Many regions are subject to regular frost episodes during the winter. However, there is no need to deprive yourself of the presence of shrubs in the garden, as some are very resistant to extreme cold. Here is a small selection...
1- Cotoneaster
Numerous species of various sizes and shapes share the limelight in the realm of cotoneasters. This shrub is easy to grow in most soils and produces pretty yellow, orange or red berries in winter.
2- Deutzia
This shrub originating from the Himalayas is very hardy (-20° C) and easy to grow. It is ideal for beginners who will enjoy its splendid pink or white spring flowers. Among the sixty or so varieties, you will find deutzias for all uses (rock gardens, beds, mixed hedges...)
3- Forsythia
It is one of the first shrubs to illuminate the garden with its bright yellow bloom at the end of winter. Not very demanding, the forsythia grows in all well drained soils and resists very well to cold.
4- Lilac
Although originally from Turkey, this shrub with its timeless fragrance and splendid blooming can withstand the cold very well. It tolerates the majority of soils and tolerates limestone very well. Very easy to grow, the lilac can be used in a mixed hedge, as an isolated subject, or in beds.
5- Japanese cortea
Here is another shrub dedicated to beginner gardeners. Growing in both sun and half-shade, the Japanese cedar thrives in all soils as long as they are well drained. It is ideal for forming hedges with its golden yellow flowers in spring and sometimes in autumn.
6- Hazelnut
The hazelnut is the ideal shrub for the gardener who has no time to dedicate to his garden. It grows by itself in most soils and produces its famous nuts without needing any care. Very hardy, it resists to negative temperatures on the long term.
7- The Van Houtte spirea
This is another shrub of choice for gardens where the climate is vigorous since the Van Houtte spirea tolerates temperatures of -25 °C without worry. Very accommodating, it is content with all types of well-drained soil. Its growth is fast and its spring flowering in big white balls is remarkable.
8- The seringat
This shrub with its white and perfumed spring bloom appreciates calcareous soils, but is also content with all types of well drained soils. The syringe is ideal to hide an old wall or to form mixed hedges. Its growth is fast and its hardiness excellent.
9- Elderberry
A beautiful shrub that has fallen into disuse, the elder deserves its place in the garden for its extreme ease of cultivation, but also for its undeniable ornamental appeal thanks to its foliage, its fragrant blossoms, and its berries.
10- Rosehips
The rosehip grows very quickly and without any particular maintenance. It tolerates most soils, especially limestone soils. Unaffected by disease, very hardy, it is a choice subject to dress up an old wall, the trunk of a dead tree or simply a bed. It covers itself with fragrant flowers in spring and produces rose hips very rich in vitamins.
