6 Underrated Functions Of Ornamental Trees And Shrubs Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 07:13

Shrubs and trees from among the decorative species - both flowering and deciduous - form the so-called "crown" of any garden. They are at the same time a base, a canvas, for more unstable and short-lived plants, and they themselves crown the design, being its most noticeable elements. Whatever shrub and tree are discussed, in a group or singly they grow, they should look impressive. But only the decorative role of non-fruit trees and shrubs in the garden has never been limited. And while the rest of their functions are a little underestimated, they are just as important for the garden as the enchanting show of beautiful soloists.

It would be a big mistake to treat trees and shrubs with the status of purely ornamental plants as just a boring necessity. The fact that they do not produce crops does not diminish their merits in the least. Shrubs and woody ones are able to cope not only with the task of creating lush plantings around the garden perimeter, beautiful curtains. They give a blessed shadow, focus the gaze, connect buildings and garden compositions, add spatial depth, frame recreation areas, decorate flower beds and define their structure, emphasize the important, hide the unwanted, attract the eyes …

It is worth considering decorative giants as plants suitable not only for hedges - and you will discover talents that are unlimited only aesthetic qualities. And the most boring and modest shrubs and woody ones are worth taking a closer look at. Even such an inexpressive irga is capable of overshadowing the best exotics with its wonderful spring dress in the form of snow-white lace.

And plants whose flowering is completely inconspicuous - euonymus, maples and others - will surprise you with such a play of colors on the foliage that no one will remain indifferent to the color show. Not to mention the grass or willow, whose bare branches in winter are not boring at all, but surprisingly bright. These are the plants that are attractive literally all year round and with which the garden will never look flat, dull and empty. And underestimating them would be a big mistake.

Explosion of color

No matter what decorative tree or shrub we are talking about, they will always be the brightest color spots in the garden. In some of them, the "peak" of coloristic influence on the landscape is observed during flowering. Rhododendrons, quince, ornamental cherries, forsythia literally turn into a huge spot of color during their flowering. Yes, and white shrubs, such as spirea, most powerfully show a romantic and noble character precisely during flowering.

The other plant shows will have to wait: the variegated outfit of the white turf, purple and red maples, barberries and their unusual foliage competitors are the most eye-catching spots in summer, while their evergreen rivals offer to enjoy the intensity of colors all year round. The most powerful color changes always occur in the fall, when hardwoods literally burst into flames and carmine colors. But plants attract attention not only in specific seasons.

Even when it comes to ordinary, unremarkable foliage of flowering shrubs, the powerful influence of dark to medium green in these plants will be strongest in the entire garden. The large size and density of the crown actually turn each plant from a group of decorative giants into a color spot. And against its background, even the brightest grassy stars will still seem small and inconspicuous.

The ability of shrubs and trees to serve as "conductors" of the color palette, to form a powerful coloristic basis must be taken into account when choosing plants for hedges, and for group plantings, and for soloists. With a single “right” plant, you can create the feeling of a well-thought-out color concept.

The main tool for styling

Trees and shrubs are the source of not only powerful color impact, but also stylistic expressiveness. There is no easier way to emphasize, designate, define, make the style of the garden obvious, even to the casual visitor, than using shrubs and trees that are expressive and represent a certain trend in landscape design. After all, if they create the basis of the garden, then it is most logical for them to create the basis of landscaping that expresses the design concept.

In practice, it is very easy to use trees and shrubs as a stylistic tool. The variety of large ornamental plants is so great that for any, even the narrowest trend of landscape design, there are dozens of suitable species and varieties. Each of the styles has its own "written" preferences, which just large plants, as a rule, indicate very clearly. So, in Mediterranean gardens, instead of far from frost-resistant, but such obligatory pines, cypresses and olives, you can easily pick up varieties of sea buckthorn, juniper, ornamental pines similar to them in appearance and mood.

The Japanese style is easy to present with holly, euonymus and fan maples. Landscape flow offer a wide variety of mock oranges and lilac to Bobovnikov and wild roses, and rustic with a bet on "our" landscapes fascinate spruce, birch and rowan.

Providing shelter and filling the garden with life

One of the most "unpopular" functions of ornamental shrubs and trees is excellent opportunities to attract numerous representatives of useful animals to the garden. It is the trees and shrubs, which many consider "extras", that are the best shelter for filling the gardens with the noise, movement and life of insects and birds.

The most modest of flowering shrubs are usually the most active in "attracting" butterflies, bumblebees and bees in the spring and summer. And birds love shrubs with a dense crown and thorny shoots. Simple mountain ash, ornamental apple trees, chokeberry are a source of food for birds, which will thank you for choosing plants with their help in pest control. And beneficial insects do not prefer fruit crops at all, but their decorative counterparts.

But the main task of bait plants, which, it would seem, do not bring any benefit except aesthetic pleasure, is the revitalization of the garden. Each garden is a special microclimate, a whole closed ecosystem. And without our smaller brothers, it will not be complete.

Big game with space

Large garden shrubs and trees are the main tools for working with space. And the main "counterweights" of the free area, the sense of space and perspective. True, counterweights that do not overwhelm, reduce the space, but, on the contrary, emphasize and reinforce, contrastingly highlight it.

The ability to always and everywhere stand out from the general background due to its appearance allows trees and shrubs of a decorative type to very deftly cope with a variety of tasks. They are the main instruments for playing with mass, volume, dimensions, shapes and contours. Spatial influences include:

• the ability to influence the perception of perspective and spatial depth;
• the ability to visually change the size of the site and create optical illusions (especially noticeable in narrow, small, difficult areas in relief);
• the ability to overshadow the environment and create a sense of isolation (it is well manifested when planting in rows, groups, when placed as a frame or protection for a recreation area);
• play with a vertical garden structure;
• the ability to harmonize the look of any zone and "complete" the composition (the harmonization functions are especially noticeable near the reservoir and on flower beds);
• the ability to emphasize the internal structure and arrangement of elements of the decorative ensemble;
• visual fencing, limiting and zoning of space without obvious means;
• the most spectacular opportunity to easily, quickly and effortlessly fill the voids in the garden decoration;
• the ability to express any, even the most impersonal and "flat" object.

"Guardians" in garden design

When viewing the best landscape projects, you probably more than once happened to notice with admiration the skill with which professionals are able to place solemn, bright, pretentious accents. A typical example is two identical cut bushes or standard trees placed at the beginning of a path or staircase, which seem to replace the guard of honor. The trees located at the entrance to the house make the same impression. But if you look closely, then there are much more "guards" - and this is how such trees and shrubs, marking the beginning of an important zone or object - are called in the garden. And they are not always in pairs.

A powerful bush on the shore of a reservoir, a slender coniferous tree with a romantic cloud covering a flower garden with a weeping crown or a mini-shrub emphasizing the relief of a rock garden - all of them are also "guards". This is any plant that visually contrasts with the environment and attracts the eye to an important transition, playing the role of a pointer, a semantic point. With the help of a single guard, you can radically change the mood of the garden and give it not only expressiveness, but also mystery, a special atmosphere.

Unshakable beauty

As strange as it may sound, it is the ornamental shrubs and trees that are the main source of psychological comfort in the garden. These are truly unchanging, stable elements that allow you to feel protected not only from prying eyes, but also from the passage of time. Such plants are introduced into the garden for several years. Unshakable, not subject to change, they are perceived as a kind of islands of calm, promising that everything in your life will be fine. These are "landmarks" or psychological "buoys" that will help you not be afraid of changes and experiments, will allow you to take a break from the hectic pace of life.

It is easy to understand why trees and shrubs of a decorative type play such an important psychological role, so strongly affect the atmosphere of the garden, using the example of a family tree. The main giant on the site, which is planted for decades and centuries, which is the semantic center of the garden, is a kind of guardian who determines the mood and nature of the design, the comfort of being in your own garden.

This tree has an almost magical influence: next to it, everyone feels almost carefree, "resting with their souls." And such an impact - a reliable support, emotional release, unshakable constancy - is characteristic of all ornamental trees and shrubs without exception. Even the smallest on an alpine slide.