Tips for choosing the perfect shrub and how to maintain it | Gardening 101 | Gardening Australia

Tino delves into the world of shrubbery, with tips for choosing the perfect shrub for your garden and maintaining the perfect shape. Subscribe 🔔 ab.co/GA-subscribe
Shrubs are an often undervalued piece of the garden puzzle. They are a diverse plant type that provide both functional and aesthetic benefits to every space. Generally, they are perennial, multi-stemmed, woody plants. They come in many forms and shapes from the stereotypical bush, to groundcovers, edible plants, and can be ornamental features in their own right.
Hedges and borders:
Shrubs with a dense habit are used for formal hedges and borders, such as the Boxleaf Honeysuckle or Coastal Rosemary that can handle being regularly pruned to shape. Rosemary is an edible, aromatic option that can be precisely pruned, left as more informal design, or there’s even prostrate versions for a low border. To keep it healthy, regularly prune out any dead or diseased wood and tip prune to keep it bushy.
Designing with shrubs:
A traditional way to fill a large space is to use mass planted shrubs with similar forms and colour to create an almost solid boundary with minimal maintenance. Camellias are ideal for this, with the added bonus of a colourful flower show over a few months. Or you can get creative with variations and contrasts in leaf colour, form, and height to create a unique vista.
Some shrubs such as luculias, can be used as stunning feature specimens rather than letting them fade into the background. These Himalayan natives with sweetly scented pink blooms make a beautiful centrepiece in a frost-free site and pruned to shape after flowering.
Creating habitat:
Shrubs aren’t just for aesthetics, they play an important role in habitat and creating microclimates. They are a crucial link between the ground and the trees, providing a sheltered corridor for small mammals, invertebrates, and birds, along with food and nesting material. There are lots of native options and in a garden designed for habitat, it’s a good idea to use multiple species and combine with native grasses to push out weeds and increase biodiversity.
Feature Plants:
BOXLEAF HONEYSUCKLE - Lonicera ligustrina var. yunnanensis syn. L. nitida
- Coprosma ‘Pacific Sunrise’
(Check before planting: this may be an environmental weed in your area)
COASTAL ROSEMARY - Westringia fruticosa cv.
ROSEMARY - Salvia rosmarinus
CAMELLIA - Camellia cv.
LUCULIA - Luculia pinceana
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[@bigal6369]

I enjoyed the video and realise the limited time available but I don't feel it lived up to the title.
Basically the advice is pick something you like and prune when required.
This topic is so broad that it requires more than this video.

[@potapotapotapotapotapota]

I like them because they cover the ground perfectly to keep the weeds out

[@MKPhilippines]

never thought of that

[@SanghaGarden]

very good information

[@SanghaGarden]

most beautiful

[@Greenplantguide]

Really great video. Thanks for sharing.💚💚💚💚💚✌✌✌✌✌✌👌👌👌👌✌👌👌✌✌👌👌👌

[@GardeningAustralia]

Thanks for watching!

[@peterg226]

Hi Tino, do you know much about starting Quince tree's from seed, would appreciate your help, many thanks.