There are some homes you pass whose landscaping catches your eye and makes you think, “Wow.” These are usually the yards that are well-maintained, lush, and dynamic in their design all year round. That wow factor is generally bright and cheerful in the spring and summer, then it transitions to warm and comforting in autumn. In winter, it is bold and soft in contrast to the sharp edges of the bare trees above it.
Even amid changing seasons, low-maintenance evergreen plants are the secret to keeping your landscaping dynamic and pleasing to the eye.
Low Maintenance Evergreen Plants
There are several reasons to incorporate evergreen plants into your garden and landscaping. Besides adding shades of green for you and your family to enjoy, they also serve specific functions throughout the year.
Evergreen plants provide shade all year long. They also help conserve energy, provide food and cover for birds, muffle noise, and create privacy.
Evergreen Shrubs
Evergreen shrubs provide cover and food for birds, and they fill your landscaping with pops of green, deep purple, and bronze when the rest of the plant-world seems to have fallen asleep.
While you and I can navigate freezing temperatures by heading to the local supermarket for supplies, the birds that call our yards home have a more challenging time surviving winter.
According to ahsgardening.org, “You can keep birds healthy and happy by creating a habitat that provides them with a few basic needs—food, water, shelter, and a safe place to raise a family come spring.” Besides giving us a tangible way to help protect our feathered friends, thus keeping the ecosystem in our yards vibrant, evergreen shrubs provide beauty throughout the year.
Top 10 Small Evergreen Shrubs and Ground Cover
These are some of our best-selling evergreen shrubs and ground covers, and for good reason! They require little to no maintenance, and they each bring a unique beauty to your landscaping during the colder months.
Here is a list of low maintenance evergreen plants:
Frost Proof Gardenia (low maintenance): Blooms after a harsh winter and holds blooms after a frost!
Firepower Nandina Shrub (low maintenance): Add tons of color to your landscape year-round.
Snow-and-Summer Asiatic Jasmine ground cover (low maintenance): Make your landscape fun and exciting with this unique groundcover. Mature leaves are variegated white and emerald green.
Cryptomeria Globosa Nana shrub (no maintenance): Manicured look without the maintenance! Year-round color and texture.
Blue Pacific Juniper (low maintenance): Perfect groundcover Juniper for slopes. Adds rich green color and lush texture.
Gold Mop Cypress (low maintenance): A truly unique, evergreen shrub that will have you standing out in the crowd. Its vibrant, yellow color will turn heads.
Emerald Blue Creeping Phlox (low maintenance): Evergreen groundcover with tons of blue flowers. Great for slopes and walkways.
Green Mountain Boxwood (low maintenance): This unique boxwood will add dimension to your landscape plan. Dense, rich green foliage.
Autumn Fire Encore Azalea (low maintenance): Fall in love with the romantic, red blooms of the Autumn Fire. Vibrant, true red blossoms bloom for three seasons. Perfect for brightening your landscape.
Evergreen Trees
In the summer, evergreen trees soak in the sun and draw long, cooling shadows across your lawn and outdoor gathering areas. Whether you’re providing a shady place for your children to run through the sprinklers or a shaded patio on which to visit with friends in the evening hours, evergreen trees help you create spaces that allow you to enjoy the warmth while remaining unaffected by direct sunlight.
These same evergreen trees serve a different purpose in the winter. They block harsh winds from blowing across your yard.
While most of us spend more time indoors during the winter months, we prefer not to be relegated to indoor environments alone. We still need fresh air and vitamin D even when the weather is cold!
For this reason, evergreen trees, such as our best-selling Thuja Green Giant and Leyland Cypress, serve to trap whatever heat the sun provides while shielding your outdoor spaces from harsh winds. Evergreen trees create an area where you can invite friends and family to join you around a firepit for s’mores and lively conversation even through December.
Evergreen trees also conserve energy all year round. In the summer, they shield your home from the relentless heat of the sun, which gives your air conditioner a much-needed break. In winter, they provide a wall of protection from cooling elements, such as gusts of wind, giving your furnace a much-needed break. Evergreen trees with strong branches and sturdy foliage, such as the Emerald Green Arborvitae and Italian Cypress, are beautiful and can ultimately save you money on energy bills.
Low-maintenance evergreen plants and trees serve to beautify your landscaping and garden throughout the year, and they’re helpful in conserving energy, preserving the health of your yard’s ecosystem. They’re also sure to inspire anyone admiring your landscaping. Perhaps you’ll even get to be the one thinking “Wow,” every time you pull into your driveway.
You May Also Like:
Year Round Plants for Landscaping
What Blooms in the Fall
Easy Landscaping Ideas for the Front of Your House
Low Maintenance Ground Cover Plants
Privacy Trees
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