By Sarah Tune
I love creating beautiful garden areas from plants and everyone always asks for evergreen shrubs. Why? Because they make an ideal hedge, which will benefit wild life or they are good for filling gaps in a flowerbed.
Did you know there is so much more you can do with them?
You can grow them for cut foliage to use in flower arrangements, Table settings or even for decorating Thanks giving and Christmas wreaths.
Most Evergreen shrubs will work. Some of the longest lasting cut foliage I have found includes Pittosporum with its many varieties; my favorites are ‘Silver Queen’ (Pic). It has a bright sage green and white margined foliage that shows up on its black stems which pop when they are wet. Sarcococca confusa or sweet box (Pic), (nothing to do with Buxus/boxwood which can get box caterpillar) this shrub has small sweetly fragrant scented flow-ers in winter nestling against Dark green shiny leaves and looks particularly good against Noble Fir wreaths and garlands, the type you’ll find being sold at Christmas. Eleagnus ebbingii amongst other varieties again lovely winter fragrance and a silver appearance on new leaf growth. Phormiums long coloured sword like leaves and Magnolia Grandiflora Large shiny green on top and bronzy oranges underside. I must mention deciduous shrubs (the type that lose their leaves in winter), which can be equally useful in displays. The bright red stems of Cornus sibirica or orange ‘Mid winter fire’ and my favorite Corylus avellana contorta /Corkscrew Hazel (Pic) which can get very curly indeed.
All you need to do is select an evergreen shrub in your garden, chose one long stem of your desired shape, follow it into the bush and with secateurs cut the stem just before it turns into hard wood or at the point where it chang-es from green to brown. Repeat this process at equally spaced intervals around your shrub so you do not leave a bald patch in one area. Put in a vase of water and enjoy cre-ating something with the foliage.
Next time you Look at your Evergreens or go to the garden Centre, consider what else you can use the foliage and stems for be-sides blocking the view to a building or next doors garden!
Your shrubs have a multi-purpose if they are working harder for you they become a joy to grow.
cherryshedcherry@gmail.com 07941 290728