orange is a deciduous, dense shrub commonly found in Mediterranean woodlands and scrubs.
Named after German scientist Christian Ehrenfried Weigel, the Old fashioned weigela is known for beautiful tubular flowers in shades of pink. The Old fashioned weigela blooms in early spring and can produce sporadic repeat blooms through mid to late summer. Old fashioned weigela is especially attractive to hummingbirds.
Rhododendron maximum, commonly known as Great laurel is a late-blooming evergreen shrub endemic to North America. It produces clusters of gentle, white or pink flowers and glossy oval leaves, typical for Rhododendron genus. Hill slopes of the Appalachian region are the natural habitat of this vigorous, hardy plant.
The Great bougainvillea is best known for its bright flowers. It has spread around the world as a garden plant. This plant thrives in warm environments. The Great bougainvillea is a woody, climbing plant that winds its way around other plants as it grows. It also has thorns that aid in its climbing habit.
The Guelder-rose (Viburnum opulus) is a large deciduous shrub famous for its bushy appearance, snowball-shaped flowers, and clusters of bright red berries. Its fruits are very acidic so they are usually relegated to jams. Due to the low toxicity of the fruit, large amounts of consumption may cause discomfort. The American Cranberry Bush is one of Russia’s national symbols and the main theme of the famous Russian song “Kalinka”.
Japanese flowering quince is an easy-care plant that is known for its beautiful spring blooms and apple-shaped fruit. It grows to a small shrub and is also popular as a bonsai plant. When left raw the fruit of the quince is very tart and often too hard to eat, but it can be cooked and used for jams and jellies.
Although the Yellow trumpetbush has beautiful and bright flowers that can be pleasing to look at, this plant is considered an invasive weed in multiple countries. A native of the southern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Peru and Ecuador, this plant is often found on roadsides, riparian areas, disturbed sites, and other wasteland areas.
The name of the Japanese pittosporum can be deceiving. It is not a true orange plant, it instead gets its name from the fact that the highly fragrant flowers have a distinct citrus scent. The flowers don’t last for a long time, only about two weeks, but the dark evergreen foliage is attractive all year long and the plant makes a great addition to a border or as a stand-alone plant.
The Cape leadwort is an evergreen shrub native to South Africa. It can grow to heights of 6m and up to 3m wide. The flowers have 5 petals and are about 2cm wide. The Plumbago auriculata has distinct flowers of blue and violet.
Indian hawthorn is a perennial shrub that thrives in sunny locations. It requires less care than other shrubs because it is slow-growing and keeps its shape without pruning. Its pink or white blooms are fragrant and develop into purple-black fruit during the summer months.
The Bigleaf hydrangea is a deciduous shrub native to Japan, and is known for its lush, oval, colorful inflorescence. The two types of Hydrangea macrophylla are mopheads – with large, ball-shaped, sterile flower clusters, and lacecapes – with small round fertile flowers in the center, and sterile flowers on the outer side of each inflorescence. Depending on soil pH, blooms can change color from pink to blue.