Evergreen shrubs are exceedingly useful in gardens, serving as hedges, privacy screens, and more—and these varieties thrive with low water
Sure you could always build a fence for privacy. But why not use living shrubs to screen your yard from passersby and prying eyes? These evergreens not only make ideal hedgerows, but they’re low-water and even provide habitat for birds.
In addition to the classic formal hedges for which they’re most commonly used, boxwood work well planted in gardens to provide year-round structure in perennial beds and accents in containers. Plant a trio of boxwoods with ornamental grasses and agaves for a contemporary look. Water regularly when plants are young; only occasionally once plants are established.
This low-water Australian native has small, delicate leaves and a mounding growth habit. It can be particularly pretty planted with cacti and succulents as the delicate foliage provides a nice contrast to bolder forms. The plant only needs occasional water once established. W. ‘Smokey’ is pictured.
Plants range from low types used as groundcovers to small, stiffly upright shrubs to small trees with graceful, arching branches. Native to China, the Himalayas and Northern India, they are evergreen in most Western climates, with a few exceptions (including deciduous C. apiculatus and C. horizontalis). In spring, white or pink flowers cover the branches, resembling tiny single roses. Berries follow the blossoms in fall and winter and provide a food source for wild birds. Some species can be invasive, spreading by seeds into wild areas.
Evergreen varieties of this hard-working garden shrub (primarily E. japonicus) can be useful planted as screens and hedges or pruned into small trees. Tiny-leafed box-leaf euonymus (E. japonicus ‘Microphyllus’) is particularly prized for it’s more formal look and delicate green, variegated, or golden leaves. Plants are tolerant to heat and unfavorable soil, but can be susceptible to powdery mildew. Choose a spot in the garden with full sun and good air circulation.
These conifers come in all sorts of sizes and forms from groundcovers, weeping and upright shrubs, and trees. Among the shrub-types, the upright columnar varieties and ones with weeping branches can be particularly picturesque garden as accents. Many require only moderate to low water and appreciate protection from baking sun in hot climates. Low-growing J. procumbens ‘Nana Compacta’ is pictured.
This Mediterranean shrub can be useful in the garden as an informal screen, specimen shrub, or sheared into a formal hedge. Many reach 5–6 ft. tall and 4–5 ft. wide (as much as 15 ft. by 20 ft. in old age), but can be pruned to keep compact. The glossy, bright green leaves are pleasantly aromatic when brushed against. White, sweet-scented flowers with many stamens bloom in summer, followed by bluish-black berries. The plants are tolerant of many soil types but require good drainage.
These handsome, glossy-leafed shrubs vary in size from low, mounding types to small trees. All respond well to pruning. Use in the garden as foundation plants, clipped hedges, screens, and specimen plants. Water needs vary among varieties, but many take only moderate water once established. P. tobira ‘Wheeler’s Dwarf’ is particularly choice variety for a foreground plant as it only reaches 2-3 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide. P. eugenioides, P. tenufolium ‘Silver Sheen’, and P. undulatum have more upright forms that work well for screens and hedges.