Hardy shrubs are an important addition to landscape design for your Rockville MD home.
There are at least 3 things you will want some hardy shrubs to do for your landscaping: provide visual depth, seasonal interest, and increased visits from wildlife (butterflies, birds, and other small animals)
You’ll want to stay away from high maintenance shrubs, and look for shrubs which are low maintenance, hardy for our zone, and can provide color and interest for 3- 4 seasons of the year.
Two Spring Starters
The Red Chokeberry is an easy to grow gorgeous shrub that attracts early butterflies and pollinators to the nectar of the white to light pink flower clusters that appear along the branches. The flowers are followed in late summer by abundant clusters of red berries that last through the fall and well into winter (these berries can be made into jams and jellies.) The glossy dark green leaves turn a brilliant red in fall.
The ‘Midwinter Fire’ Dogwood also has fragrant tiny white flowers appear in late spring that will attract butterflies. These flowers transform into clusters of dark purple berries in summer that are very attractive to birds. By the fall, there’s a golden foliage followed by branches and stems that start out yellow at the base of the plant and gradually turn bright orange, then to crimson red towards the tip of the plant.
An Early to Mid-Summer Starter
The Bottlebrush Buckeye is a great shade area shrub, and it blooms from early to mid-summer. This shrub white flowers with pink filaments that attract the attention of hummingbirds and butterflies. The leaves change from bronze to dark green to shades of yellow in fall.
A Midsummer Starter
The Smooth Hydrangea thrives in shady areas, and produces large pom-poms (up to 12 inches across). Blooming from midsummer to early fall, the pom-poms start out lime-green, change to cream, then to a brilliant white for weeks, then back to pale green in late summer before switching to a tan shade in fall. The pom-poms look great in dried flower arrangements.
For more information on including these and other gorgeous shrubs in the landscape design for your Rockville MD home, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. For over 30 years, East Coast Landscape Design has designed and installed landscapes in Rockville MD and the rest of suburban Maryland that enhance our clients’ lifestyles and the beauty of their homes.
