<p>Home gardeners know the key elements to a well-designed garden: perennials that bloom year after year, annuals that add a burst of color, and bulbs that guarantee spring flowers. But what about shrubs—what role should these hardy plants play?<br /><br /><em>The Creative Shrub Garden</em> by Andy McIndoe puts the shrub in its rightful place—front and center. This groundbreaking approach shows you how to make the most of the many benefits of shrubs—including their hardiness, year-long beauty, size, and low-maintenance nature—by making them the main element in a garden design. McIndoe teaches you the basics first, with tips on choosing shrubs based on a garden’s size, determining soil and climate needs, and pruning and maintenance. He then offers hundreds of shrub combinations that work with 15 main garden styles, including coastal, cottage, Mediterranean, tropical, urban, and more.<br /><br /><em>The Creative Shrub Garden</em> celebrates a plant that is too often taken for granted and gives gardeners the confidence to use shrubs in the design-forward treatment they deserve.</p>