Shrubs for Special Situations

In many areas of the country, rainfall is never generous. And it's becoming less dependable in many other areas, too. If you live where water is likely to be restricted, choose shrubs that don't require much water. Some examples are olive, butterfly bush, potentilla, and barberry.

Deer can damage shrubs by nibbling their twigs, fruit, and foliage. Homeowners across the country are searching for ornamental shrubs that deer will ignore. Lists vary by region -- even by neighborhood -- but certain types of plants appear on many of them. Consider shrubs with thorns or prickers, resinous wood, aromatic foliage, and silver or gray fuzzy leaves.

Native shrubs that combine the virtues of beauty and low maintenance include:

• American arborvitae
• American beautyberry
• American holly
• Bayberry
• Bottlebrush buckeye
• California lilac
• Carolina allspice
• Chokeberry
• Dwarf fothergilla
• Mountain laurel
• Oakleaf hydrangea
• Oregon grapeholly
• Rhododendron (some)
• Serviceberry
• Sweet pepperbush
• Viburnum (some)
• Virginia sweetspire

Some shrubs with berries that attract birds and other wildlife include:

• Barberry
• Bearberry
• Beautyberry
• Blueberry
• Brambles
• Cotoneaster
• Dogwood
• Euonymus
• Firethorn
• Holly
• Juniper
• Viburnum
• Wax myrtle