Thanks to the variety of shapes, colors and sizes they guarantee, shrubs offer numerous ideas for gardens of different styles. The evergreen species in particular ensure a landscape effect of considerable impact, as well as giving a touch of elegance to any environment. Those who want to create shadowy areas can focus on the so-called large shrubs, whose height can reach up to six meters. These are specimens that, by virtue of their size, can be perfectly cultivated as isolated, especially if they can count on very ornamental leaves (the case of the famous camellia japonica). Conversely, large shrubs can also be used to create protections (for privacy reasons or simply to limit the intensity of the winds). By planting species such as prunus laurocerasus in rows, it is possible to create beautiful and functional plant walls: however, nothing prevents you from cutting the stem near the ground in order to create a compact and dense hedge. Those who prefer smaller sizes can opt instead for medium shrubs, no higher than three meters, also ideal for gardens that are not very large. Also in this case you can decide to use them as isolated specimens, but aesthetically they perform better if gathered in small groups. They can be useful, moreover, as separating elements, between different properties or simply between different areas of the same environment: proceeding with an accurate and compact pruning, you can create a very dense wall, able to last for a long time.

Moreover, there are also dwarf shrubs, between thirty and ninety centimeters high, usually wider than long. They are mainly used in mass, to create a kind of respect area for larger species. Small shrubs, on the other hand, with heights between one hundred and one hundred and eighty centimeters, are chosen to delimit paths (the case of boxwood) or to separate a lawn from a flowerbed, a rose garden from a path (the case of escallonia). In case they are planted on land with a slight difference in height, they must be distributed in order of height. These are just some ideas for gardens, which obviously can be declined in a different way also depending on the style you want to attribute to the green space: for example, in a minimalist garden the number of plants will be rather small, so as to concentrate the attention of the beholder on architectural forms; instead, it will increase in English gardens or rock gardens, where plant species will be surrounded by boulders and stones.

A very particular idea, widespread above all in the Nordic countries but which is gradually taking hold in us too, concerns the creation of vertical gardens. It is a question of creating real green spaces, even extending many square meters, either inside the buildings, on balconies and terraces, or outside, on the facades of buildings. The principle of vertical gardens is simple, which is that not all plants need soil to grow. Moreover, in addition to representing a stylistic choice of considerable impact, they also offer concrete advantages in the short and long term: in the sense that they allow, for example, to reduce the action of pollutants in the atmosphere, and at the same time they limit noise pollution, acting as a sort of sound-absorbing barrier. Vertical gardens, which can also be reproduced at home, can be exploited, among other things, for advertising purposes (playing on grasses of different colors or simply cut in a different way), creating writings and logos: they will probably meet a very widespread growth in the next years, especially in big cities.

Inside your garden, on the other hand, the plant species must also be accompanied by other elements: for example an entrance path, to be built in cobblestone or gravel, or with bricks (if the facade of the brick house will create a reference very appreciable from an aesthetic point of view). A night lighting system capable of originating soft lights will create a romantic atmosphere, while a gazebo located in the center of the garden (if the dimensions allow it) will give the possibility to spend summer afternoons in the shade, without suffering excessive heat. of the sun at peak. Having said the importance of borders to delimit different areas (with different profiles and lines according to needs), in a garden composed of flower beds, hedges, shrubs, fruit trees and flowers, a small corner dedicated to children cannot be missing: a mini -inflatable swimming pool flanked by a slide allowing them to have fun outdoors in complete tranquility.

All these ideas for gardens, of course, must be subjected to a final judgment, namely that of the economic budget that you are willing to use: for this reason it is preferable to proceed with a preventive calculation of the costs and expenses that will have to be incurred, to avoid that ideas and projects are beautiful on paper and not applicable.