Low Maintenance Shrubs – Easy To Grow Shrubs For New Gardeners

Shrubs are the workhorse plants of the garden. You’ll find hundreds of easy-to-grow shrubs available that are very attractive, so many, in fact, that the choice will not be an easy one. 

If you select carefully, you can fill your backyard with low maintenance shrubs that do double duty as privacy hedges or wind blocks or offer round-the-year interest. Here are some tips for choosing shrubs for easy landscaping as well as a short list of some of our favorites.

Best Easy Shrubs

Because so many shrubs can be classified as low maintenance bushes, the “best easy shrubs” have got to offer even more. Keep your eye out for shrubs that are truly amazing at their peak, offering a brilliant display you will look forward to all year long. Or else those that offer beauty and interest in more than one season. 

What are some examples of great, low maintenance shrubs that rise above the ordinary? We love hardy hibiscus like Summerific hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus Summerific series) with its over-size, utterly enchanting flowers and deep, dark leaves. And they bloom in late summer when other shrubs are wrapping up their blooming season. 

Low Maintenance Bushes

On the other hand, do your homework before you start picking shrubs for easy landscaping. No shrub grows effortlessly in every possible location. Only select plants that will thrive in your hardiness zone to prevent an ugly surprise the first winter. 

In addition, check out the spot first and determine the space available. Select shrubs that won’t outgrow the space, both the available height and width. Check out the exposure your site gets, since some shrubs like sun and some like shade. And think about the evergreen/deciduous issue. Evergreen shrubs hold onto foliage all year long and are best for privacy hedges and wind blocks.

Shrubs for Easy Landscaping

Easy-to-grow shrubs planted in appropriate locations are the ones that require least effort, the shrubs for easy landscaping. When it comes to evergreen, consider 'Blue Star' Juniper (Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star') a compact bush whose blue-green needles will draw attention all year long. Or why not a broad-leaf evergreen like heather (Calluna vulgaris), with its brilliant purple flowers in early spring, providing food to hungry pollinators.

A list of favorite deciduous shrubs for easy landscaping has got to include hydrangea, so simple to plant and maintain and so many varieties. We like oakleaf (Hydrangea quercifolia), a native North American shrub with copious amounts of summer flowers, impressive fall foliage and winter interest with its peeling bark.