Reduce maintenance in borders with shrubs

As gardeners age, we often look for ways to decrease maintenance in our landscapes. We choose annuals that don't require deadheading; we plant drought-tolerant perennials that don't demand dragging hoses around the yard; and we may even install large patios to reduce grass that must be mowed regularly.

A beautiful way to lessen the maintenance required in beds and borders is replacing perennials with small shrubs. Shrubs need much less, if any, pruning. Many flower as beautifully as perennials. Evergreen shrubs add color to the border year round; deciduous shrubs continue to offer form to the winter landscape. Many have lovely fall color; some give another season of interest with berries.

Azalea "Karen" is an extremely hardy azalea. Lavender-pink flowers blanket the shrub in mid-May. Suitable as a focal point toward the back of a partly shaded garden, it grows about 4 feet tall and wide. Moist, but well-drained, acidic soil is preferred. It will not tolerate soggy soil. The evergreen foliage turns burgundy in fall.

Mr. Bowling Ball is a pint-size arborvitae. It's nearly impossible to pass by its lacy, sage green foliage without stroking it. It grows in a round mound without pruning. Mr. Bowling Ball is not fussy about soil, but does require a spot in full sun. It grows up to 3 feet tall and wide.

The variegated foliage of Weigela "My Monet" is delightful. Slender green leaves are edged in white and sometimes splashed with pink. Soft pink flowers appear in late spring and then sporadically throughout the summer. This tough shrub can handle the conditions in an exposed site and is adaptable to many different types of soil. Plant My Monet as a focal point in the front of the garden or as an edging plant in full sun to light shade.

Weigela "Fine Wine" is another beauty. It features dark burgundy foliage spring, summer and fall. In spring, the foliage is a beautiful backdrop for deep pink flowers. Best foliage color is achieved in full sun, but the plant will also grow in light shade. Fine Wine grows 2 to 3 feet tall and wide while the form remains tight and upright. It is not fussy about soil conditions except that it is well drained.

Another shrub with dark burgundy foliage, Physocarpus "Little Devil," is an angel in the landscape and a great alternative to thorny barberries. It has all the attributes of larger ninebarks in a small package, topping out at 4 feet tall and wide. Domed clusters of small white flowers brighten the ends of branches in early summer. Little Devil is tough. It will grow in dry or moist conditions in full sun or part shade.

Hydrangea "Bobo" is a flowering machine. It is covered from top to bottom with cone-shaped clusters of white flowers in summer, fading to a delightful shade of pink in fall. Bobo grows up to 3 feet tall and wide. Adaptable to most soil types, it prefers a spot in part to full sun. The more sun, the more water it requires.

Choose Spiraea "Magic Carpet" for its fabulous foliage. New leaves emerge red before maturing to gold and then turning russet red in the fall. Clusters of small deep pink flowers begin blooming in early summer and re-bloom if pruned after flowering. Magic Carpet grows 18 to 24 inches tall and wide. Plant it in full sun to light shade in well-drained soil.

• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist and the garden center manager at The Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield. Call (630) 293-1040, Ext. 2, or visit planterspalette.com.