Is this a {{gwi:639517}}? If so, can they survive shade? I mean, heavy afternoon shade with only a little morning sun?

I have flame maples in the backyard. They are beautiful in the fall. They start out yellow at the top. The color moves down the tree in a matter of a week or two until the whole thing is fiery orange and red. They put out a lot of seedlings for me though.

I have a shrub I hope to remember this summer. I noticed it last year and you just reminded me of it. The flowers look like honeysuckle and smells really good. I thought it was a mock orange at first, until the mock oranges bloomed. I was thinking about rescuing it before spring. Maybe tomorrow.

Many of the shrubs in my garden, with notes about them:

Abelia x grandiflora 'Little Richard' (I chose this cultivar because it's small, tidy, drought tolerant, and deer resistant)
Abelia x grandiflora 'Sunrise' (gold variegation on a tidy plant)
Aucuba japonica 'Gold Dust' (deer food)
Berberis thunbergi 'Rosy Glow'
Callicarpa americana
Callicarpa dichotoma 'Albifructus' (white-flowering beautyberry)
Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai' (just planted, but chose for a part sun site to replace an american beautyberry that I moved. It's more refined.)
Calycanthus 'Hartledge Wine' (a large Calycanthus + Sinocalycanthus hybrid)
Camellia japonica 'Daikagura' (deer food)
Cercis chinensis (more of a shrub than a tree, but spectacular when in bloom. Also doesn't seed around annoyingly like the native.)
Chaenomeles japonica 'Hime' (newly planted...supposed to be a dwarf thornless red-blooming cultivar)
Chaenomeles speciosa 'Contorta' (small tidy quince with contorted branches and pale pink blooms)
Chaenomeles speciosa 'Texas Scarlet'
Chionanthus virginicus (pruned into a beautiful small tree....blooms the same time as the doublefile viburnum)
Clethra alnifolia 'Hokie Pink'
Clethra alnifolia 'Rosea'
Cornus mas 'Elegantissima' (variegated foliage)
Cornus mas 'Spring Glory' (in bloom now)
Cotinus corrigya 'Royal Purple'
Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Gold Rush' (just about to bloom...strongly fragrant, has really cool tropical looking foliage in the summer and then drops its leaves in winter to reveal an interesting architectural form)
Euonymous japonica 'Aureomarginata' (do not plant this shrub. It's gorgeous, but it means a constant battle with the deer and euonymous scale.)
Exchorda x macrantha 'The Bride' (easy care spring-blooming native...common name is "pearlbush" because the blooms look like little white pearls)
Fothergilla major 'Mt Airy' (a great easy multi-season plant...nice flowers in April and colorful fall foliage)
Gardenia augusta 'Daruma' (newly planted, but a single-flowered cold-hardy dwarf cultivar)
Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite' (sterile cultivar so doesn't seed everywhere like some)
Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' (blooms on new wood, so the blooms are always reliable despite hard spring freezes).
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Blue Wave' (lacecap that hardly ever blooms...either the freezes get it or the deer do)
Hydrangea querifolia 'Pee Wee'
Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake' (my favorite shrub...my original one is probably 10' across...can take alot of sun, but must have afternoon shade)
Ilex cornuta 'O'Spring' (yellow-variegated holly....choice plant)
Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil' (great shrub for narrow spaces)
Ilex x meserveae 'Blue Girl'/'Blue Prince'
Ilex x meserveae 'China Girl'
Ilex verticillata 'Sparkleberry' (great berry plant for winter....not much to look at the rest of the year. Must have a pollinator.)
Illicium floridium (nice plant for shade, but will wilt if it doesn't get enough moisture during the season. Crushed leaves smell like anise; small red flowers in Spring smell like a wet dog.)
Illicium parviflorum
Itea virginica 'Henrys Garnet'
Juniperus 'Gold Tip'
Juniperus 'Saybrook Gold' (spectacular juniper for full sun)
Lagerstromia indica 'Victor' (watermelon-colored blooms in mid-late August on a crepe myrtle that only gets 6' tall)
Leucothoe axillaris 'Curly Red'
Ligustrum sinensis 'Variegata'
Ligustrum japonica
Lonicera nitida 'Lemon Beauty' (planted last year....has really struggled in its first year)
Loropelatum chinensis 'Pizzazz' (4'H)
Loropelatum chinensis 'Plum Delight' (6'H)
Loropetalum chinensis var rubrum 'Burgundy' (8'-10'H)
Mahonia bealei (lemon-scented flowers in Feb and great architectural form. It does seed everywhere though...that's why you see it naturalized in the woods...its biggest detractant.)
Nandina 'Woods Dwarf' (makes a great low hedge and foliage is evergreen...chartruese in summer and red in winter)
Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Variegatus' (shade tolerant variegated evergreen)
Physocarpus opulifolius 'Mindia' (copper-colored foliage works well with orange-flowered perennials)
Prunus carolinanius
Prunus laurocerasus 'Castlewellan' (variegated english laurel)
Rhododendron 'Cochran's Lavender'
Rhododendron 'Coral Bells'
Rhododendron 'Glacier'
Rhododendron 'Roseum Elegans' (the only Rhodie Rhododendron that has done well for me)
Rhododendron 'Sunglow'
Salix purpurea 'Nana' (blue-foliaged willow 4' tall with purple stems mixes well with perennials in a border.)
Sinocalycanthus chinensis (similar to the native calycanthus, but has larger prettier flowers, but no fragrance)
Spirea bumalda 'Goldflame' (chartruese foliage with orange tints in Spring and Fall...some people have an issue with the pink flowers/foliage combo)
Spirea prunifolia (nice heirloom shrub, but a bit rangey)
Spirea thunbergii 'Fujino Pink' (just starting to bloom)
Spirea thunbergii 'Ogon'
Spirea x 'Vanhoutti' (great heirloom shrub that's more refined than S. prunifolia)
Viburnum burkwoodi (very fragrant...one of my favorites)
Viburnum plicatum var tomentosum 'Mariesi' (doublefile viburnum....one of my favorites)
Viburnum rhytidophyllum (good to use as a screen in part sun/shade situations. Leaves have alot of texture. In mild winters, the plants are evergreen...tough winters, semi-evergreen.)
Viburnum x burkwoodi 'Mohawk' (very fragrant...tops out at 6', so not as large as V. burkwoodii)
Vitex agnus caste (I prune mine into a small tree)

So spazzy, if you had to choose one, which would it be?

token- sorry I can't answer that one, as mine (and everything in my yard) is in full sun. Most things that I've read, though, say full- part sun or part shade, but not sure about the 'heavy shade' conditions you've apparently got.
Your pic looks like a tardiva...mine isn't as uniform as those little "soldiers" in your pic.
sorry I can't be of more help.

My absolute favorite is the oakleaf hydrangea 'Snowflake'. Deer can be problematic for it.

I have an oakleaf hydrangea. When I moved in, it was in the woods meaning it was here at least 20 years or so. I cleared out around it. I didn't remove it because it looked so unusual. Last spring, we had to take a huge oak down that was starting to pull itself out of the ground. Wouldn't you know, it got trashed in the removal. I moved it this past fall. It had grown about 1 foot tall. Something chomped on it all winter. I really do hope it comes back. I'm considering fencing it in just to be sure. It had the prettiest blooms the first summer I was here.

If it does come back, it'll get chopped down again when I use the new growth to take cuttings this summer. LOL.

from personal experience, I know that hydrangeas are pretty tough. I had forgotten what one was that I dug up and set aside, and never got around to putting it back in the ground over the winter a couple winters ago (here in Z5). Wouldn't you know it, the thing started growing again, so I couldn't toss it at that point. I put it in a spot, and it has thanked me with profuse blooms, even though it's not more than a foot tall.
This one is a regular hydrangea (well, I call it 'regular' because it's the one that 'everyone' has around here), not a tardiva.
Don't give up on it!

Oakleaf hydrangeas sucker once established, so if you can hang on to it, you'll have more eventually. I have two, and they are different, but they were suckers from the yards of two ladies who didn't know any cultivar names. One grows more upright and taller than the other. One of my fav deciduous plants, because of the exfoliating bark and the beautiful buds. Hydrangea macrophylla is wonderful in bloom, but a bunch of dead twigs in winter. Hydrangea serrata is more interesing and doesn't get so big.

I was just thinking this afternoon how much I like evergreen shrubs and trees: Camellia japonica, camellia sasanqua, gardenias, loropetalum, azaleas (I do have one deciduous, no, two deciduous azaleas, one a native.)

Need to address the boxwoods. Are your boxwoods English box (pointy leaf, dark green, slow growing) or Japanese box (rounded leaf, bright green, grows fast)?

The spireas are a once in spring event, like the azaleas, with the azaleas, even. I'm not real fond of them except for the summer blooming Spiraea bumalda with pink blossoms. They're kind of stunning where there's room to make a long line of them for that brief show in spring, especially with some bright azalea pink azaleas to complement them.
I have a viburnum, the one called 'Snowball bush' in the south. It has never impressed me. Maybe it needs more sun.

The philadelphus I have is not fragrant. Its saving grace is, a dogwood grew up through one philadelphus. While the dogwood blooms last just a few days, the philadelphus extends the white bloom season by weeks and they just cozy up together.

I need hollies. First I need to decide where to put the hollies. The bird would enjoy the berries.

I wish the flowering quince were gone, but they've been here forever and I don't have the heart to run them off. After my MIL died, I crawled under the pyracantha wearing heavy armor and cut them down. Nobody hated them more than me except my FIL who hated mowing around them. She loved them and planted them on each side of the lawn near the highway, calling them 'hawthorn.' Never mind what he called them.

Deciduous magnolias and evergreen magnolias -- I don't think you could have too many, even though mine are few.

You know what else is a stunner? Shrub roses that grow up about six feet tall and are well behaved and bloom all season.

Nell

Nell, they're Japanese I think. They grow back pretty fast. There's one in the back about 12' tall. It's got a huge thick trunk with little sprouts all over it. It looks awful. I keep saying I'm going to cut it back. It's so far away that I figure the birds would rather have a nesting spot.

Another one is the nandinas here. When i bought the house, the front was overrun by them and boxwoods. I've taken them all out, I think. They have berries and the birds have scattered them all over the place. I chopped the ones in the back to the ground last spring and they came back beautifully. I just wish they weren't here. They're ugly in winter (not the red leaf variety) and have to be pruned 1/3 each year to keep from getting leggy. My new plantings will be in front of them. I hope to just hide them away.

I like pyracantha too. I have magnolias in the backyard. Azaleas, camellias, and I'm rooting cuttings for the snowball bush. I've got seeds sown outside for the Sweet Shrub. The neighbor's smells so good when it blooms.

My most numerous plant is definitely privet. It's everywhere. It needs to be murdered too. It's invasive here and gets really tall and leggy if left unpruned. I hope to have time soon to chop them all to the ground. Others I did last spring look nice now.

I like the mahonia very much, but stay away from it because of the sharp points on the leaves, much like the holly we already have (I'm a barefoot gardener as soon as the weather warms).

It's hard to pick a favorite shrub, but glossy abelia and pieris seem to be about the best all-around, year-around, with no pest or disease problems.

Other shrubs I have that I am very happy with are a few different weigelas, deutzias (the old 'fuzzy deutzia' as well as the newer 'Nikko'), several hydrangeas, rhododendrons, azaleas, forsythia, mock orange, red osier dogwood, ninebark 'Diablo', tree peony, Carolina sweet shrub, fothergilla, nandina, clethra alnifolia, lilac, leucothoe, quince 'Cameo', boxwood, Scotch broom 'Burkwoodii', variegated euonymus, several roses (wow, 15 varieties, didn't realize until I counted), caryopteris. Yews, creeping junipers and a few dwarf needled evergreens are also tucked in here and there.

Heaths and lavender are holding up well this winter, are sort of shrub-like, and the heath has been blooming since December ... beginning to fade a bit now. A lovely red Japanese cut-leaf maple (anniversary gift from my husband) now looks like a shrub, but will eventually reach 10'.

We had a wild rose, an early anniversary gift from my husband, since it blooms on our anniversary, but very impractical on a smaller property. After years of trying to keep it within bounds I finally bit the bullet and let him know I was going to have to remove it. That was the only thing that was a problem.

In your region, you have a wealth of plant material from which to choose - Have fun!

I've read that the mahonia is fragrant. Maybe I'm missing something or mine are duds. I can't smell a thing.

Some Mahonias are fragrant, japonica for one has a nice fragrance. 'Charity' has a light fragrance. A

Token,
Wish I had the boxwoods you don't want. I never met a boxwood I didn't like. At Cheekwood Mansion in Nashville they have boxwoods so large you can literally walk under their branches. I have no idea how old they are. The story goes that when the house was built the owners purchased the largest boxwoods they could find and had them cut back and moved to the property. I love to go visit them.

One of my very favorite shrubs is Aronia Arbutifolia brilliantisima, or red chokeberry. I wish it was easier to find in nurseries and I suggest it to every nursery man I come in contact with trying to promote it. It has very small white flowers in early spring, very nice summer and fall foliage, and beautiful red berries that stay on almost all winter because they taste so bad the birds won't eat them. It is very adapatable and propogates easily from cuttings. The biggest drawback is that it is pretty slow growing, but worth the wait. I have never seen any pest or disease problems with it. Just a nice all around plant.

I am starting a shrub border in the front yard to screen us from the road when and if the old, damaged trees along the road have to come out.

I want it to be a curving, mixed border but very natural looking, no pruning allowed. I have planted so far Little Lame Hydrangea, Limelight Hydrangea, a forsythia, already have a betula nigra 'Heritage' (lost another to the ice storm), a lilac, two viburnums.Brandywine and Winterthur, two Oakleaf hydrangeas and a china rose Arethusa. Last year was their first year so I really will have to wait a while to know how they will do. The hydrangeas bloomed non-stop from planting until frost...so they look promising.

What kind of boxwood's are you all talking about that you dislike so? I planted 4 Korean boxwood's near the foundation for a background for perennials and I like them very much. They don't have much winter burn and require just the odd clipping. So far no disease or insects.

I almost forgot a wonderful new shrub that I have had before but just found one last year and planted it for the yellow green color of the leaves and branches. It does have beautiful little balls of yellow bloom that look like tiny roses....kerria japonica, not the single, but the double bloom one.

gldno....I'm surprised you can grow and china rose in zone 6, after saying Teas didn't do well in your zone.

According to MoBot, Korean boxwoods are slow growing. They further say that the ultimate growth of most boxwoods are over a 20-25 year period.

I'm linking the Missouri Botanical Gardens Plant Finder, the "B" page. Scroll down for all Boxwoods. This is a super resource.

Nell

When it stops raining, I'll have to get some pictures of the ones I haven't chopped. They're taller than I am.

Nell, I use that site almost daily, especially the Plants of Merit listings. I figure those should do well for me, even though I am south of St. Louis. Would you believe I have never been to the gardens. Maybe we can work that in the next time we visit our son.

I buy them from Chamblees in Texas and only get those listed safe for Zone 6. I have had Old Blush china rose for many years and just got Arethusa last year.

RRD is a real problem in my area and I saw a spot on Arethusa last fall so I am keeping my fingers crossed. She may be very susceptible.

This is a great thread! I think shrubs in the garden are essential - in fact, I probably have more shrubs in my garden than I do perennials. Or at least an equal number :-)

I have a lot of shrubs for several reasons. First, they provide structure and height. They attract wildlife. The evergreen ones provide winter presence and interest. And while shrubs DO flower, the foliage effect and mix of colors, sizes and textures of the leaves is the primary reason I include them. Flowers to me are just temporary accents :-) Many shrubs also tend to bloom at times of the year when very few perennial flowers do, which is a big plus.

I have a mix of both deciduous and evergreen. Deciduous shrubs I select primarily for foliage color or flowering attributes. A lot of my evergreens flower as well and that's an added bonus but most are there to provide year round interest and structure to the garden.

If I had to list them, I could be here all day :-) But some of my favorite evergreens are dwarf conifers (which I collect), smaller rhodies with unique foliage attributes, hebes, osmanthus, silk tassel (Garrya), dwarf pittosporum, Japanese holly (I don't like boxwoods) and choisya. I also grow various nandina, mahonias, Viburnum tinus, drimys, daphnes, grevillea, camellia, eucryphia and leucothoe.

I'm not sure where to start on the deciduous - twig dogwoods, both for their foliage and their stem color; hydrangeas; burgundy foliaged barberry, ninebark, and weigela; golden foliaged barberry, sambucus, weigela, and philadelphus; viburnums, hardy fuchsias, smokebush, beautyberry, flowering currants, witch hazels, winter hazels. And roses.

I could go on but you get the point :-) I'm not sure my garden fits the precise description of a 'cottage garden', if there even is one, but it is what I call a mixed border garden and so shrubs - and a wide variety of them - are an integral part.

And I couldn't begin to pick a favorite......I love them all!

My criteria is that it is tough, because I can be neglectful.

The hydrangeas (I think they are oakleaf?) -- I never have to prune them, they just keep going & going even when neglected. I have one in full sun, two in morning sun.I will try to do the "bury a branch" trick this year to see if I can get another bush.

We have a burning bush that's managed to survive, and is pretty in fall, but boring the rest of the year. And forsythias that plan to take over the world, starting with our yard. Does a Japanese maple count as a shrub. We have one and it's really pretty.

The azaleas I've found to be needy. :(

I have a group of five tiny boxwoods on either side of the front door. They were put in by our landscaper. I was so disappointed at how puny they were. They were about ankle high. Now, two years later, they are beginning to grow and are about knee-high. I remember the ones at Cheekwood and yes, they are glorious. I won't live long enough to have plants such as those.

Spazzycat, I am amazed at the number and diversity of your shrubs. You must have been at this for a while. Do you have pictures of your garden on a link here on GW?

I garden mostly with shrubs. Even though my garden is very small I have managed to squeeze quite a few in here. Some of my favorites are the viburnums - I have both the evergreen laurustinus and the deciduous viburnum opulus. Love them both and would add all viburnums I might lay my hands on if I had more room. Then there's the choysia, pittosporum tobira, New Zealand tea tree, oleander, cammelia, mahonia, strawberry tree, dodonea, photinia, lilac, red twig dogwoods, hydrangeas, ceanothus, lavender, different kinds of hollies (which I'm mad about), pyracantha, beautyberry, plumbago, spirea, etc.

There are also the roses, of course - around 30 of them, mostly antiques and old fashioned types. Doesn't sound like much, but considering how small the garden is, it always amazes me that I have managed to squeeze so much into such tiny space.

Here is an example of a composition with shrubs in my garden - mahonia, viburnum opulus and viburnum tinus (laurustinus) mimic the Portuguese national colors :-)

Eduarda

{{gwi:639519}}

"Spazzycat, I am amazed at the number and diversity of your shrubs. You must have been at this for a while. Do you have pictures of your garden on a link here on GW?"

My garden is 16-years-old. I live in a contemporary farmhouse on 3.5 acres. Mr Spazzycat and I must have been garden maniacs when we were younger because I'm even amazed when I list all the shrubs I grow. We are lucky that we live in an area with horticultural influence. The JC Raulston arboretum in Raleigh has an annual plant distribution for its members so many of the plants on my list originally arrived from that source. In addition, a local horticultural fraternity has a sale twice a year where it's easy to find unusual woody plants. They are hard to resist, but perennials still hold a special place in my heart.

Lately, I've been adding shrubs to my perennial beds for structure and to ease some of the maintenance involved in caring for the garden.

I've provided a link to some of my photos on Flickr.

Love, love, love the patio. That's a lot like what I envision in the backyard. I hate that the a/c unit is back there. It only runs in summer, which is exactly when the patio would be most usable. I have lots of native stone around I could use for walls and such. It's just finding the time and energy to do such a large project. Plus, the grading would have to be done by machine. No way I can dig into the dirt here more than a few inches. Thanks spazzy.

-spazzycat, LOVE your yard! You use textures wonderfully. I especially love that wall-garden!

I forgot to mention the evergreens. I don't have that many of them; I wish I did. I really like my Yew, Taxus cuspidate 'Densiformis'. It does not mind the dry, shady area I have it planted in. Bird-Nest spruce is another favorite of mine.
CMK

Beautiful Patio garden.
Reminds me of the Sunset Magazine gardens in California.
Your shrubs and trees are breathtaking. I like your use of the Column as a garden interest.
Zeke is just adorable. He is giving you his "Love" look. How sweet! I love it when my cats do that, too.

Token --

Your link is indeed a Tardiva. I have two and wish I had many more. Mine have been taken to the ground in two ice storms and come back for more.

My oakleaf hydrangeas are also a must have. They are large and you have to have the space, but can be kept to manageable size.

I also like boxwood, though, so don't listen to me!! I keep buying and planting more of them. They make the garden beds look good if you have them at the borders. The weeds don't show unless you peek!

The shrubs I wouldn't plant again if I knew what I was getting into is Henry's Little Sweet Spire. I can't keep them in their boundaries or looking as good as I think they should.

osmanthus fragrans
oakleaf hollies
spirea 'neon flash' and 'lime mound'
buddleia
vitex
smokebush
cleyera (deer may bother in winter)
loropetalum (deer may bother in winter)

Cameron's list reminded me about the Vitex -- if you don't have Vitex, you need some. TAMU advocates cutting them almost to the ground for better blooms. They grow right back in a warm climate. I cut back two and left two; there wasn't enough difference in the quality of the blossoms to warrant all that work.

Now I prune Vitex the way crape myrtles are properly pruned: NO to vitex and crape murder! I think that's know in certain gardening circles as pollarding.

Nell

hehee...

I did murder two crepe myrtles in my yard. Neither were putting out any growth and both were well over 30' tall. Ancient trees probably planted before I was born. Anyway, I cut them back to the ground. They both regrew into these huge shrubs last year. They both got powdery mildew. And they both got whacked again. They're just in the wrong places for my vision. I know at least one will come back this year. I'm going to let it grow. I'll take out a lot of the suckers and hope I can get the form to be something like it should within a couple years.

I don't think you can kill an aged crape myrtle. You can discourage it from growing much, but rarely does one die, in my experience. When you dig up one, another will come from the tiniest piece of root. I have seen them sit and sull with no leaves for a whole year and sprout out the next summer. You could probably dig yours out and split them apart with an axe and make a whole row somewhere.

I can't speak with authority about those 'designer' crape myrtles; they probably wither and die as soon as they hit soil.

Nell

Nell, I mow suckers all summer more than 20' away from the stump. I bet that tree is holding the house on the hill.

I wish I could grow Osmanthus Fragrans. I planted osmanthus heterophyllus 'goshiki' in a really protected corner and it limped along for a couple years and then died.
Some shrubs I really like are Clethra, Itea, Viburnum Carlcephalum, Spirea prunifolia, lilac of course, and roses of course.
Remy

I have:

Spirea, Bridle's Wreath
Spirea, Gold Flame
Weigela, Wine and Roses
Weigela, Variegated
Euonymus, Burning Bush
Euonymus, Emerald N Gold
Euonymus, (UNK. evergreen shrub)
Vitex
Ilex, (Japanese Holly) "Sky Pencil"
Ilex, Holly, native N. American sp.
Ilex, Holly, "Needlepoint"
Ilex, Holly, (can't recall the name, but it will grow into a tree)
Lilac, old-fashioned
Lilac, white flowering (A cutting I got in a trade)
Flowering Almond
Forsythia
Winter Flowering Jasmine
Hardy Jasmine
Pink Flowering Wisteria (tree)
Flowering Quince (coral pink flowers)
Nandina
Nandina bambina
Barberry
Carolina Sweet Shrub (NEW)
Snowball bush
Mock Orange
Hydrangea, Oak Leaf
Buddleia, Black Knight
Buddleia, Lochinch
Buxus, Japanese Boxwood (unk)(small leaf, medium bush)
Buxus, English Boxwood (dwarf)
Beautyberry - native "Snowberry"
Gardenia
Purpleleaf Sand Cherry (Prunus x cistena)
Red Tip Photinia
Crape or Crepe Myrtle (dark pink flowering)
Mahonia aquifolium, Oregon Grape Holly
Bush Honeysuckle
Rose of Sharon - white flowering
Rose of Sharon - blue-violet flowering
Yucca - Native Oklahoma variety
Yucca - Native South Carolina variety
Honeysuckle - Native North American Red
Honeysuckle - Japanese white & yellow flowering
Honeysuckle - Lonicera (pink and cream flowering) - (NEW)
Tecoma stans - "Esperanza" (zone 8). Small-to-medium shrub with yellow trumpet flowers. Tender, semi-evergreen.

~ Annie

Wow, I missed a bunch of mine! I have several that you have Annie. I guess I was just thinking of the new ones.
Some of my favorites are rose of sharon 'Diane' and kolkwitzia or beauty bush, an alba rose that smells heavenly in spring (it started out as 'semi-plena white but has morphed into a pink one).

Spazzycat, your patio is lovely. I really really like that wall!
What is the purple plant behind zeke in the "zeke on wall" pic?

Many of my shrubs are still young plants, so are not yet of any size to make a big landscape impact in the design and appearance of my garden.

I forgot a few others:

Arborvitae, Emerald Green
Golden bamboo (tall species) - invasive in wet areas
Dwarf bamboo (2ft tall) - spreading; more of a ground cover
Juniper, Emerald Spires (semi-dwarf)
Juniper, Green Carpet (I think)

Man! I didn't realize I had so many shrubs until I listed them all!

I thought I was overdoing it with the 16 new varieties I'm adding this spring from seed and cuttings. Maybe I need to ramp it up a bit more. LOL.

Thanks for sharing all the varieties. I've got to start making lists.

ajpa-
That plant is Setcreasea pallida 'Purple Heart'. It's grown as an annual in many parts of the country, but this plant is perfectly hardy here. It only requires good drainage.

spazzy, do you find it returns well in your garden each year? I've had mixed luck, but it could be due to wet conditions in that area.

Yes it comes back reliably...those plants on the wall are at least 4 years old. The key is drainage. I've planted it in richer moister soil before and it did not return.

Some of the favorite shrubs in my garden are,
Physocarpus 'Diablo' (chocolate foliage, flowers are a bonus)
Philadelphus 'Belle Etoile' (amazing fragrance)
Kolkwitzia amabilis (Beauty Bush) and
Leycesteria formosa (Himalayan Honeysuckle)

Annette

Winter Jasmine. Anyone have it? Lowes has it for $6.95/gal right now. Is it fragrant? Does it really bloom in winter?

Thanks Spazzy. I googled the Setcreasea pallida purple heart and it sounds like it might be worth it for me to try on the very shady north side of my house.

token, here's what I googled on winter jasmine. Not fragrant, apparently. Good for a trailing down effect.
http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plantoftheweek/articles/Winter_jasmine_2-4-05.htm

I've got Winter Jasmine, the flowers took a hit this winter as it went down to -4F one night when it was in full bloom in December. I've had this shrub for over thirty years, actually it was my neighbors, she planted it on a trellis on the side of her carport but I took it over when she passed and the house was sold. This is when we found out her concrete carport encroached our lot by 8 inches so I laid claim to it, the Jasmine that is :o).
Back to the Jasmine, this one isn't scented but depending on the winter it can bloom anywhere from November through March here on Vancouver Island.
Every spring before it leafs out we take the hedge trimmer to it cutting it back severely (to stubs), the new growth cascades down like a green waterfall from the the top of the carport all summer long.
The flowers come after the leaves have fallen, it seems to be in full bloom at a different time each year, even now after getting hit by our unusually cold winter it's still producing a few flowers.

Annette

I don't have a lot of shrubs so far, and the only sizable ones are the ones that were here when we moved in (2.5 years ago). We have a bunch of yews along the patio that I don't really like, but they give us privacy - and since we hope to eventually put an addition there, I haven't messed with them. I may end up putting some in front of the house simply because they can deal with shade, but I really don't like them.

I've planted a few small shrubs so far - a lilac, a hydrangea (blanking on the variety), bridalwreath spirea.

I'd like to plant shrub borders along two of the fence lines, but will have a hard time making up my mind. Top contenders include red-twigged dogwoods, viburnums, and of course, roses. There are also days I consider that my garden room would work better if I put tall-ish boxwood in the middle of the defining borders, to really make it feel like a separate room and to allow different color schemes on each side, but I'm not ready to do that quite yet...

Thanks Annette. I think I might get one this weekend. We're going to have some really nice weather next week.

AJ PA, Purple Heart cuttings are easily kept over the winter if you have a windowsill or the least bit of light. They don't ask for much. The little bits grow quickly when it's warm enough to plant them out after frost is gone.

Purple Heart is fairly reliable here, but I keep cuttings as well. They seem to jump start the season. You only have to buy one plant; cuttings root easily.

Nell

token,

I have Winter Jasmine.
Some of my plants have a very light fragrance. But, on warmer days, the fragrance is stronger, so maybe the cold air just doesn't carry the fragrance very well.
Mine blooms in winter (right now), and then the new leaves come on afterward. The flowers are similar to Forsythia. It has deep green crisscrossing arched branches with tiny deep green leaves that form after blooming. Lovely growing on banks or on walls where it can cascade down. Great for preventing spoil erosion. Roots go w-a-y down into the ground once established, so tolerates drought conditions, but really puts on a winter show when given ample moisture. No pests that I've ever seen.
Tough plant - doesn't need babying.

~Annie