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THE cultivation of shrubberies in private gardens is becoming more and more popular ever since the farmhouses of the rich and the famous are being landscaped professionally. Shrubs are used to secure privacy, to create enclosures, to screen compound walls or to obscure large untidy areas with minimal maintenance costs. A carefully planned shrubbery can be most satisfying for a garden lover. The colour and scent of shrubs can enhance the charm and beauty of any garden. The best architectural pattern can be achieved if a few of the shrubs are selected and arranged in good numbers in regular, irregular, curved or straight lines keeping the ultimate size in mind. Being a permanent feature, shrubberies require that the soil for them should be dug well, say up to 2-3 feet deep in case of beds or 3 cubic feet in case of pits, manured well with well rotted farmyard manure as well as made free of all weeds and rubble, etc. The selection and collection of specimens should be made wisely as once planted and established, no alterations can be made without adversely affecting uniformity of growth. Some of the most outstanding shrubs recommended for gardens, of course depending on its size, in plains of North India are: Acalypha: is an evergreen shrub of intermediate height. A. tricolour has large leaves of different colours whereas A. colorata has brilliant reddish- bronze leaves. The third variety A. marginata has leaves with a distinct white margin. Arrabridaea magnifica: is a fast growing evergreen shrub that bears bell-shaped tubular purple flowers in clusters in summer and autumn. Bauhinia galpini: is commonly known as Pride of the Cape and has a rounded and drooping form, making an excellent plant for the shrubbery. Buddlea asiatica: with its silver grey foliage, lends a striking contrast in the shrubbery. The plants bear white flowers towards the end of winter. B. Lindleyana bears reddish purple flowers. Cassia biflora: is an elegant evergreen shrub which produces clusters of golden flowers for about eight months in a year from November onwards and makes a good cut flower. Crossandra infundibuliformis: is an upright shrub which grows up to 5 feet and bears very attractive orange flowers. It blooms almost all the year round except in very severe winters from December to February. Duranta plumieri: is an evergreen beautiful, but easy to grow, shrub with small blue or white flowers, which are succeeded by bunches of pretty yellow berries. Generally used in the middle line of a shrubbery. Hamelia patens:
is a large shrub grown for its deep brown to almost red evergreen
foliage and pretty red-yellow flowers, which are produced all the year
round. Fit for the back line of a shrubbery. |
