Acer
Maple
Cornus
Dogwoods
Cotoneaster
Forsythia
Juniper
Prunus
Purpleleaf Sand Cherry
Salix
Pussy Willow
Dwarf Blue Artic Willow
Viburnum
Shrubs in the Mixed Garden
Shrubs as
Hedges, Privacy Screens, and Garden Backdrops
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Availability List Perennials In the Greenhouse In the Gardens The greenhouse and nursery are open for the season through to Saturday August 1st. Summer Hours are: 10-3 Monday-Saturday. Our Availability List Pages are updated Monday mornings. You can also email us with any questions or comments you have about our plants, this website, or gardening in general. We offer shrubs for zones 3-4. Unfortunately, there is no standardization in the industry, so you may notice the same shrub listed in one catalog as a zone 3, and in another as zone 4, or even 5. That's why I think it is important to trial the plants here in our display gardens. The plant's height and spread are provided along with a brief description. In the gardens, we watch for overall garden performance including bloom and foliage through the changing seasons.   Our shrub selection is based on four season attributes in the landscape. With their height, fullness, range of leaf and branching variations, shrubs work well as mass plantings, hedges, screens, or as a backdrop to the mixed garden. They allow privacy and a sense of enclosure as we avoid views and noises from intrusive surroundings. Healthy landscapes provide a range of food and shelter to attract beneficial insects and birds adding an element of interest and aesthetic value to the landscape.  
Mantis eggs in protective winter casing and into adults in summer.   Turning to shades of yellow, orange, and red, shrubs continue their seasonal interest into fall as gardeners spend the last warm days of the season out in their gardens. Vibrant, fall colors are a sought after trait in shrubs. Through winter, the mixed garden is often veiwed from indoors looking out, so the importance of shrubs prevails as a verticle element providing color and contrast to an otherwise bleak, one dimensional view. While many of the shrubs we offer are natives, we don't disregard noteworthy plants adapted to our regional climate and soils. All but those indicated with part-shade symbols are best suited for full sun, so avoid planting under large tree canopies. Also, as is usually the case with full sun plants, full sun shrubs require less water than lawn areas. After the Picture Gallery there are a few Garden Designs. The examples include various garden shapes and sizes with notes on the numbers of plants needed to fill the area. 
 Acer ginnala Compact Amur Maple 8'x8' Ginnala maples provide a dense growth of glossy green foliage through summer followed by the outstanding fall foliage.     Cornus 'Ivory Halo' 5'x5' Compact, rounded habit with showy foliage through the season. Brightens shady areas of the landscape. Dramatic contrast when placed in the forefront of the garden with evergreens behind. Does better in part-shade than full sun through the heat of summer.
Cotoneaster lucidus 6'x6'  Forms a dense hedge quickly. Upright habit with small, pink flowers in spring, outstanding fall color, followed by black fruit through winter attracting birds into the landscape. Very easy to grow.   Forsythia 'Northern Gold' 6'x5' Upright Habit Forsythias bloom before the foliage comes on, so the flowers really stand out. Lovely with tulips for high impact and low maintenance spring color.  Juniperus horizontalis 'Prince of Wales' 6"x5' A personal favorite, this groundcover turns from green to shades of purple through fall and winter. Forms a dense mat quickly spreading over berms and softening otherwise straight edges. No stinky Juniper odor.  Prunus xcistena Purpleleaf Sand Cherry 6'x6' Flowers through spring are light pink and very fragrant. Purple-red leaves are lovely in the mixed garden.   Salix Pussy Willow 20'x15' and Dwarf Blue Leaf Artic Willow 4'x4' Rounded habit with blue tinted foliage. Narrow leaves on thins stem give the shrub a billowing quality. Compact habit precludes need for pruning. Salix discolor Pussy Willow  Excellent as hedging, windbreak, or as backdrop to perennial gardens.  Viburnum dentatum 'Red Feather'  8'x12'
White, flat-topped flowers through spring, berries though late summer, and beautiful deep bronze-red foliage through fall. Outstanding as addition to the mixed shrub bed since it provides four season attributes to the landscape. Best when given the full 12' width to keep natural shape. Shrubs are a wonderful addition to the landscape. They... Smaller shrubs well-suited for planting within the mixed garden: Cornus 'Ivory Halo' Dogwood 5'x5' $40 Forsythia 'Northern Gold' 6'x5' Upright Habit $40 Juniperus horizontalis 'Prince of Wales' 6"x5' $40 Salix Compact Blue Artic Willow 5'x5' $28 Shrubs well-suited for hedges, privacy screens, and as garden backdrops: Acer ginnala Amur Maple Compact Amur Maple 8'x8' $40 Cornus Red Twig Dogwood 8'x8' $40 Cotoneaster lucidus 6'x4' $36 Prunus xcictena Purpleleaf Sand Cherry 6'x6' $40 Salix Pussy Willow 20'x15' $28 Viburnum 'Red Feather' 8'x12' $40 Vines: Clematis; $12.99  Colorscapes is committed to demystifying the garden design process by providing designs so gardeners can match up the information provided about our plants with the numbers needed to fill the garden area. We don't offer trees, but several varieties of the shrubs we do offer grow to 20' and will fit nicely into the designs.  Notes on Garden1:ht=height sp=spread 2-Trees, 25'htx12'sp; 24', 5-Shrubs, 6'htx6'sp; 30' 19-Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5'sp; 11-Perennials, 3'htx3'sp; 8-Vines, 8'htx6.5'sp; 16-Groundcovers, 8"htx3'sp; Total Garden Area=Aprox. 54' Wide x 30' Deep 2.5' Perennials bloom; spring-early summer, interplanted w/bulbs. 3' Perennials bloom; mid-late summer and some into fall.  Notes on Garden2:ht=height sp=spread 2-Trees, 25'htx12'sp; 24', 1-Shrub, 3.5'htx3.5'sp (Front Corner); 1-Shrub, 6'htx6'sp (Mid-Point); 1-Shrub, 8'htx8'sp (Back Corner); 18' 15-Perennials, 3'htx3'sp; 19-Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5'sp Total Garden Area=Aprox. 42' Wide x 30' Deep 2.5' Perennials (Forefront) bloom; spring-early summer. 3' Perennials (Towards Back) bloom; mid-late summer and some into fall, interplanted with spring flowering bulbs.  Notes on Garden3:ht=height sp=spread 2-Trees, 25'htx12'sp; 5-Shrubs, 5'htx5'sp; 14- Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5'sp; 7-Groundcovers, 8"htx3'sp Total Garden Area=Aprox. 30' Wide x 14' Deep 10-Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5'sp (Foundation Planting)  Notes on Garden3a:ht=height sp=spread 1-Tree, 25'htx12'sp; 5-Shrubs, 6'htx6'sp; 14- Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5'sp; 7-Groundcovers, 8"htx3'sp Total Garden Area=Aprox. 30' Wide x 14' Deep 10-Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5'sp; 1-Shrub, 6'htx6'sp (Foundation Planting)  Notes on Garden4:ht=height sp=spread 3-Trees, 40'htx12'sp; 3-Shrubs, 10'htx10'sp; 17-Perennials, 3'htx3'sp; 17-Groundcovers, 8"htx3'sp Total Garden Area=Aprox. 60' Wide x 42' Deep  Notes on Garden5:ht=height sp=spread 6-Shrubs, 8'htx8'sp; 50' 14-Perennials, 3'htx3'sp; 10-Perennials, 2.5'htx2'sp; 4-Perennials, 3'htx3'sp; 14-Groundcovers, 8"htx3'sp Total Garden Area=Aprox. 50' Wide x 28' Deep 14-Perennials (Towards Center) bloom; mid-late summer and into fall, interplanted with spring flowering bulbs.  Notes on Garden6:ht=height sp=spread SE Garden: 5-Shrubs, 5'htx5'sp; 13-Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5'sp; Total Garden Area=Aprox. 28' Wide x 18' Deep SW Garden: 7-Shrubs, 6'x6'; 6-Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5'sp; 12-Groundcovers, 8"htx3'sp; Total Garden Area=Aprox. Same Size  Notes on Garden7: Raised Beds for Vegetable Gardening Beds are Aprox. 4' Wide x 12' Long Herb Garden includes 3-Shrubs  Notes on Garden8:ht=height sp=spread 2-Trees, 25'htx12'sp; 5-Shrubs, 8'htx8'sp; 4-Shrubs, 4'htx4'sp; 18-Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5sp; 8-Perennials, 6"htx2'sp Total Garden Area=Aprox. 36' x 12' + 18' x 18'; 750 sq. ft. 8-Shrubs, 4'htx4'sp; 34-Perennials, 6"htx2'sp; Interplanted w/annuals Total Garden Area=Aprox. 24' Wide x 14' Deep 6" Perennials can include Dianthus, Nepeta, Sedum, or Saponaria.  Notes on Garden9:ht=height sp=spread 3-Trees, 25'htx12'sp, 3-Evergreens, 60'htx30'sp; 7-Shrubs, 10'htx10'sp; 24-Groundcovers, 8"htx3'sp; 4-Vines Total Garden Area=Aprox. 120' x 60' + 40' x 40'; 8,800 sq. ft. Skirted Evergreens have a natural shape and cover a wider area than limbed/pruned up Evergreens.  Notes on Garden10:ht=height sp=spread 11-Shrubs, 6'htx6'sp; 1-Shrub 10'htx10'sp (Corner); 11-Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5'sp; 11-Groundcovers, 8"htx3'sp Total Garden Area=Aprox. 48' x 30' /2 = 720 sq. ft. Vegetable Garden Area=Aprox. 30' x 30' /1.5 = 600 sq. ft. 5-Shrubs, 8'htx8'sp; 17-Perennials, 2.5'htx2.5'sp; 8-Groundcovers, 8"htx2'sp Total Garden Area Aprox. 36' Wide x 20' Deep 775-753-5000 Mailing Address: 167 Pleasant Valley Road #5 Spring Creek, NV 89815 Home About Us Marvel's Corner Availability Perennials In the Greenhouse In the Gardens  |
