In a great garden design, approximately 30% of the plantation consists of evergreens, the green skeleton of your garden. In this article, I list some examples of evergreen plants such as trees, shrubs, hedges, climbing plants, and ground covers you can plant in your garden.

Evergreen trees

With one exception, conifers are evergreen plants all year round. In the article Why are trees so important? I already mentioned a number of evergreen trees. In addition to the Photinia Fraseri “Red Robin”, Prunus Caucasia, Quercus Ilex, and Eleagnus Ebbigei, I will take you through a few more options that are worthwhile.

Osmanthus Burkwoodii

Osmanthus Burkwoodii

The common name of this evergreen tree is Burkwood osmanthus. This tree grows to about 2 to 3 meters in height and can be grown and pruned in various ways. You can put the multi-stem variant in your garden, but it’s also put on a trunk or use as a hedge. It is a good breeding tree for bees.

Osmanthus blooms with white flowers in April and May. The flowers have a pleasant scent. This easy garden plant is undemanding in terms of location.

Magnolia grandiflora Gallisoniensis

This magnolia produces fragrant flowers that resemble white tulips. They can take years to appear, but when they bloom, huge flowers appear on the tree. The warmer and sunnier the summer, the more flowers will grow. The flowering time is from June to September. The tree can reach a height of 8 meters, but it grows slowly.

The magnolia requires little maintenance and is not a difficult tree. Only when it is being lifted is it wise to handle the roots carefully, give the tree a large planting hole and fill it with new planting soil. Next, it is important to give a lot of water twice a week.

Privet

Privet can also be used in several ways, most often as an evergreen tree or hedge. Due to their dense growth, these evergreen trees are very suitable for this. In June and July, it blooms with white flowers, followed by black currants.

There are several Privet species. The evergreen privet is the Ligustrum “Atrovirens”. This is a full, dense plant and is therefore often used as a hedge for this reason. The common privet, Ligustrum vulgare, is winter-hardy and has oval deep green leaves. This plant is very popular with birds, who are attracted by the seductive scent of the blossoms.

The hedge privet, Ligustrum ovafolium, is a very winter-hardy version of the privet. The variegated privet, Ligustrum ovafolium “Aureum” is also a strong plant with two-colored leaves. Both privets are attractive to birds just like the regular ones.

Taxus

Taxus, perfect evergreen plants

With the appearance of the boxwood caterpillar, the well-known low hedges are often replaced by the privet, but this Taxus also gained in popularity. If you grow Taxus, it will grow slowly to heights of 2.5 to 20 meters, a beautiful evergreen tree. This coniferous species can be recognized by its green needles and red berries.

Taxus is a poisonous plant, if you eat it, you can die from it. The special thing about certain Taxus species is that raw material for a medicine to fight cancer is extracted. Pruning waste is collected for this purpose, so see if you can bring your waste somewhere nearby for this good cause.

Ilex

The common name for this evergreen tree is Holly. There are about 400 species, leafy and deciduous species. The fruit is a small, usually red berry. The berries are poisonous to humans, but birds love them. The Ilex Crenata species is very similar to boxwood, it can grow up to 3.5 meters high. The Ilex “Nellie R Stevens” is a tree species that produce a lot of orange berries in October and November. In the spring the tree blooms with white, non-conspicuous flowers. The tree grows to about 5 meters high.

Evergreen Plants Shrubs

A shrub is a woody plant that branches in or near the ground, unlike a tree, so they have no real trunk.

Rhododendron, evergreen plants

There are about 600 to 1000 varieties of Rhododendrons. The Azalea is a species that is classified under the Rhododendrons. The main difference between the Azalea and Rhododendron is that almost all Azaleas lose their leaves. The Rhododendron, on the contrary, are evergreen plants.

There are 4 types of Rhododendrons, large-leaved Rhododendrons, small-leaved Rhododendron, Japanese Azalea, and deciduous Azalea. This shrub blooms in all kinds of colors, blue, yellow, purple, red, pink, and white.

Choisya Ternata

Choisya Ternata is an evergreen shrub with white flowers from May to August. The flowers give off a wonderful scent. It is a slow grower that eventually grows to a maximum height of 2 meters. You can prune this shrub well in shape. This is also a suitable variety for pots or large planters. They are beautiful evergreen plants that also decorate your garden beautifully in winter.

Ceanothus, evergreen plants

The American lilac flowers strikingly with blue flowers in May and June. It is a very winter-hardy plant, reaching about 1.6 to 2 meters in height. You can also opt for a lower type. The Ceanothus thrysiflorus var. Repens grow more horizontally. It grows up to 50-80 centimeters high and up to 2.5 meters wide. The plant does require some shelter from the wind and it appreciates a place in the sun.

Hedge, evergreen plants

After describing different types of trees, I would like to add 2 more evergreen types as a hedge.

Pyracantha

Firethorn is not actually a climbing plant or hedge plant but is an easy-to-manage evergreen. Pyracantha is best known for the berry, red, orange, and yellow versions. The berries appear from the end of summer to the beginning of winter. Pyracantha can reach a height of 2 to 3 meters.

If you don’t guide the pyracantha, you can still prune it to a hedge, the hedge will be a bit wider than a usual hedge. The pyracantha contains spines and therefore you form a hedge that no intruder wants to penetrate.

Evergreen plants Fargesia

I think Bamboo is a great plant. It is easy to maintain, belongs to the evergreen plants, and can withstand a lot. It is not very demanding on soil type or location and can also be pruned well. Fargesia is a non-invasive bamboo species. You can prune it perfectly in the shape and height that you want, as a low hedge, or somewhat higher separation. There are different types available that reach a height of between 1.25 and 4 meters.

The Fargesia jiuzhaigou “Deep Purple” is a beautiful evergreen plant with deep purple / black stems and green leaves. Fargesia Rufa is a species with graceful, sometimes hanging branches, which makes a wider hedge. A beautiful upright bamboo species with a yellow trunk and green leaves is the Fargesia Nitida.

Evergreen climbing plants

Climbing plants can add just that extra green to your garden and are a great way to decorate ugly walls or barriers. There are adhesive climbing plants and non-adhesive climbing plants. You will have to guide the latter group yourself, for example with climbing frames or possibly a pergola. With these evergreen climbing plants, you can hide those ugly waste bins in the winter as well.

Hedera, perfect evergreen plants

This one is well known, but did you know that there are also many different colors. You have Hedera with dark green leaves, light green, blue-green, green with a white margin, green with yellow. Hedera is a plant that attaches itself to surfaces with small adhesive roots. The small flowers appear in umbels of 3 to 5 centimeters and are very rich in nectar. This makes them an important source of food for bees and insects.

The fruits that grow on the plant in the autumn are poisonous to humans, but a food source for birds. The different types of Hedera can grow from 3 meters to 25 meters high if they have something to attach themselves to. Certain types of Hedera can also be used as ground cover.

Akebia quinata

Akebia quinata

Akebia Quinata is known by the name of chocolate vine. It is an early flowering semi-evergreen climbing plant. Flowering occurs in the period April-May and its flowers are pink/purple or purple. It blooms on old wood, take this into account when pruning. In terms of location, Chocolate vine prefers a sunny place. It is a plant that winds around something and is therefore easy to manage. Akebia is undemanding in soil type.

Jasminum Nudiflorum

The name suggests that it is a beautiful winter appearance, namely winter jasmine. It is a frequently used facade plant, which you will have to tie up yourself. The shrub is not evergreen in terms of leaves but blooms with yellow flowers in the period from December to February. That is why he earned a place on this list.

The height of the plant is up to 3 meters. You can prune branches of the plant, and place them indoors to fully enjoy the blooming. The flowers will remain beautiful for a long time.

Trachelospermum Jasminoides

The Star jasmine is a popular plant because of its scent and evergreen foliage. The Trachelospermum Jasminoides blooms from May to September with countless white flowers that have a wonderful scent. Because there is a chance of freezing of this plant at -10, it is wise to place the plant in a well-sheltered spot in a sunny place.

It is a meandering plant that is easy to manage. The height he can reach is between 2.5 and 4 meters. Trachelospermum “Star of Tuscany” is a frost-tolerant variety that blooms with yellow star-shaped flowers.

Evergreen Ground Cover

An evergreen ground cover in your garden is a good way to make your garden easy to maintain. Weeds will not grow in places where a ground cover grows. Besides, a ground cover improves the structure and soil life and prevents dehydration.

Liriope muscari

Lily grass is a flowering grass-like species. There are white and purple flowering varieties, which bloom in the period September and October. The height of the plant is about 25 centimeters. Liriope has few demands on soil type and location.

Pachysandra Terminalis 

This evergreen ground cover has shiny green leaves. This ground cover likes to be in the shade. It is also possible to place it in the sun, but you have the chance the leaves turn yellowish. In March and April, discreet small white flowers bloom.

A nice variety is Pachysandra terminalis “Variegata”. This species has variegated leaves with green and a white margin. If you think it is necessary to water the plant, do this in the morning so that the plant dries overnight. This is to prevent fungi from affecting the plant.

Epimedium Grandiflorum

Epimedium Grandiflorum, beautiful evergreen plants

The large flowered barrenwort, or bishop’s hat, is a beautiful evergreen ground cover with small, but very beautiful flowers. Fairy flowers are available in different colors. The pink, purple, white, and yellow fairy flowers generally bloom in the spring. Not only the flower, but the heart-shaped leaf with a brown-red edge is decorative as a ground cover in your (shady) garden.

Epimedium Grandiflorum likes shade, so plant it in the shade border or under taller shrubs or trees to create shade.