Page 48 - Phonebox Magazine February 2008

Great plants for exposed sites
With the recent stormy weather, and having seen a few shrubs and trees damaged or uprooted in the past months, you may be thinking either about planting a windbreak around your garden to protect more fragile specimens, or replacing damaged specimens with tougher ones.
Sensibly, herbaceous perennials lose their foliage above ground over winter, so do not have to cope with weather extremes – it’s shrubs and trees that suffer. Suggestions for tough evergreen plants for year round protection and interest include Prunus laurocerasus ‘Rotundifolia’, with shiny bright green leaves. Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’ has scented yellow flowers in spring with spiny leaves. For stunning red stems in winter choose Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ which will filter the wind effectively.
Deciduous shrubs to consider include our native Elders, try cultivars with coloured leaves, such as Sambucus nigra Eva with almost black foliage, or Sambucus racemosa ‘Sutherland Gold’ with lovely golden hues in spring.
An unusual choice may be ornamental grasses. They tolerate wind and are very beautiful when the wind moves the leaves and flowers - Blue Oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) is a good choice. K
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48 Phonebox Magazine