What Works Well With Holly Bushes in a Landscape?

Features

• Holly bushes are easy-to-care-for perennials for most soil conditions. They typically are hardy, grow in full sun to part shade and rarely need pruning.

Significance

• Holly bushes may be thorny or thornless, deciduous or evergreen and have foliage colors in green, blue or variegated shades. Cultivars blend or contrast with existing plants.

Function

• The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension suggests holly bushes for foundation plants, dense hedges or borders, mass plantings and accent plants. Their low water requirements allow holly plantings in containers and xeriscape gardens.

Effects

• Holly bush foliage, dense and green, complements other heat-tolerant plants such as lavender, butterfly bush, rosemary and hopseed.

Balance

• Holly bushes mix well with summer-blooming azalea, rhododendron and hydrangea in acidic soil landscapes. The holly offers landscape greenery and seasonal red berries when the flowering shrubs are dormant.