Shrubs: Page 4

A dwarf, evergreen shrub, smaller than the popular 'Hidcote' variety, bearing slender, aromatic, grey-greeen leaves and dense spikes of fragrant, blue-purple flowers in summer.

An attractive, evergreen shrub with dark maroon foliage which turns greener as it ages then takes on a wonderful, bronze hue in autumn and winter. In spring it bears small, white flowers. If kept low, it makes a wonderfult ground cover plant for acidic soil, or can be grown in pots in ericaceous compost.

An evergreen tree or large shrub with glossy dark green leaves with velvety brown undersides producing richly fragrant, large, bowl-shaped cream flowers in summer and autumn.

Leonard Messel produces delightful pale pink goblet-shaped flowers which open out to a loose star-shape. The scented flowers can last right up until June and their iridescent beauty is simply stunning. Forming a rounded shrub or small tree, Leonard Messel is different to many Magnolias in that it flowers well even on younger specimens.

A relatively new introduction being the first Mahonia to have spine-free leaves. It is an elegant shrub growing to around 1m tall and bearing spikes of bright yellow flowers in late summer and early autumn.

A fast-growing, evergreen shrub with toothed foliage and bearing  racemes of fragrant, yellow flowers from late autumn to early spring followed by blue-black berries.

A compact bushy, evergreen shrub. New growth emerges a bronze-orange colour in spring turning green with age but often retaining a red-orange flush. In autumn and winter, the foliage turns shades of red and gold. Conical panicles of small white flowers in summer are sometimes followed by red berries

A slow-growing, evergreen shrub with small, dark green, glossy leaves and in spring bearing masses of pure white, highly fragrant flowers, followed by small black fruits.

A mat-forming, dwarf, evergreen subshrub with creamy-margined, dark green leaves and bearing white flowers in erect spikes in early summer.

An upright, evergreen shrub with wrinkled, woolly, lance-shaped, grey-green leaves producing whorls of hooded, bright yellow flowers in summer.

An upright to arching, evergreen perennial with strap-like, purple-bronze leaves and in hot summers, may produce an upright spike of tubular red flowers from the centre of the plant.

A clump-forming, evergreen perennial with arching, strap-like leaves of pink with bright green margins.

A clump-forming, evergreen perennial with arching, sword-like leaves, striped green and creamy-yellow with a thin red margin.

A lovely, evergreen shrub with bright red, young foliage turning dark green later.

A fairly new introduction with variegated, creamy-green leaves that when young are flushed pinky-red. A handsome evergreen plant that makes a great feature plant in the shrub border.

Glossy, red young leaves turning pink then cream before green and in spring bearing creamy-white, bell-shaped flowers in large panicles.

A medium-sized, evergreen shrub with shiny leaves, red when young, turning coppery green then dark green and bearing white bell-like flowers in clusters in spring. Pieris require acidic soil though they can be grown very successfully in containers with ericaceous compost.

A large, evergreen shrub with wavily-margined, bright green foliage and bearing maroon, honey-scented flowers in spring and summer. Can attain a height of 7m in time, but is easily pruned to keep it in check.

A conical, evergreen shrub with slender, dark brown stems clothed in silvery, light green foliage, producing small, fragrant purple flowers in late spring and early summer.

A lovely, evergreen shrub with pale green foliage edged in cream and pink and in early summer it often bears small, purple flowers which are slightly fragrant.

A small, rounded, mound-forming, evergreen shrub with mint-green foliage and has small, honey-scented, brownish-purple flowers in late spring which compliment the leaves well.

An evergreen shrub with rounded leaves opening white becoming green, speckled with white, often tinged pink in winter. Sparsely produced, fragrant dark purple flowers in late spring.

A fairly new cultivar recently added to our selection. We absolutely love this with its striking silvery grey-green leaves with white markings at the edges, forming a dense, natural ball shape. Perfect for adding some evergreen structure throughout the winter months. Easy to grow, it is hardy throughout most of the UK, only really needing any protection in prolonged severe cold spells. It looks great grown in the border but owing to its dense, compact habit, equally suited to be grown in containers and can be clipped easily to maintain the size and shape desired.

A lovely evergreen shrub with silvery-green foliage edged creamy-white and dark stems. As with many Pittosporums, it can be a little susceptible to cold weather so best planted somewhere with shelter from cold, drying winds. In late spring and early summer, it bears small, purple, lightly fragrant flowers.