Help with identification of shrubs please!

[Splaker]

I think gata is correct - I too think it's a barberry! Nice plant and I will definitely leave it alone..

I want to add a Japanese Maple at the end of the left side of the bed and perhaps a ruby slipper hydrangea on the right side, as it doesn't grow very large and prefers (or tolerates) a lot of sun. In between I can already see a sedum on each side of the barberry coming up and I'm happy about that. It's not a huge spot, so maybe a few annuals can be added to liven it up.

I believe there is a hydrangea in there too so I have to think about that. They left the ID tag in the ground. I'll check the variety and then post it here... as I recall, it's one I've never heard of.

This is getting interesting!

And by the way, I cleaned up the shrub we're all still trying to ID. It was such a mess... As I was cutting it, it reminded me a lot of the shrub my parents had where I grew up - I might be a viburnum. Their's had white flower clusters in the spring then berries emerged and persisted into the winter....very common here in Ontario, Canada

 

[Bootsy]

Thanks, LIcenter,

That part of the garden is what I call the main garden. It has its own microclimate as it's surrounds by trees, shrubs, hedges and buildings. The photo is taken from the kitchen of our bungalow and the building visible is our summerhouse.

Past that border of trees and shrubs is another small garden that is lawn, then flower beds then more trees and shrubs and the other side of that is my vegetable, fruit and wildflower area. It ends where you can just see some tops of poplar trees (that we've had the top 30ft taken off). Behind that we have open fields where the crop varies through wheat, barley, broad beans, rapeseed etc.

Were you a bargain at a couple of bucks?

 

[Splaker]

Mystery ID planet?

Something like this...
http://www.cleancutproperty.com/shrubs-2/mohican-viburnum/

 

[Splaker]

And I have a few others I'm still trying to figure out as well but I am focusing on the front yard for now! The backyard is quite a bit bigger and there's a mess of shrubs back there! These previous owners just let it go!

 

[IcyBC]

I have no idea what it is either, but that looks huge and very tangled. Taking a sheer to it would be more manageable once it starts to fill in with leaves. It would be nice what it is.

 

[Splaker]

I have no idea what it is either, but that looks huge and very tangled. Taking a sheer to it would be more manageable once it starts to fill in with leaves. It would be nice what it is.

I gave it a major pruning... I know I probably should have waited, but i think i have ADD!

I will take a pic later to show

Anyhow, it already looks a LOT better in terms of shape... Im sure it'll come back nicely this spring...

 

[tbendl]

There's really no point in photographing it without leaves.

Euonymous is very easy to keep neat by cutting/shaping it with shears or hedge cutters.

We keep these golden ones short

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but this Silver Queen we train upwards

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They can all be cut very smooth like a hedge.

Hydrangeas are very showy plants and come in a lot of different colours. One that is different and can be cut down to 12" each year is Annabelle. It's one of the most cold hardy of the hydrangeas (I think it's supposed to be hardy down H3) and is quite spectacular when in bloom. It tends to need some support as the stems are soft wood (new growth each year) and the flower heads are big. We cut ours down to 6" each year.

View attachment 4991

Weigelias also come in a range of colours and growth habits. They can be trained into different shapes. I don't know how hardy they are but you can check locally. They also come in variegated leaf styles with light coloured flowers. We just let this grow where it wants but others we shape into standards with or keep as low shrubs.

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With regard to roses: @wiseowl on this forum is an expert.

Bootsy the top picture with all of the flowers is exactly what I want to do with my flower area along my fence. We look to be in the same zone so do you know what all of those fabulous flowers are?

 

[Bootsy]

@tbendl If you're referring to this picture, then they are just the wild version of Aquilegia (Columbine) - an easy perennial.

These are not the same variety as the State flower of Colorado (A. caerulea) but a cross breed version with smaller flowers but more prolific.

This next is a picture of them with Nigella damascene (Love in a Mist). Both self-seed very easily and none of these in the photo were planted by us.

Aquilegia are extremely promiscuous and will cross breed with almost any of the, nearly, 70 other varieties.

The larger headed varieties such as A. caerulea are a shorter lived variety but the 'alpina' varieties last many more years.

They flower for about four weeks in May but the leaves are very pretty and start to appear in early Spring and continue to late Summer.

Here's a link to a U.S. site. Apart from the alpine varieties the cross-bred Biedemeyer is a nice version. With all of the more prolific varieties it's easy to collect the seeds (thousands of small shiny black ones) and sprinkle around the garden. Until you have become accustomed to recognising the baby plants emerging you need to be very careful when weeding.

http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/perennials/columbine.html#gsc.tab=0

 

[tbendl]

Thank you so much! It is simply gorgeous. I just planted my flower garden, well part of it this weekend but I would love to add some of these.