When did bushes & shrubs step out of the spotlight? Remember when they were part of the holy trinity of garden plant types – trees, bushes, lawn? The point is, the bushy plant well-deserves its place. Here are some great reasons to plant bushes & shrubs and how to use them cleverly…

1. Bushes buffer breezes: Bushy plants are essential core building blocks in any garden. Because the foliage grows thickly, they are dense enough to reduce breezes. This may not sound exciting – until you get clever with it. Imagine you have a nice spot in the garden, except the wind whips around the corner of the house and makes you and your more precious plants feel very uncomfortable. Each time you go out there to enjoy the view or read a book, you find yourself standing up and moving somewhere more comfortable, leaving your plant treasures to suffer alone. But if you plant a few bushy plants into the right spot, the wind will be deflected and broken and your outdoor space will be a haven to enjoy, where your more delicate plant treasures can thrive.

2. Blocking views & directing traffic: These are such key reasons to have bushes working for you in the garden. Imagine you have a front path that no-one likes to use and instead they cut across the lawn or garden to get to your door. It’s a common problem because we are a lazy bunch, but it’s easily fixed with a low line of bushy plants – aka a hedge. It doesn’t need to be a tall hedge as people tend to stick to the path rather than risk stepping over a line of shrubs more than knee height. And if you have an ugly network box, pool filter, or air conditioner visible outside, you can distract or hide it from view by planting bushes & shrubs in front of it. This isn’t rocket science but it’s surprising how many people build a cupboard around something like this which makes it even more of an eyesore.

3. Six good shrubs: Use this list to do a little online research. Then take this list with you when you go to the garden centre because it will make your life easier when you’re surrounded by an often overwhelming amount of choice. First is the very worthy Pacific^™ Coprosma. Easy to grow and gorgeously coloured, these medium sized bushes (3ft x 3ft) are good at directing foot traffic, filling in gaps in the landscape, or just looking good in a pot. Lavender is a forever favourite because it has attractive grey foliage and those lovely scented flowers. Mexican orange blossom (Choisya ternata) is a good mid-green tall shrub that has white fragrant flowers in spring. It’s tall enough at 10 feet to block an ugly view. Rosemary (the herb) is another good bushy plant because it is a brilliant garden bed edging, and being edible, looks great framing the vegetable garden. An Australian favourite is Westringia or costal rosemary. It’s not edible but it is clip-able, and the landscape designers down under love to trim it into funky spheres. And finally if you need something to softly hide the dog house, plant a Spiraea thunbergii. Note the name because there are a few Spiraeas around and this is the one that grows to five feet high (and wide) and in spring and summer covers itself in white flowers.